Electric bikes offer a wide range of benefits, enabling you to travel further and faster, offering a green alternative for commuting, and encouraging more people to experience the joy of cycling. However, with a motor and battery providing assistance while you pedal, can you get fit on an ebike?

With many aspects of cycling seemingly focused on performance gains, electric bikes are often met with scepticism for providing a helping hand on hills or a sweat-free ride to work. However, riding an electric bike can still improve your fitness.

We previously challenged cycling coach and elite rider Tom Bell to see how hard he could ride on an electric mountain bike, and while he didn’t quite hit his 208bpm maximum heart rate, getting up to 198bpm showed he wasn’t getting a free ride. Far from it, in fact.

“You can still push as hard as you like on an ebike, you just have added assistance,” says Bell. “So, although it can be used to make climbing and riding in general easier if you want to back off, it’s also possible to put in a lot of effort but just go faster for that effort.”

That’s backed up by researchers at Brigham Young University in Utah. They tracked the heart rate of experienced mountain bikers on pedal-powered and electric mountain bikes.

When riding an e-MTB, their subjects hit 94 per cent of the average heart rate they achieved on a non-assisted mountain bike when riding a six-mile study loop with 700 feet of climbing, putting them comfortably in heart rate zone four.

In other words, they were working hard, even if the electric bike took the very top-end sting out of the ride. Interestingly, their perceived exertion levels were lower on the e-MTB and, of course, they rode faster and completed the loop quicker.

Ultimately, the study concluded that electric mountain bikes appear to be an “excellent form of aerobic or cardiovascular exercise, even for experienced mountain bikers who regularly engage in this fitness activity”.

Breaking down barriers

The same researchers in Utah have also looked at the health benefits of commuting on an electric hybrid bike, finding that riders’ heart rates reached, on average, 89 per cent of the mean achieved when riding a non-assisted hybrid bike, giving them a moderate-intensity workout. Ebike use “retained the majority of the cycling cardiovascular health benefits”, according to the study

Participants in the study also said they were more likely to use an ebike for everyday transportation, including cycling to work, than a traditional bike.

As well as concluding that ebikes are “capable of providing much of the cardiovascular health benefits obtained during conventional bike use”, they also “may help reduce some of the obstacles to conventional bike use, such as increased transportation time, decreased convenience, and physical fatigue”. If people are cycling more instead of driving or using public transport, they are likely to be getting fitter.

That’s a conclusion borne out by another study, which looked at the riding patterns of 10,000 ebike and non-ebike bike users across seven cities in Europe. It found that ebike users took longer trips, so their gain in physical activity was similar to that for regular cyclists.

Again, Tom Bell concurs: “Electric bikes can help you stay out longer on the bike. Even if the average intensity may be lower, there is a big correlation between ride/training duration and fitness improvement, and a lot of aerobic benefits come from increasing ride duration, not just intensity.”

More fun, more riding

Electric bikes can also help riders stay out for longer and, in turn, ride more often, according to Bell.

“On the mountain bike side, because the motor can be used to make pedalling back up a hill much easier than without, it makes doing repeated runs of downhill trails much easier and arguably more fun because more runs can be fitted into a given period of time,” he says.

“If these ebikes make a rider enjoy the bike more and this leads to them riding more consistently, over time this will have a big positive impact on their fitness.”

Bell also points out that ebike riders will often be keeping up a pace above the 25kph at which assistance must cut out (in the UK, EU and Australia). “When that speed is reached, the rider no longer has the assistance of the motor, so that means they will still be needing to exert quite a bit of power to maintain their speed,” he says.

In short, electric bikes can offer fitness benefits for experienced riders and those who may otherwise be daunted by cycling.

Meanwhile, electric bikes can also help people to ride who may otherwise not be able to due to health concerns, particularly given the ability of ebikes to offer varying levels of assistance and thus allow a rider to better manage their effort level, not least when climbing.

Freedom to ride

Repeated heart problems were forcing Sean Yates, a former Tour de France yellow jersey wearer and directeur sportif at Team Sky, to reduce his riding. When he did go out, he sometimes needed to be collected by car and would take several days to recover.

Yates’ answer was an electric road bike. He credits his electric road bike with helping him to get out and enjoy his riding again. “I will always have the passion to ride, and the head and heart still want to experience that feeling of freedom,” says Yates. “Without this bike, I might be stuck indoors watching daytime TV.”

Yates isn’t alone among former pros in taking to an ebike. Brian Robinson, who was the first Briton to finish the Tour de France in 1955, as well as the first to win a stage (one stage win in each of the 1958 and 1959 editions), rides a Ribble Hybrid AL e at 91 years old.

Meanwhile, five-time Tour de France winner Bernard Hinault rides Look’s road ebike, the e-765 Optimum. “It is a genuine revolution for any cyclist,” says Hinault. “I would never have believed they could retain all of the sensations of a 100 per cent muscle-driven bike.”

The bottom line is this: an electric bike can be the ideal way to enjoy the fitness benefits of cycling, while still offering assistance when it may be required – whether that’s to ride further, tone down the peak exertion of riding a non-assisted bike, or provide assistance on difficult terrain.

Five tips for getting fit on an ebike

1. Start slowly

An ebike will take the peak exertion out of your ride, so it’s easier to go further. But if you’re new to cycling or not as fit as you want to be, start with shorter rides on easy routes to get the feel for what you’re capable of, rather than being too ambitious.

You’ll gain more fitness benefits from more frequent, shorter rides than from the occasional epic. You’ll also want to understand the range that you can get from your ebike before committing to a ride that might drain the battery.

2. Plan your route

If you’re new to cycling, try to take on routes that aren’t too demanding at first. Even with a motor, you can still push your limits on climbs.

Start on roads or trails that don’t over-exert you until you get the feel for your physical capacity and the varying levels of assistance the bike can offer to support your ride.

3. Select a lower assistance level

Once you’re confident in your fitness and the bike itself, you’ll get more of a workout if you lower the assistance level that the motor provides.

On a flat road or moderate hill, you might be quite capable of going well with minimal assistance or with the motor switched off altogether. Save the top level of support for the steepest uphills and you’ll extend your range, too.

4. Plan for recovery

Recovering from your ebike rides is as important as if you were riding a normal pedal-powered bike. A challenging ride may be just as tiring on an ebike, particularly if your electric bike has enabled you to ride for longer than typical.

However, with ebikes usually lowering your overall effort level, you should be able to ride more frequently, and riding more often will help improve your long-term fitness.

5. Enjoy yourself

Above all else, cycling should be fun – and electric bikes are fun! – so enjoy your riding.

Unbound has established itself as the world’s premier gravel race and the 2022 event, set to take place on Saturday 4 June, will attract a stacked field featuring gravel specialists and former road pros.

Among them will be Nathan Haas, who will ride this custom Colnago G3-X in the 200-mile race through the Flint Hills of Kansas.

The G3-X was launched as Colnago’s gravel bike in 2019 and was ridden to Unbound victory by women’s champion Lauren De Crescenzo in last year’s race.

Haas, who has ridden for Garmin-Barracuda, Team Dimension Data, Katusha-Alpecin and Cofidis in a decade-long WorldTour career, made the switch to the rough stuff ahead of the 2022 campaign, joining the fast-growing gravel racing scene.

The 33-year-old’s bike for Unbound is the second in a series of five custom designs being ridden by the Australian through the season.

It features an ‘art decor’-inspired design that will be broadly familiar to Colnago fans, having featured on iconic bikes such as the Colnago Master.

The design features an image of a cyclist on the top tube and takes inspiration from the colours of the Kansas flag.

It also includes the phrase “ad astra per aspera”, the motto of Kansas in Latin, which translates to “through the roughness to the stars”.

The chrome finish to the fork is rather smart, too.

Haas’ gravel bike is equipped with a 1×13-speed Campagnolo Ekar groupset and Campagnolo’s new Levante gravel wheels, wrapped in Vittoria Terreno Dry tyres. There’s also a 3D-printed Fizik Versus Evo saddle.

Colnago has pedigree in cyclocross, having supported two-time world champion Sven Nys for 15 years and the G3-X represents the brand’s diversion into gravel.

Compared to the Colnago Prestige cyclocross bike, the G3-X’s geometry has been designed to accommodate wider tyres, with clearance for 700×42mm or 650b×47mm rubber. The geometry also places a greater emphasis on stability and comfort.

Haas’ 2022 gravel campaign will also include The BWR North Carolina (USA) on 11 June, The Rift (Iceland) on 23 July and SBT GRVL (USA) on 14 August.

The men’s field at Unbound 2022 also includes former winners Peter Stetina, Ted King and Ian Boswell – all ex-road pros.

While the racing primarily focuses on the 200-mile event, five distances are on offer: 350 miles, 200 miles, 100 miles, 50 miles and 25 miles, all starting from the town of Emporia, Kansas. Nearly 4,000 riders are registered for the 2022 event.

Loading up your bike with everything you need and heading off to explore somewhere new: bikepacking can be one of the most rewarding and empowering ways to travel.

Whether you’re riding into the sunset on the open road, or heading off-road on an adventure into the wilderness, here’s what you need to look for when dreaming up the bikepacking bike for your ride – or looking to adapt your current setup.

What is a bikepacking bike?

In short, any bike can be a bikepacking bike.

In fact, that’s one of the joys of bikepacking. You can strap bikepacking bags to just about anything before heading out on an adventure.

However, certain features and choices can help make a bike better suited for multi-day touring, whether that’s something fundamental such as geometry, or tyre and component selection.

Indeed, while it’s true that some bikes are designed specifically with bikepacking in mind, with lots of mounting points for luggage, for example, with some careful tweaking, you can also adapt your current bike to be better prepared for your upcoming ride.

Tyres, tyres, tyres

Why are we starting with tyres? Well, just as with gravel riding, and indeed mountain biking, tyres are one of the most important things you need to consider when bikepacking.

What tyres you can choose will be partly dictated by the type of bike you plan on riding. While the latest road bikes often have clearance for 32mm tyres – with wider tyres an option on endurance road bikes or all-road bikes with additional clearance – if you want really plush rubber then you’ll need a gravel bike or mountain bike.

Ideally, you want something that’s durable and resistant to puncturing, with a width and tread pattern suited to the terrain you’re likely to encounter en-route.

Tubeless tyres come highly recommended for off-road bikepacking. This helps to reduce punctures from thorns or sharp stones on the trail, and also enables you to run slightly lower tyre pressures with less risk of pinch punctures.

Be careful here, though: you can still cause a snakebite puncture in the tyre itself with a tubeless setup. Read our guide to the best mountain bike tyres for our pick of the bunch, while the best tubeless tyres for road riding will also help stave off punctures for fast bikepacking adventures on tarmac.

Wider gravel bike tyres often strike an ideal balance for multi-terrain bikepacking, combining a fair amount of speed on the road with comfort and, with the right tread pattern, off-road grip. The increased volume will enable you to run lower pressures than skinnier tyres, which will be beneficial if you plan on spending a long time on your bike.

Make sure you research the terrain on your route and match the tyre and tread type accordingly, depending on how rough or smooth you anticipate the tour to be. On top of that, consider what weather and trail conditions you’re likely to face. Bone-dry roads or trails in summer can become running rivers in a storm or through winter.

Fit and geometry

Bikepacking-oriented bikes, whether that’s a versatile gravel bike with generous tyre clearance and lots of mounts, or a rugged off-road tourer designed specifically for bikepacking, tend to feature a more upright position than race-focused bikes.

That should give a greater degree of comfort on long rides, placing the rider in a more upright position by using shorter top tubes and longer head tubes.

Meanwhile, a longer wheelbase and slacker head tube help to prevent toe overlap, and crucially give a more stable ride feel over rougher terrain, which becomes even more important when it comes to loading up with bikepacking bags.

However, chances are you can also tweak your bike position on your current ride, if you’re planning on heading out for a long bikepacking trip where comfort is more important than all-out speed, most commonly by raising the handlebar height.

Handlebars and cockpit

Hand, wrist and shoulder comfort become really important when you spend many hours in the saddle, especially over multi-day rides.

Although traditional drop-bar setups give multiple hand positions (on the tops, on the drops, on the hoods), some ultra-endurance riders add clip-on aero bars to offer even more positions and help prevent any discomfort.

Flared gravel bike handlebars, where the drops are wider than the tops, are also popular for bikepacking. This not only gives a wider, more stable position for descending, but also grants you a little more space between the bars for bikepacking bags.

If you’re using a bike with flat bars, such as a mountain bike or hybrid, you might want to consider both the shape of your bars and adding more hand positions.

Check out flat handlebar options with more sweep, which put your wrists into a more ergonomic position, and greater rise for a more upright position. This can not only make you more comfortable, but also give you more clearance over the front tyre for handlebar bags.

Different-shaped bars, such as the Jones H-Bar, give multiple hand positions as well as bag, light and GPS bike computer mounting options.

If you’d like more space for mounting gadgets, consider handlebar accessory mounts such as those from Velo Orange or Nitto.

Bar ends can also help to add more hand positions to flat bars, and can be sourced either as a stand-alone item or integrated into ergonomic grips, such as those from Ergon.

Mounts galore

Frame and fork mounts are all the rage right now, enabling you to add racks, cargo cages and bags all over your frame, giving you greater versatility when it comes to your setup.

In addition to two pairs of bottle cage bosses in the main triangle, you can often now find these under the down tube, on the top tube and on the fork legs.

These additional mounting points are most common on gravel bikes and machines designed specifically for bikepacking, such as the Surly Ghost Grappler, though some endurance road bikes, such as the new Canyon Endurace, are also adding this additional versatility.

Then there are also the rack and mudguard mounts commonly found on winter road bikes and hybrids.

If you’re planning on heading somewhere remote, where you’ll need to carry more kit or water, fork mounts are a good idea for giving you extra capacity. These are also really handy for shorter riders, where space between the bars and under the saddle may be limited.

However, if your frame and fork have no mounts whatsoever, then fear not. The whole point of bikepacking is that you can strap on bags without the need for mounts.

Frame material

Because you can use any bike for bikepacking, that goes for any frame material too, although different options will have their benefits and drawbacks.

While carbon fibre bikes are likely to be lighter, which can help marginally as you haul your laden bike up a steep hill, do take note of their maximum system weight recommendations, especially if you think you may exceed this when it comes to adding your loaded bikepacking bags.

The same goes for carbon fibre components, especially seatposts and handlebars. It’s best to check the manufacturer’s recommendations before loading up.

Steel and titanium are often touted as the best materials for bikepacking thanks to their durability, because they’re more likely to be able to withstand the heavy use that bikepacking can entail.

Round-the-world tourers often opt for steel bikes because the frames can be fixed almost anywhere by a welder. Titanium is more tricky here, and more expensive in the first place, although it is more resistant to corrosion than steel.

If you’re planning on running a front rack setup, you’ll need to check the carrying capacity of the fork. Steel forks tend to be better for this than carbon, which can be limited here.

Aluminium frames tend to be more common at the budget end of things. Some say aluminium gives a slightly harsher ride than carbon, titanium or steel, although the latest alloy frames are very good indeed and you’re likely to be able to alleviate a lot of buzz by optimising tyre pressures.

Servicing and maintenance

Depending on where you’re heading, how easy it’ll be to maintain and service your bike is an important consideration. Does your bike use proprietary parts that are only available from select dealers, or are the components easily sourced worldwide?

Some long-distance bike tourers choose cable disc brakes over hydraulic brakes for this reason, because replacing a cable at the side of the trail tends to be easier than bleeding brakes, for example.

On the flip side, hydraulic brakes tend to offer better performance. Ultimately, it’s up to personal preference, your own mechanical capability and where you’re planning on bikepacking.

If you’re planning on putting a huge number of miles through your bikepacking rig, consider how much it’ll cost you to stay on top of the maintenance, too. You might be able to stretch to a top-tier electronic groupset as an initial outlay, but remember that premium parts will need replacing down the line due to wear, and that won’t be cheap.

Gearing

Simply put, you’ll need a wider range of gearing when it comes to loading up and heading out on a bikepacking adventure than you would for your standard day rides. This is because you’ll have to compensate for the extra weight on your bike due to the luggage.

Grinding your way up steep inclines while under-geared is no fun, and your knees won’t thank you for it either, especially if you do the same day after day.

If you’re running a road bike groupset and planning on tackling a hilly route, it’ll be wise to tweak your gearing to make it as easy as possible. This may mean fitting a compact crankset or the widest cassette your rear derailleur can handle.

Current gravel gearing are expanding, with an option from all three of the big groupset brands: Shimano GRX, SRAM XPLR and Campagnolo Ekar. Once again, however, consider what gearing you’re going to need for your ride – and, if you can, be cautious with your gearing setup.

Shimano and SRAM also offer the option of running a mullet drivetrain, pairing road/gravel and mountain bike components for a wider gearing range than what’s possible through a typical gravel-specific setup.

Although a more expensive option, electronic shifting can both help reduce hand and finger fatigue from shifting, and leave more space between the bars for handlebar bags. Just remember to pack the battery charger – and consider the maintenance caveat we mentioned earlier, if you’re heading away from civilisation.

For an ultra-low maintenance drivetrain, as well as a little weight saving, some riders opt to bikepack on singlespeed bikes. It’s not an easy task by any means, and one that takes some practice, too.

Dynamo options

When you head off-grid, electricity can be a limiting factor, because you’ll likely need to charge bike lights, your bike computer, your phone etc. While a battery pack is a handy addition to your bikepacking kit list, a dynamo setup can also help to give you some more power.

At the cost of a little extra weight and resistance, a dynamo hub can translate kinetic energy from your ride to electric energy, which can be used to power fixed lights or charge items via a USB port.

This can be super-handy on longer tours, or even on commutes if you’re prone to forgetting to charge your lights in the winter (guilty).

Do bear in mind that different dynamos are designed to work effectively at different speeds, so you’ll need to match that to your anticipated ride. If you’re heading off-road on technical terrain, for example, the speed is likely to be much lower, which may limit the setup’s capability.

Think about whether you’ll need internal dynamo routing, such as on the Fairlight Faran 2.0, and where you’ll mount lights or charging ports.

Suspension

For more technical, MTB-orientated bikepacking routes such as the Highland 550 or the Colorado Trail, employing a little suspension is often a good idea. Hardtail mountain bikes or lightweight cross-country bikes tend to work best, as you’re probably not going to encounter super-technical terrain on a bikepacking ride.

The key point here is that you’ll need to alter your suspension setup, adding pressure to compensate for the additional weight of your luggage so that you don’t risk damaging your fork and/or shock.

It’s also a really good idea (as with any bike setup) to go for a test ride before your trip, to make sure that all your bikepacking bags are compatible with the bike when you use the suspension.

Pedals

The pedals you’ll use for your bikepacking trip really comes down to personal preference, but also the nature of your plans.

If you’re going for a more casual tour and want to take in some cultural sites while bikepacking, you might prefer flat pedals vs clipless because you can hop straight off the bike and wander around town in casual shoes.

However, if long, tough days are on the cards, then efficiency might be more of a priority for you, so clipless-style mountain bike pedals might be a wiser choice. You can still walk around in mountain bike shoes, whereas road cycling shoes make this much harder, due to the exposed cleat.

Platform clipless pedals, or trail pedals, are also a good idea if you’d like to clip in, but tend to suffer from hotspots on your feet during long rides.

Saddles

Finding the right saddle for you is an incredibly personal topic, and something that we’ve delved into in a lot more detail in our buyer’s guide to saddles.

Saddle sores are also the bikepacker’s number one enemy, so taking time to get saddle choice right is crucial.

Be mindful that, due to the altered body position, what works for you on other bikes might not work best for you on a bikepacking bike over the course of many rides.

Considerations for shorter riders

With smaller frames and tighter clearances, shorter riders are often left puzzling how to fit bikepacking bags to their steeds. N

arrow handlebars limit bar-bag capacity, as well as reduced clearance over the front wheel due to shorter head tubes; shorter seatposts give less room over the rear tyre for seatpost bags, and let’s not even mention how small those main triangles can be.

In some cases, smaller-capacity bike bags can help to make the most of these smaller spaces, but combined are unlikely to give you enough space for a full range of bikepacking gear on longer trips.

Fork-mounted luggage such as cargo cages with dry bags, or fork-specific bikepacking bags, can help add capacity, or give you space to store water bottles if you’re running a frame bag.

In extreme cases, you may be forced to adopt a rack setup: with either a conventional bolt-on rack and panniers, or a more novel approach such as the Tailfin rack system.

If you’re looking for a list of the best gravel bikes on sale in 2022 then you’ve come to the right place. All of the bikes in this article have been ridden and rated by BikeRadar’s expert testers.

Gravel and all-road are terms used for this rapidly growing segment of the drop-bar bike market. These bikes have generous tyre clearances and gravel-specific geometry that is typically more stable and forgiving than traditional road bike geometry.

Modern gravel bikes were born out of the American Midwest, where gravel racing took hold a decade ago and has gained popularity steadily.

In the early days, riders tackled these endurance events on cyclocross bikes with the largest tyres that would fit between the stays.

Today, there are numerous purpose-built machines that gravel-curious riders can choose from, with options ranging from versatile all-road bikes that rival the very best road bikes to more affordable, cheap gravel bikes.

There are also many ‘gravel-specific’ versions of common cycling accessories and clothes, including shoes for gravel riding.

The best gravel bike frames come in the same variety of frame materials as other bike types, with carbon, aluminium, titanium and steel options commonly available.

All these materials have their advantages and different riders will find that a certain one might make particular sense for them – whether that’s the low weight of carbon, the reliability of aluminium, the classic feel of steel or the desirability of titanium.

We have split our list of top-performing gravel bikes into each different frame material and you can skip to each section here:

• Best carbon gravel bikes
• Best alloy gravel bikes
• Best titanium gravel bikes
• Best steel gravel bikes

You can find even more gravel bikes on our page of gravel bike reviews.

Best carbon gravel bikes

Carbon fibre bikes are lightweight, stiff and can be designed to effectively absorb vibrations. This has made it the go-to material for many road cyclists but also makes it a good choice for performance gravel bikes.

Its pliancy will do a lot of work to minimise any chatter from the surface beneath while still letting you put a lot of power through the cranks.

Boardman ADV 9.0

• £1,800 as tested
• Excellent value
• Great ride quality
• Low weight is impressive for the price
• 700×38mm tyre clearance

The Boardman ADV 9.0 was the winner of BikeRadar’s Bike of the Year Best Value award in 2021. That’s because this gravel bike is an impressively light machine for the price and really is a go-anywhere machine. It achieves its low weight through the use of a C10 carbon fibre frame, which is also stiff and highly responsive.

Our testers found it gave the bike a thrilling feel off-road and fast acceleration on the tarmac.

Boardman has specced the bike with a clever mix of Shimano GRX components and a generous range from the 46/30 crankset and 11-32t getting you up the toughest climbs.

Panaracer GravelKing SK tyres provide grip off-road but are fast-rolling too.

• Read our full Boardman ADV 9.0 review

Canyon Grizl CF SL 8 1by

• £2,949 / $2,849 / AU$4,249 / €2,699 as tested
• Versatile carbon frameset
• Great spec
• Well thought out geometry
• 700×50mm (S-XL), 650×50mm (2XS-XS) tyre clearance

The Canyon Grizl is a burlier version of the Canyon Grail, which is also one of the best gravel bikes. The Grizl has clearance for 50mm tyres, mounts for fenders and bags, and long geometry – all working together to make it an ultra-versatile bike.

The bike is well specced with a Shimano GRX groupset, DT Swiss wheels, a Canyon VCLS leaf-spring seatpost and a Fizik Terra Argo saddle.

What makes this bike so good is that the price for this spec is really competitive – a rarity these days in the bike market. The Grizl is happy on tarmac, but really shines off-road, on the kind of mixed dirt and gravel singletrack that make up a lot of gravel riding in the UK.

The 1x gear setup might not be the desired choice for all, but there are 2x Grizls in Canyon’s range, and the 1x setup faired very well for general riding.

• Read our full Canyon Grizl CF SL 8 1by review

Cannondale Topstone Carbon Lefty 1

• £7,500 / $8,500 / €8,399 as tested
• Handling, control and speed are top-notch
• Comfortable on terrain suited to mountain bikes
• 700×45mm / 650×47mm tyre clearance

The Cannondale Topstone Carbon Lefty 1 gravel bike will help you tackle terrain that is beyond the reach of many gravel bikes and let you fly along more conventional gravel trails much faster than many competitors too.

It has class-leading control across different surfaces thanks to the Lefty front fork, which provides 30mm of travel to help smooth out any bumps, and geometry that leads to a quick but stable ride.

The wheels have carbon rims and the front wheel has a sensor developed in conjunction with Garmin that will measure speed, time and distance.

Combine all of that with wireless SRAM gears and you begin to get an idea of what sort of bike this is.

Overall, this Topstone is one of the most capable gravel bikes BikeRadar has ever tested. It does, however, cost a small fortune.

• Read our full Cannondale Topstone Carbon Lefty 1 review

Cannondale Topstone Carbon Ultegra RX

• £3,500 / $4,200 / €3,799 as tested
• Fast and racy machine with great wheels
• Effective rear suspension
• 700×40mm tyre clearance

The Topstone is a racy gravel bike with a firm, fast-handling front end and a clever rear suspension unit that provides up to 30mm of travel.

You also get a nice smart set of Cannondale’s own Hollowgram carbon wheels, which are tubeless-ready and weigh around 1.5kg, which helps keep the overall weight of the bike down to 9kg in a size large.

With stack and reach figures similar to Cannondale’s Synapse endurance road bike, the Topstone makes a compelling option as a do-it-all bike (if you’re looking to break the n+1 cycle).

A simple swap of tyres is all it takes to make this a bike that shines both off-road and on.

The updated version of this bike is now called the Cannondale Topstone Carbon 2 and has a Shimano GRX800 groupset.

• Read our full Cannondale Topstone Carbon Ultegra RX review

Devinci Hatchet Carbon GRX LTD

• $3,299 / CAD$3,999 / €3,499 as tested
• Superbly stable yet fun handling
• Something a little different
• 700×50mm / 650×53mm tyre clearance

Devinci’s Hatchet is a fun, fast and versatile gravel bike. There’s clearance for 700c × 45mm tyres with mudguards, but 700c × 50mm tyres fit too, and officially it’ll take 650b wheels with tyres up to 53mm wide.

We loved the ride of the Hatchet and found the factory-fit dropper post really helped us exploit the impressive stability from its long, slack geometry. Whether you’re passing through technical singletrack, rocks, gravel and tarmac, deep sand or slick mud, the Hatchet has immense composure.

For a headline bike, the spec is pretty modest, but the value it represents is competitive.

The Devinci Hatchet Carbon is now available with the higher-spec Shimano GRX810 groupset.

• Read our full Devinci Hatchet Carbon GRX LTD review

Giant Revolt Advanced Pro 0

• £4,999 / $6,400 / AU$6,699 / €5,599 as tested
• Thrilling and plush ride
• Great groupset
• Fast wheels

The Giant Revolt Advanced Pro 0 is our Bike of the Year for 2022, the first time a gravel bike has won overall. Equipped with Shimano’s GRX Di2 2x groupset, the Revolt’s shifting and braking is pretty much flawless.

The build weight of 8.3kg doesn’t suggest sprightliness, but Giant’s lightweight CRX wheels and sharper geometry make the Revolt spry on- and off-road.

The new fork permits the Revolt to run tyres up to 53mm wide to boost the bike’s already comfortable ride on rough terrain.

The Revolt also has plenty of mounts and bosses to carry luggage on bikepacking trips.

• Read our full Giant Revolt Advanced Pro 0 review 

GT Grade Carbon Pro

• £3,500 / €3,799 / $3,900 as tested
• Trail adjusting flip chip on fork improves handling between wheel sizes
• Nimble, yet super-comfortable ride
• 700×42mm tyre clearance

GT’s Grade was one of the first adventure/all-road/gravel bikes, and at the time it was well ahead of the curve in terms of versatility, but after four years, it had become a bit of a dinosaur. Newly revamped, the Grade has matured into a fully fledged gravel grinder.

The bike still has GT’s signature ‘triple triangle’ at the back, but the seat tube is now entirely free-floating and the seatstays have lost some girth allowing for heaps of compliance.

GT has also added a rear thru-axle and employed a flip chip in the fork to allow the trail figure to be adjusted by 15mm for changeable handling characteristics.

Tyre clearance has also been upped to 700c × 42mm, and the brand has added mounts galore, with the carbon versions capable of carrying five bottles and the alloy version eight.

The position on the bike has been lowered and lengthened a touch, and the handling is confident even when the road or trail gets treacherous – the bike has become more capable overall than its predecessor.

Our Gravel Bike of the Year winner for 2020, the GT Grade Carbon Pro ticks a lot of boxes. It combines excellent compliance with fast handling and great kit that provokes a feeling of childlike exuberance.

Kit-wise, there’s very little we’d change, but it’s definitely worth converting the tyres to tubeless if you can.

• Read our full GT Grade Carbon Pro review

Liv Devote Advanced Pro

• £4,699 / €5,000 / $5,500 / AU$7,299 as tested
• Women’s-specific geometry
• Dropper seatpost compatibility
• 700×45mm / 650×50mm tyre clearance

Liv’s first gravel bike is a true do-it-all bike for women seeking on- and off-road adventures.

As with the rest of the Liv range, the frame’s geometry/sizing and carbon layup have been chosen specifically with female riders in mind. Giant’s shock-absorbing seatpost is very effective at reducing trail buzz, although the 30.9mm hole it sits in will willingly accept a dropper post should you want to maximise the bike’s handling on descents.

It’s a bike that is supremely comfortable over long distances and has mounts for mudguards, luggage, bottles and accessories, so it’s ready for as much adventure as you can take on.

We thoroughly enjoyed the huge gear range, slick shifts and easy setup of SRAM’s eTap AXS groupset, and its AXS brakes were not short of power or feel.

This flagship Devote model is big bucks, but there are two cheaper carbon bikes and an aluminium frame starting from £1,400 / $1,150 / €1,100 / AU$1,699.

• Read our full Liv Devote Advanced Pro review

Orbea Terra M20-D1x GRX

• £2,599 / €2,929 / $3,299 as tested
• Lively, well-priced bike with a bold paintjob
• 1x gearing is very off-road focused
• 700×40mm tyre clearance

As well as being one of the best gravel bikes, the Orbea Terra M20-D1x is excellent for all kinds of adventures, on- and off-road. It absorbs rough terrain with ease, but doesn’t feel like a wet noodle on the road.

It also has integrated mounts for racks and mudguards, so a simple swap of tyres or wheels could easily turn this into a ‘one-bike-for-all’ option.

If we’re really nitpicking, the only thing to be aware of is that the 1x gearing is quite off-road focused, so you could find yourself slightly undergeared for group riding on the road.

Orbea also offers a host of customisation options, meaning you can upgrade the spec to suit, if your budget allows. Plus, if the rowdy stock paintjob isn’t for you, customising that is also an option.

The Terra M20-D1x GRX is no longer available, but the Orbea Terra M30 Team 1x has a similar spec.

• Read our full Orbea Terra M20-D1x GRX review

Trek Checkpoint SL6 eTap

• £3,850 / $4,300 / AU$5,500 / €4,300 as tested
• Comfy and fairly fast
• Mounting options
• Excellent handlebars

The Trek Checkpoint SL6 is a multifaceted gravel bike adept pretty much anywhere off-road. While no featherweight, it’s not sluggish on tarmac or faster fire roads.

Trek’s IsoSpeed decoupler, which allows the frame to flex a touch, absorbs the worst of bumps. The Checkpoint’s maximum tyre clearance of 700c x 45mm or 650b x 2.1 allows you to run wide tyres for added comfort and traction.

SRAM’s Rival AXS XPLR 1x groupset forms part of a fair-value spec. Stacks of fittings make the Checkpoint a practical steed for bikepacking.

• Read our full Trek Checkpoint SL6 eTap review

Vielo V+1 Strato SRAM Rival AXS XPLR

• £5,299
• Lovely aesthetics and construction
• Boutique gravel racer
• Saddle clamp slips

The Vielo V+1 Strato SRAM Rival AXS XPLR is a gravel speed machine with a 1,000g carbon frame and near-road bike geometry that provides nippy handling.

The V+1 doesn’t  forgo comfort because it fits up to 50mm tyres in 700c or 650b. Although there’s no suspension, the V+1 can handle jarring surfaces. Designing the frame around a 1x drivetrain allowed Vielo to stiffen the bottom bracket while increasing compliance from seat and chainstays, according to the brand.

The drivetrain is a quality assortment of SRAM Rival, Force and Vielo parts. Shifting is smooth despite gaps between gears on the wide 10-44t cassette, which, in tandem with the 44t chainring, is an ideal range for off-roading.

• Read our full Vielo V+1 Strato SRAM Rival AXS XPLR review 

Vitus Energie EVO CRS eTap Force

• £3,499 / €3,999 / $4,299 as tested
• Wildcard choice due to cyclocross race origins
• Supremely versatile
• Great value for money
• 700×40mm tyre clearance

The Energie is Vitus’s cyclocross race bike, but don’t discard it as just that. Providing you aren’t discouraged by geometry that’s on the racier side, this makes a top gravel or even winter road bike thanks to heaps of clearance, well-chosen components and mudguard mounts.

Vitus’s big-name buying power (its parent company is Chain Reaction Cycles/Wiggle) means the spec is great for the money and includes a full SRAM Force eTap AXS groupset, a Prime Black Edition 38 Disc carbon wheelset and mostly carbon finishing kit, again from Prime.

We loved the subtle yet classy finish, including those lovely tan-wall tyres.

• Read our full Vitus Energie EVO CRS eTap Force review

3T Exploro RaceMax

• £3,849 as tested
• Tons of versatility
• Aero design
• Clever all-rounder
• 700×35mm / 650×47mm tyre clearance

The Exploro Max builds on what 3T’s original Exploro gravel bike offered, yet does so in a package that is more versatile thanks to bigger tyre clearances and an aerodynamic design.

Our tester praised the Exploro RaceMax for its superbly balanced handling and supreme versatility. Different builds provide either 700c wheels with 35mm tyres or a 650b wheelset with 57mm tyres, plus the choice of either a 1x or 2x drivetrain.

The out and out stiffness of its chassis means it can’t match a dedicated gravel bike off-road, but what it loses here it more than makes up for in road credentials.

It doesn’t offer the greatest value out there, but many will be prepared to pay a premium for its exclusivity.

• Read our full 3T Exploro RaceMax review

Bianchi Arcadex

• £3,250 as tested
• A unique-looking bike
• Road bike feel with gravel capabilities
• Firmer ride than some gravel bikes
• 700×42mm / 650×47mm tyre clearance

Bianchi’s first gravel offering, the Arcadex, is an unconventional-looking bike that has a comfortable armchair-like riding position. It’s angled more towards the road end of the gravel spectrum rather than pure off-road performance, lending it a ride quality that’s more akin to a tall endurance bike on tarmac.

Off-road, it retains its road bike feel but the geometry and flared bar help navigate rougher terrain.

The Arcadex has a Shimano GRX 1x drivetrain and aluminium wheels.

For the price, it would be nice to see a carbon seatpost – which would also improve comfort on rough terrain – but this doesn’t get in the way of the Arcadex being thoroughly enjoyable to ride.

• Read our full Bianchi Arcadex review

Canyon Grail CF SL 7.0

• £2,649 / $2,699 as tested
• A real head turner
• Superb kit for the cash
• Unique cockpit
• 700×40mm tyre clearance

Despite being the most affordable carbon fibre Canyon Grail, this model still arrives with a great spec. It’s a composed off-roader that manages to feel fast and relatively uncompromised on the road too.

The distinctive double deck ‘Hover bar’ is the bike’s most defining feature, though it’s one that brings its own fit and compatibility complications.

Shimano’s GRX groupset has a huge range of gearing, a secure, clutch-equipped rear derailleur and hydraulic disc braking.

If the fit works for you and the handlebar is to your preference, then this is a great choice for those riding on mixed terrain.

If you can’t live with the compromises of this bike’s divisive cockpit then we’d encourage you to try out the cheaper aluminium version of the Grail (shown below in this list), which foregoes the biplane setup. 

This GRX-equipped version is the cheapest way to get your hands on a carbon Grail, but if you’ve got a bit more money to spend we also got on very well with the SRAM Force eTap build.

• Read our full Canyon Grail CF SL 7.0 review
• Read our full Canyon Grail CF8.0 SL eTap review
• Buy the Canyon Grail SL 7 from Canyon

Juliana Quincy CC Rival

• £3,699 / €3,899 / $3,699 as tested
• Multi-discipline capability
• Heaps of tyre clearance and mudguard mounts
• Stunning looks
• 700×45mm / 650×53mm tyre clearance

The Juliana Quincy is the women’s version of the Santa Cruz Stigmata. Like the Stigmata, it started out as a cyclocross bike but naturally makes a great gravel or adventure option.

Whether you like long road miles, bikepacking, gravel grinding or tame off-roading, the Quincy can take on all of those – meaning some riders could feasibly consolidate their bike collection into just one.

The carbon frame and fork are particularly comfortable and sport mudguard mounts as well as room for three bottles.

There’s a huge amount of clearance, with room for 45mm tyres if you’re on 700c wheels or a full 2.1in with 650b wheels in place.

• Read our full Juliana Quincy CC Rival review

Lauf Anywhere

• $2,690+ as tested
• Same great race-ready frame as the True Grit
• Regular fork opens up options for mounting luggage
• 700×45mm tyre clearance

When you think of Lauf, the first thing that comes to mind is its wild-looking leaf spring fork, which allows for 30mm of front travel. However, the brand’s Anywhere gravel grinder doesn’t get one and instead comes with what Lauf calls a JAF or ‘Just a Fork’.

The frame features its Long-4-Speed geometry, which entails a short head tube, lengthy top tube and short chainstays, paired with a short stem and a slack (for a road bike) head angle. The idea is that it’s stable at speed but lets you get tucked up in an aero position when the need arises.

Lauf has also opted for a threaded bottom bracket shell, full-length internal cable guides and mounts galore, but the bike has no provision for mudguards/fenders.

As the name implies, the Anywhere rides well on both tarmac and ‘F-Roads’ as they’re known in Iceland (gravel roads) as well as smooth singletrack, but is somewhat limited by the 40mm slick tyres that come stock.

If you want bulkier rubber, there’s also the Lauf True Grit, with 30mm of front suspension through the Grit SL fork and clearance for 45mm tyres, as well as the Lauf Siegla, which increases clearance to a huge 57mm with 700c wheels.

• Read our full Lauf Anywhere review

On-One Free Ranger SRAM Force 1

• £1,800 / $2,556 / €2,178 as tested
• Great value for money
• Tidy handling
• Rack and mudguard mounts
• 700×43mm tyre clearance

With a carbon frame and fork, and SRAM Force hydraulic disc groupset, the £1,800 On-One Free Ranger is in a league of its own when it comes to value.

Compared to many of the other best gravel bikes, its geometry is on the racier side, making it perfect for singletrack blasts. It’s impressively light too, with our extra-large test bike weighing just 9.87kg / 21.76lbs. All the fittings are present for full-length mudguards and a pannier rack, too.

• Read our full On-One Free Ranger SRAM Force 1 review

Specialized S-Works Crux

• £11,300 / $12,250 / AU$18,000 / €12,500
• Top-tier ride experience
• Among the lightest gravel framesets
• Big tyre clearance (up to 2.1in with 650b wheels)

The Specialized S-Works Crux is incredibly fun to ride. As you’d imagine from a bike with a 750g frameset, the Crux flies up climbs and is fast to react on the flat. You can weave through the woods on singletrack, but the Crux’s stiffness and aggressive geometry (for a gravel bike) deal less well with bumpy stuff and technical descents.

The Crux largely dispenses with practical features seen on other gravel bikes, such as mudguard and bag mounts.

But if money’s little or no object and you want a featherweight gravel speedster, the Crux might be for you.

• Read our full Specialized S-Works Crux review

Specialized Diverge Comp Carbon

• £4,000 / $3,900 / AU$6,000 / €4,499 as tested
• Future Shock 2.0 suspension
• SWAT storage box
• Fun yet composed ride character
• 700×47mm / 650×54mm tyre clearance

The Diverge is a supremely versatile bike that can do everything from fully loaded touring to ultra-light gravel racing.

The Diverge Comp Carbon, with its Shimano GRX 810-level groupset, sensible alloy wheels and decent finishing kit represents the best balance of performance and value from the 2021 Diverge range. Its party piece is the Future Shock 2.0 suspension system, which is remarkably effective yet delightfully simple.

This bike is a real hoot to ride on rough terrain, with a notably composed ride manner at high speeds and on steep trails.

It’s so good out of the box that there’s little beyond the tyres that we’d look to change in the future.

• Read our full Specialized Diverge Comp Carbon review

Vitus Substance CRX

• £2,300 / $3,000 / AU$4,000 / €2,700 as tested
• Lightweight carbon wheelset
• True mountain bike character
• Exceptional value
• 650×47mm tyre clearance

The Substance CRX may have been Vitus’s first foray into the world of gravel bikes but you’d never know it. Make no mistake, this is a bike that has been specced to really excel at gravel riding with geometry, gearing and component choices that work best in the rough.

Vitus really makes this bike’s retail price stretch a long way. There’s a SRAM Rival groupset, lightweight 650b carbon fibre wheels from Prime with a relatively generous 24.5mm internal width and WTB’s Venture 650bx47mm TCS tubeless tyres.

Our sub-9kg XL test bike is impressive for a gravel bike at this price, particularly when you consider the aforementioned 47mm tyres. It’s a real hoot off-road with true mountain-bike character, while mudguard bosses, fork-mounted bags and a third bottle boss at the down tube make it a viable option for adventuring, or even tough commutes.

• Read our full Vitus Substance CRX review

Best alloy gravel bikes

Aluminium alloy frames are light, robust and have a relatively low manufacturing cost. This makes aluminium gravel bikes a great choice if you’re looking to dip your toe into the world of gravel because they deliver big performance for their relatively low price.

Many of the best gravel bikes have aluminium frames and can compete with carbon or titanium bikes, so it’s not to be overlooked even for the more performance-orientated.

Boardman ADV 8.9

• £1,150 as tested
• Good spec for the money
• Energetic ride
• Proper all-rounder

The Boardman ADV 8.9 is our Budget Bike of the Year for the second year rolling, having increased only slightly in price in 2022.

The ADV 8.9 has the cheapest Shimano GRX RX400 groupset, which shifts and stops well. The 48/32T chainrings and 10-speed 11-36T cassette is highly versatile. Much of the ADV 8.9’s kit is from Boardman, including the fast-rolling wheels shod with Schwalbe G-One Allround tyres. Converting these to tubeless would enhance off-road performance.

Handlebar tape could also be upgraded to dull vibrations from harsh surfaces transferring through the bars.

• Read our full Boardman ADV 8.9 review

Canyon Grail 6

• £1,649 / $1,699 / AU$2,349 / €1,499 as tested
• Top components for the cash
• Amazing performance for the money
• Gravel-specific gear ratios
• 700×40mm tyre clearance

The Canyon Grail 6 is a versatile aluminium gravel bike that’s a direct replacement for the hugely successful Grail AL. Despite being the cheapest aluminium frame Canyon Grail build, it’s still a very well-equipped bike with no obvious holes in its spec sheet.

The Shimano GRX 2×10 transmission and matching hydraulic disc brakes can be thought of as Tiagra equivalents, while the RX600 crank is nominally Shimano’s 105-level.

Trusty DT Swiss C 1850 db alloy wheels are another spec highlight, particularly when shod in 40mm Schwalbe G-One Bite tubeless-ready tyres.

The Grail is a confidence-inspiring bike to ride, and one that beats its predecessor off-road thanks to gravel-specific gearing. It’s a comfortable enough bike as is, but run the tyres tubeless and you can further take the edge off. It’s also a competent ride on the road, but a tyre swap would really get the most from this bike on the tarmac.

It’s a real shame that Canyon dropped the rack mounts for 2021, but thankfully mudguard mounts are still present.

The bike is also available in a women’s-specific version, the Canyon Grail 6 WMN.

• Read our full Canyon Grail 6 review 

Focus Atlas 6.8

• £1,899 / €1,999 / AU$3,099 as tested
• Touring and bikepacking-friendly
• Progressive geometry
• Excellent-value package
• 700×45mm tyre clearance

The Atlas 6.8 is a very capable bike straight out of the box. It’s a particularly talented off-roader thanks to progressive geometry that keeps things notably calm even when the going gets steep or rough. The entertaining ride of the Atlas means it’s a fun way to scale singletrack, cruise along bike paths or even take on a mixed commute.

It’s great to see a mix of Shimano’s excellent GRX RX600 and RX800 groupset components at this price.

The stock wheels are tough and form a great foundation for WTB’s 45mm wide Riddler tyres, though the Boost axle spacing could make potential upgrades more complicated.

Focus has included plenty of mounts and provisions for luggage and accessories, making the Atlas ideal for bikepackers.

• Read our full Focus Atlas 6.8 review

Kinesis Tripster AT

• £1,850 (mudguards extra £60) as tested
• Wonderfully thought-out frame
• Great handling and lots of fun
• Good mudguards
• 700×45mm / 650×52 tyre clearance

The Kinesis Tripster AT is a winter-cum-gravel bike that has practicality and comfort at its core, but this doesn’t mean it’s boring by any means. In fact, it is incredibly fun to ride.

The great-value frame is well-considered with mounts and room for huge 52mm tyres, but its stiffness is also confidence-inspiring and responsive to full-on sprints.

The 1x drivetrain and brakes are made by SRAM. The 40-tooth front chainring and 11-42 cassette mean you can get up most climbs and spin along at a decent speed too. The brakes are powerful and make the bike easy to control.

The mudguards are an extra £60, but are completely worth it, providing excellent coverage, and the rest of the build is solid thanks to alloy components.

• Read our full Kinesis Tripster AT review

Voodoo Nakisi

• £650 as tested
• Cheap and cheerful
• Well kitted out
• Heavy

The Voodoo Nakisi is a great bike for varied-surface riding. Wide tyre clearance and mounts for a rack and mudguards mean the Nakisi can double as a commuter.

The inclusion of Shimano’s nine-speed Sora groupset is impressive at this price, bringing good shifting and range of gears. This helps to drag the Nakisi’s bulk up steep climbs.

On tricky terrain, the Nakisi feels stable and WTB Riddler Comp tyres provide grip on the dry, stony trails they’re designed for.

• Read our full Voodoo Nakisi review

Fuji Jari 1.3 Adventure

• £1,400 as tested
• A great package for the price
• Decent ride characteristics on- and off-road
• Full set of fittings for accessories
• 700×38mm tyres

The Jari 1.3 is a very well kitted-out gravel machine for the money, and it’s a bike that impresses both on and off the road. The slender aluminium frame and carbon fork include plenty of fittings for touring or bikepacking accessories, as well as the usual mudguard mounts.

It’s great to see WTB’s excellent and hardy STi23 tubeless-compatible gravel rims, and equally impressive to find them paired with 38mm GravelKing SK tyres from Panaracer.

The SRAM 1× drivetrain starts out with a really low crawler gear that will become your very best friend when climbing or riding off-road. It’s a shame that Fuji couldn’t stretch the budget to hydraulic discs, although the performance of the Tektro mechanical discs was a pleasant surprise.

• Read our full Fuji Jari 1.3 review

Merida Silex 400

• £1,400 / AU$2,199 / €1,499 as tested
• Unusual MTB-inspired geometry
• Quality hydraulic disc groupset
• Good overall value
• 700×42mm / 650×42mm tyre clearance

There’s a lot of mountain bike influence in Merida’s Silex 400 and that’s a very good thing. By combining a long reach figure with a short stem, the Silex 400 positions its rider perfectly to make the most of its brilliant off-road handling.

The frame features mudguard mounts, rack mounts, two cages and double bosses on the fork legs, meaning getting accessorised for touring, bikepacking or adventure riding will not be an issue.

Shimano’s GRX transmission and braking components are mixed with a lot of own-brand parts for a spec sheet that amounts to decent value.

To get even more from the Silex chassis, we think this bike could do with tyres a little wider than the 38mm Maxxis Rambler parts that come as standard. Unfortunately, the narrow internal width of Merida’s Comp SL wheelset means you’d benefit from plumping for a wheel upgrade at the same time.

• Read our full Merida Silex 400 review
• Read our full Merida Silex+ 6000 review

Pinnacle Arkose D2

• £1,205 as tested
• Fabulously capable off-road
• Decent componentry
• Commuter versatility
• 700×45mm tyre clearance

Evans’ own-brand Pinnacle refers to its Arkose as being an adventure road bike rather than an out and out gravel machine. For the price, you get a lot of equipment, including 2×10 shifting and hydraulic braking components that are mostly from Shimano’s latest Tiagra line.

It’s only really a flared handlebar away from being a proper gravel bike, but it’s a perfectly usable drop-handlebar road bike too. There are mounts for mudguards and racks for those who want this bike as a rugged commuter.

The standard 45mm tan-wall WTB tyres excel off-road with huge amounts of comfort and grip but you’ll likely want to swap them if you’re using this bike mostly for commuting. Similarly, you’d be best going for skinnier rubber should you want to make the most of the mudguard mounts.

• Read our full Pinnacle Arkose D2 review

Best titanium gravel bikes

Titanium has become a popular material amongst the best gravel bikes thanks to its inherent properties.

The metal is more resistant to fatigue than aluminium alloy, roughly half the weight of steel and more flexible than carbon fibre, making it a good choice for riders who value performance but want a sleek-looking forever bike that can stand up to the demands of riding off-road.

Enigma Escape

• £3,888 / €4,666 / $5,063 as tested
• Seriously versatile
• Timeless looks
• On- and off-road versatility
• 700×45mm / 650×50mm tyre clearance

If versatility and practicality are what you’re after and you’ve got a taste for titanium, then this is a fine option. We love the timeless look of this bike and its ride delivers a pleasantly damped feel that’s devoid of fatiguing buzz. The Escape’s versatility means it can competently serve as everything from a posh commuter to a long-distance adventure bike.

Some will find the fact it commands a significant premium over comparable steel bikes hard to swallow, and it’s heavier than similarly priced carbon options too.

• Read our full Enigma Escape review

Mason Bokeh Ti GRX Di2

• £6,195 as tested
• Sublime frame with lovely ride quality and great kit
• The chunky tyres make it a little pedestrian on the road and it’s pretty expensive
• 700×45mm tyre clearance

We’ve long been big fans of Mason’s aluminium gravel bike, the Bokeh, so we were pleased to see much of what we loved about that bike has translated across to the titanium version.

There are smart details galore, from the numerous mounts for bottles, racks and mudguards, to the MultiPort cabling system that ensures compatibility with all kinds of drivetrains.

As you’d expect, the ride quality is also excellent. The frameset, custom Mason/Hunt wheels and chunky tyres make for a wonderfully composed ride off-road.

The only issue is that it comes at a relatively high price, but if you’re willing to part with this much cash, you’re unlikely to be disappointed.

• Read our full Mason Bokeh Ti GRX Di2 review

Reilly Gradient

• £3,249 as tested
• Well priced for titanium
• Clever build kit
• Comfortable and quick
• 700×43mm tyre clearance

The titanium Reilly Gradient frame is not only a thing of beauty, the ride it delivers also manages to hit the sweet spot between comfort and speed.

The well-considered build puts Hunt’s 1,629g 4Season tubeless-ready alloy gravel wheelset at either axle and it’s driven and stopped by Shimano’s excellent gravel-specific GRX groupset.

It all adds up to a ride that feels road-bike precise on tarmac, yet controllable off it. It’s reasonably priced too, particularly for a titanium bike that’s built in the UK.

• Read our full Reilly Gradient review

Ribble CGR Ti 650b

• £2,099 as tested
• Great value-for-money build
• Classic ti looks are hard to beat
• 700×47mm tyre clearance

Ribble’s CGR Ti presents exceptional value for money and buckets of versatility, but it’s the classic brushed titanium finish that really got us excited.

The frame isn’t just a pretty face, though. At 1,700g it’s not too heavy for a non-carbon frame and, with generous clearances alongside mudguard mounts, it’s super-versatile to boot.

The CGR Ti has recently been updated with dropped seatstays, a stouter head tube and more road-friendly gearing, but we’ve not had a chance to test whether any of those changes make a significant difference to the ride quality.

• Read our full Ribble CGR Ti 650b review

Moots Routt 45

• £5,600 / $4,999 (frameset only) as tested
• Super-smooth ride and stunning finish
• Huge tyre clearance
• That price tag
• 700×50mm tyre clearance

Straight away, you can tell the Moots Routt 45 is a cut above mass-market titanium frames. Handmade in America, the welds are super-neat and the finish looks expensive. Subtle logos and a Moots head badge complete the frame.

We’re talking about the frame because, despite being available as complete builds in the USA, in the UK Moots bikes are currently only available as framesets. And yes, the £5,600 price tag is only for the frameset.

Riding the Routt 45 with SRAM Force eTap AXS, a Chris King headset and an Enve bar, this bike was everything you’d hope one of the best gravel bikes would be, proving super-smooth to ride on- and off-road with plenty of stiffness when pedalling.

The price puts it in the territory of the very best carbon road bikes, and while the Moots is light, it is not the lightest. But a bike like this will often be heart over head, and with the right finishing kit, it won’t leave you disappointed.

• Read our full Moots Routt 45 review

Best steel gravel bikes

Steel is strong and relatively flexible, making it a good choice for gravel bikes because it will do a lot of work to absorb the vibrations of the surface beneath you.

Paired with wide gravel tyres, it creates a smooth and comfortable ride. It isn’t the lightest material, but when comfort and durability are the most important factors you can’t go far wrong with steel.

Marin Nicasio +

• £845 / $899 / €899 as tested
• Amazing value
• Ideal for bikepacking
• Seriously fun to ride
• 700×35mm / 650x47mm tyre clearance

The Nicasio + proves that simplicity is key when you’re working on a budget. It would be easy to discard this bike based on its simple steel frame and fork, and relatively high weight, but that would be a real mistake. Yes, you’ll feel the weight on steeper climbs, but the cleverly chosen spec and excellent geometry make this bike a treat as soon as the going gets rough.

This is one of the most fun bikes to ride of its kind and yet it retails for less than the frameset of many of the best gravel bikes.

• Read our full Marin Nicasio + review

BiVi Bunker Malvern

• £1,399 as tested
• Charming retro appeal
• Mountain bike-derived drivetrain
• Something a little different

This one’s a bit of a wildcard – you can either see it as an on-trend flat-bar gravel adventure bike or a retro mountain bike with a few modern touches. Either way, the Bunker is an appealing, versatile choice and something a little different to the rest of the best gravel bikes.

We really enjoyed the way this bike combines a retro ride experience with some modern niceties. The 1×11 SRAM GX drivetrain is a good example of this, offering dependable and smooth shifts that are endlessly more appealing than the loose triple setup a nineties MTB would wear.

• Read our full BiVi Bunker Malvern review

Ragley Trig

• £1,700 as tested
• Great handling
• Shimano GRX drivetrain
• 650b wheels
• 700x40mm / 650x47mm tyre clearance

The Ragley Trig is a low-slung steel gravel bike built around 650b wheels and with 2.1 inches of tyre clearance. This adds up to create a bike that promises loads of potential for British gravel riding.

The geometry takes inspiration from classic mountain bike geometry with a slack head-tube angle and long wheelbase, giving plenty of stability on rough terrain. This does mean that when it comes to riding on the road, the Trig isn’t the fastest, but the low, long position lets you push the pace and the chromoly frame is full of springy life.

Ragley has kitted the bike out with a mix of Shimano GRX 400 and 600 parts, with aluminium wheels and WTB Sendero tyres – a good choice for the kind of riding the Trig is suited to.

This steel gravel bike has all the braze-ons you need for bikepacking or commuting.

• Read our full Ragley Trig review

Ribble CGR 725 Steel

• £1,199 / $1,257 / AU$1,965 as tested
• Immensely versatile
• A touch on the heavy side
• Classy steel frame
• 47mm tyre clearance

The CGR 725 Steel gets its name from the slender Reynolds 725 steel tubes it’s constructed with. The frame offers not only a classy look but a cossetting ride that is more about comfort than smashing personal bests.

You can fit 700c, 29er or 650b wheels, making this a chassis you can really tailor to your preferences. Rear rack mounts, clearance for up to 47mm tyres and bosses at the top tube add further versatility. The CGR could happily clock commuting, fitness, adventure or even training miles.

At a smidge over 11kg, it’s a little weighty though, and the TRP mechanical discs are good rather than great.

• Read our full Ribble CGR 725 Steel review

What is a gravel bike?

A gravel bike is a drop-bar bike designed to be ridden on a wide variety of surfaces and not just gravel – even if this is where gravel riding did originate.

The best gravel bikes look a lot like traditional road bikes, but there are four key features that usually distinguish them.

Wider tyres

First and foremost, gravel bikes have wider tyres. Since these bicycles are designed to traverse miles of unpaved roads, their tyres are substantially larger. Likewise, mud clearance is also a concern in these conditions.

Tyre widths range anywhere from 30mm to 48mm. In addition to 700c wheels, it is also common to see smaller-diameter 650b wheels used with higher-volume tyres. Many of the best gravel bike tyres feature a fast-rolling centre tread with knurling or side knobs to improve cornering ability on mixed surfaces.

Tubeless tyres are also commonly found on gravel bikes because the latex tubeless sealant provides a degree of insurance against punctures.

In addition to wider tyres, gravel bikes have geometry that favours stability and comfort.

Geometry

The best gravel bikes have a longer wheelbase than most road bikes thanks to longer chainstays and slacker head-tube angles.

Head tubes are generally taller as well, placing the rider in a more relaxed, upright position. Bottom brackets are often lower, which gives the rider the sensation of riding in, rather than on the bicycle.

The end result of these geometry differences is a more comfortable, confidence-inspiring and forgiving ride than you would find in a typical road bike.

Gearing

Gearing is another area where gravel bikes diverge from the pack.

The rise of gravel bikes has, in turn, been accompanied by the arrival of gravel-specific groupsets. While early gravel bikes might have featured road bike groupsets with compact cranksets, the latest gravel groupsets – including Shimano GRX, Campagnolo Ekar and SRAM XPLR – provide a more suitable and forgiving selection of gears.

Given the terrain, many gravel bikes feature sub-compact cranksets and wide-range cassettes, to give a spread of gearing that remains fast on the road, while providing a low enough bottom gear for off-road climbing.

Double cranksets with 48/32t chainrings are common. Likewise, many gravel bikes come with 1x gearing and super-wide cassettes, keeping the drivetrain simple by removing the front derailleur.

You can read our guide to gravel bike setup for more on gearing choices.

Suspension

In addition to wide tyres, relaxed geometry and low gearing, many of the latest machines have active or passive gravel bike suspension systems built into them.

Much like bikes in the endurance road category, these features could take the form of slender chainstays, a bowed top tube or a skinny seatpost, all of which are designed to flex in order to absorb road chatter.

Some of the best gravel bikes take things one step further by using short-travel suspension forks, such as the Lefty Oliver or aesthetically odd but very effective Lauf Grit fork.

We’ve also seen the arrival of the RockShox Rudy XPLR gravel fork and the Fox 32 Taper-Cast Gravel.

How much do I have to spend on a gravel bike?

Well, that depends on what you define as a gravel bike. A used cyclocross bike, for example, could work perfectly well as a gravel bike and cost you a fraction of the cost of even the most basic ‘true’ gravel machine.

If you’re looking at a purpose-built gravel / all-road bike, expect to pay around £800 / $1,200 for an alloy frame with entry-level components.

A mid-range build from a major brand will likely cost in excess of £2,000 / $2,800 but from this point you should start to see carbon frames and hydraulic disc brakes.

As is normally the case in the cycling world, it’s possible to spend a small (or not so small) fortune on a custom-built bike should you wish to.

We often start First Look Friday remarking on how busy the past seven days have been in the world of cycling, and this week is no exception.

On Monday, Ellen van Dijk smashed the hour record at the Velodrome Suisse. The Trek-Segafredo rider and world time trial champion set a staggering new record of 49.254km, beating Joss Lowden’s record of 48.405km. Jack Luke let us in on his five ways to make cycling fun again (hour-record attempts not included) and we refreshed our pick of the best road bikes for under £3,000 (or $4,000).

On Tuesday, Warren Rossiter brought us news of a 3D-printed stem that costs £500 and his full review of Shimano Ultegra R8170 Di2. Simon von Bromley covered the new Specialized S-Works Torch shoes and we updated our guide to brake and gear cables.

A host of new bike releases were announced on Wednesday, from Rondo, Nukeproof and Devinci, while we published our Bianchi Specialissima Dura-Ace review.

Thursday saw RockShox launch three new forks and new rear shocks. Alex Evans reviewed the RockShox Lyrik Ultimate and RockShox Super Deluxe Coil Ultimate in time for the launch. ENVE also released its updated SES wheel range with the news it’s doing away with rim-brake options – a true sign of the times.

And that brings us to Friday and your weekly round-up of the latest cycling gear…

Campagnolo Levante gravel wheelset

The Campagnolo Levante is the brand’s first dedicated gravel wheelset and is designed to complement Ekar, the brand’s gravel groupset.

Sitting alongside the Bora race wheels and Shamal endurance wheels in Campagnolo’s range, the Levante pairs tech from the brand’s other wheels but has several features to meet the demands of off-road riding.

Like the Bora Ultra WT wheels launched in 2021, the Levante uses Campagnolo’s H.U.L.C carbon fibre and C-Lux finish.

Campagnolo says H.U.L.C technology helps the wheels achieve strength, stiffness and low weights for a confident ride without harshness.

C-Lux is short for Campagnolo Luxury and the finish is said to be smooth enough not to require lacquer, helping to save weight. The finish is also said to make seating gravel bike tyres easier and to reduce abrasion on tyre beads. Campagnolo has opted to etch the wheels rather than use decals.

Campagnolo says the Levante is versatile thanks to its ‘two-way fit’ rim profile, which means the wheelset is compatible with tubeless and clincher tyres.

The 25mm internal width can fit 38mm to 76mm gravel tyres and the 30mm rim depth makes the wheels suitable for gravel racing and bikepacking, according to Campagnolo.

Campagnolo has used cup and cone bearings and straight-pull spokes. The brand says this makes the wheels easily serviceable and consequently suitable for adventure riding, where mechanical expertise and proprietary parts might be lacking.

Campagnolo has introduced a new rim standard on the Levante, called the Mini-Hook. It says this small lip on the rim avoids the complications of matching hookless rims with compatible tyres only, while delivering the benefits of hookless designs – including being able to run lower tyre pressures.

• £1,349.99 / $1,899.95 / €1,575

Oakley Re:SubZero sunglasses

When Oakley relaunched its Sub Zero sunglasses at the end of April as part of its new MUZM collection, it said there would be more retro-inspired releases to follow.

We didn’t have to wait long. Two weeks later, Oakley released the Re:SubZero sunglasses. These glasses take inspiration from the original Sub Zeros but have a more contemporary look and feel.

The Re:SubZeros have a larger lens that uses Oakley’s PhysioMorphic Geometry. Oakley says this enables it to create a frame-less lens with “extended wrap and rigidity” and a “mask-like fit”.

Oakley has used its logo as a central component in the sunglasses’ attachment design, which helps connect the lens with the arms.

Elsewhere, the sunglasses feature Prizm lens technology and Unobtanium nose pads, which you can find in many of the best Oakley sunglasses.

Oakley hasn’t explicitly said the Re:SubZeros are cycling sunglasses. But it does say they are for everyone who wishes to improve their life through sport.

The Re:SubZero sunglasses I have feature a ruby matt lens with arms printed to look like carbon fibre. They are also available with a black, sapphire or ‘dark golf’ lens, which appears to have a reddish hint.

• £201 / $246

Pirelli P Zero Race 4S tyres

In March this year, Pirelli released the P Zero Race 4S, a new four-season tyre said to have a “racing feeling”.

To achieve this, Pirelli uses the same rubber compound as its summer P Zero Race tyre – albeit in a greater thickness – but with several features to make it suitable for riding in the colder, wetter months.

Pirelli has introduced a new siping pattern, which the brand says improves grip on uneven or wet surfaces, as well as helping the rubber warm up faster for better performance in cold weather.

There is a ‘TechBelt’ layer underneath the rubber designed to increase puncture protection. This is made from nylon, and Pirelli says it chose this material because it’s flexible and consequently improves the tyre’s contact patch.

The tyre is the first to be produced in Pirelli’s new factory, which sits just 10km from the brand’s headquarters in Milan. This makes it the first bike tyre the brand has made entirely in Italy since it returned to the cycling market in 2017.

Ahead of the tyre’s launch, Pirelli explained to BikeRadar that having a factory down the road means it can quickly revise designs and test the changes.

The brand also said that due to the difficulty of working with rubber it has to make its formulas less complex when the production is spread across a large area. So manufacturing tyres in one place means it can develop more complex, better-performing compounds.

The tyre is currently available as a 700x26mm or 700x28mm clincher. Pirelli says more sizes and a tubeless tyre version will be available in due course.

• £61.99 / $84.90 / AU$109.99 / €69.90

Le Col x Lion of Flanders Sport Jersey

Knicknamed the Lion of Flanders, Johan Museeuw was arguably one of his generation’s most successful Classics riders.

He won both the Tour of Flanders and Paris–Roubaix three times. His palmarès also includes victories at many other Spring Classics, winning the world championships in 1996 and several Tour de France stages.

This cycling jersey from Le Col honours one of Museeuw’s most impressive victories. Racing Paris–Roubaix in 2002, he attacked on the Pavé de la Rosée before soloing to victory. This was one of the muddiest editions in the race’s history and was the final time the Belgian won the race.

The text on the jersey is said to draw on French zinc stencil typography. The red and off-white design mimics the signs put out to mark the beginning of the cobbled sections in the race.

The jersey is Le Col’s new men’s Sport Jersey design. Le Col says it is quick-drying and suitable for relaxed and more challenging rides.

• £95 / $110 / AU$175 / €115