Best Gravel Bikes : Intro

A gravel bike might be top of your list for some strange reason. But do you really need one, and MORE importantly – have you got what it takes to be able to use a gravel bike to its full.

What Is Gravel Biking?

The world of gravel cycling has moved on in massive leaps and bounds in 2019 thanks to the many professionals and amateurs who have joined the ranks of gravel cyclists, and to those in the USA who have found a new type of cycling that does not involve roads.

Gravel biking has taken off big style and has already seen many big name race wins and quite a lot of big and small companies improve and build gravel bikes purely for gravel roads and gravel riding.

Dirty Kanza in the USA is probably the best well known race of them all, and attracts some of the best professional road and gravel riders to the event. Think Laurens Ten Dam and Colin Strickland. Barry Roubaix ( Yes I Know) is probably the one most riders would love to win due to the prize money available.

The biggest names in gravel bikes are no longer the usual suspects seen in road bikes. There are many unfamiliar names that have come to light recently, and a few of those bikes have been ridden to 1st place recently in gravel bike races.

Do NOT buy a Gravel Bike Unless?

If you live in places like the UK you will be limited to what you actually gain from owning a gravel bike. For starters, there are not that many fire roads or good quality off road areas to go cycling with a gravel bike.

If you do not have much single track it is pointless buying a gravel bike. You will not get full use of it. I come from the North, near Wigan and the nearest place for me to use a gravel bike to its full was Rivington pike. This was a 10k ride on roads just to get there. Yes, you can find the odd back road but even then you still get a number of cars on them which can make them quite dangerous on blind bends.

I also had a small forest section close by, but this was also used by many walkers and dog walkers. They are not perfect for gravel riding.

The other option which is great is the canal paths. You can find that some people will not move from their position when you are trying to pass them. Due to the amount of people now riding on canal paths be very careful when you pass someone.

On a good dry canal path, a road bike with 28mm tyres will suffice. I know as I have done it. But in the UK where it rains a lot, these paths can be difficult, crowded and become boring.

You may be better just using your hardtail mountain bike and doing what many others have done. Fit a set of 34mm smooth tyres and enjoy the gravel paths and road at the same time. Plus you will save yourself the money from buying a new gravel bike, only to find that it seems to be on the tarmac road most of the time.

The UK does not have that many great off-road routes designed for gravel bikes, which is a shame considering the number of cyclists there. To find them you can do a simple search online for gravel tracks in your area.

There will be more in the North of England and a few in places like Dartmoor and the hills in Somerset. Anywhere where there are mountains should provide a few decent routes, but do not be surprised by the lack of quality for gravel riders.

Best Gravel Bikes ; What Is A Gravel Bike?

A gravel bike gives you the best of all worlds. It is a combination of a road bike for going out with your road riding friends, or a sportive bike, for those who want to enter and compete in any of the sportive competitions are now throughout the year.

My gravel bike has a fairly smooth tire fitted of 34mm. I know this size is great for the tracks I use through the forests, but also gives me the capability of hammering along on the road at around 30 kph on the flat.

I still ride on the road, but nowhere near as often as I used to. The UK where I am from has many road riders. I feel sorry for them as the conditions for road cycling in the UK are poor, really poor. The roads are dangerous with hundreds of potholes, and the manner of driving in many areas is negative towards cyclists.

Should you have a wad load of cash you can buy a top of the market gravel bike that will be designed for both gravel riding and road riding.

You will have a choice of 700 or 650b wheels to match your bike, with different tyres fitted for either off-road riding, or road riding. If you are combining both, then you can use your gravel wheels.

It is a bike that can be fitted with quality and mile crunching 30mm road tyres for a smooth and enjoyable ride with friends from the bike club on their 6k road bikes, or up to 42 mm gravel riding tyres for a super-smooth feeling when travelling on dirt tracks or forest roads, my preferred riding these days.

This is great for having one bike that allows you to enjoy the off-road feeling of riding through the trees and across the farm tracks and forest roads and also allows you to enjoy the road rides with your club and mates on a Sunday.

Top of the range bikes do not come cheap (actually some do), but if you think about what you are paying for you are actually getting two bikes in one, so can really look at them both costing 50% of what two bikes would have cost you.

Then there is a cyclocross bike for those who want to ride on the fire tracks in the hills or the canal tracks along the river, or if you are feeling strong, enter a cyclocross competition famous in Belgium with their own UCI Competitions, and now available in the UK. It is a bike that can be fitted with quality and mile crunching 30mm tires, or a slightly wider and smoother on the rough terrain  42 mm smoother feeling tires for off-road and on road use.

A gravel bike is not a mountain bike. It is great for fire roads and rough single track trails, but it is not designed to do any kind of jumps. If you want to hit the rocks then stick to mountain bikes for this.

It will be much quicker than a mountain bike on single track roads that are not too technical. If your type of riding is single tracks and gnarly tree feet, then you should stick to mountain bikes.

Gravel riding is also a great way to get out into the fresh air and exercise to burn some fat. You can go flat out if you like or just ride through the hills, forests or on the road and get the benefits of being outside in the fresh air and losing weight at the same time.

Don’t forget about the all important heart rate monitor. I cannot do without this as it makes your riding so much more enjoyable when you can see the figures you are achieving and the miles ticking away.

I was always a roady, up and down the silky smooth roads in Switzerland all day long, covering around 100 km each time I went out. I now do around 70 km on my gravel bike, but mainly through the forest tracks and paths designed for tires that are around 30 mm or more. The difference it makes to your ride is amazing and not to be missed.

Is A Gravel Bike The Same As A Cyclocross Bike

In many respects it is, and you could ride a pure cyclocross bike on the road, no problem, and use it with your mates on that Sunday ride. The Canyon Inflite Is a prime example of a gravel come cyclocross bike that won the 2020 World Cyclocross Championships but with a unique set of tyres could easily be used as your road bike.

Cyclocross is a sport mainly seen in Belgium where a road bike style with bigger, wider tires and drop style road handlebars are used to compete in serious competitions to win real cash prizes and world championships.. Think Wout Van Aert and you are there. Probably the best all round biker in the world, and a cyclist who competes all year round, rather than train for ONE specific race a year.

The courses are normally short off-road dirt and gravel tracks through forest paths as they are fast and furious courses where the rider is at 100% max from the moment the bell goes until they reach the finish line. Normally under 2 hours long but unbelievably competitive.

If you have ever entered an off-road competition, you will know exactly what I mean about competitive. As soon as the bell goes for the start, you seem to hit max RPM on your heart rate monitor and do not seem to slow down until you cross the line for the finish.

Gravel riding is also a great way to get out into the fresh air and exercise to burn some fat. You can go flat out if you like or just ride through the hills, forests or on the road and get the benefits of being outside in the fresh air and losing weight at the same time.

Choosing The Right Bike For Gravel And Road

In 2018 and 2019, my dream bike was always The MEGA BUCKS Specialized S-works Diverge. This was what I used to look at and wish I could own. At a price of around £8000, there was no way I was ever going to see one in my house. At the age of 60, I could not justify owning a bike like this as it would never repay me.

Fortunately, I never bought one and spent so much money on a bike that does not quite live up to its name. They sell mainly it to those who have a shed load of cash to buy one. The S-works Diverge is not actually a bike designed purely for gravel AND off-road,

It is a very expensive frame combined with a top of the range wheel set and a top of the range group set.

Fortunately, few more gravel bikes have now shown the light AND overtaken the S-works as the most wanted bike to buy for gravel riding and road use.

So move on down the ladder Mr really expensive Specialized S-works Diverge and make way for a few more exciting options for a much smaller price.

Our List of Gravel Bikes

We do not go into details about the bikes and how it rides and handles. What we do is list the warranties, components, prices, and places to buy, plus a couple of reviews from cycling magazines. You will have to decide the other facts on frame size and choice.

With those with lower quality warranties lower down the pecking order. Those with abysmal warranties will be at the bottom of the list. It is your choice.

The choice of gravel bikes will include steel, titanium, aluminum, and carbon frames from any frame maker who builds a gravel bike. If the bike you are looking for is not here, then please drop us an email and we will add it.

The components will be from SRAM, Shimano, and Campagnolo and other specialists and wheels will be mentioned if we find a warranty for them.

We only list the primary name of the group set that the bike is using and rate that group set on what others have said about it in the past, or on our experience. With that in mind, I am not currently a big fan of SRAM having had issues with my current group set in the middle of my gearset on my current gravel bike.

In all the years I have used shimano (road, mtb and gravel) I have never had any issues like the current one with SRAM that I could not sort out.

Plus SRAM is not an easy group set to mix parts around, unlike shimano where you can mix Road with Offraod parts quite easily.

For my own problems, I have just reverted to an old system of days gone by. A 10 speed group set of Dura Ace levers with an XTR reverse rear mech. Climbing mountains with gears in reverse has always been the easiest setup I have had, and one I have just gone back too.

I am still not a big fan of electronic, even though it has come a long way in recent times. I like to have full control of my bike and be able to make adjustments on the move if I need too, and that is not always possible with electronic parts.

Pivot Vault Gravel Bike

Specialized S-Works Diverge

Scott Addict CX RC Gravel Bike

Norco Search XR Carbon

Felt VR2

Cannondale Topstone Gravel Bike

Trek Checkpoint SL 6 Gravel Bike

Mason Definition 2 Rival 1X Gravel Bike

Canyon Grail CF SLX 8.0 DI2

GT Grade Gravel Bike

GIANT REVOLT ADVANCED O

Kona Rove 2019 Gravel Bike