Yahoo News Best gravel bikes for going on an off road adventure
Gravel bikes – ââdesigned to handle both city streets and country paths – are having a bit of a moment. They’ve suddenly become increasingly popular to ride. Why? Well, instead of being limited to just tarmac on a road bike, or only using difficult muddy trails on a mountain bike, they tend to pull together features of both – meaning that you can stitch together sections of road, gravel, trail and cycle paths, and get the best of both worlds.
Before you buy a bike it’s always wise to have a rough idea about what you want to use it for and where you’re going to ride it. Do you just want something nifty to speed up your commute? Or are you looking to enter road races and chase segments on Strava? Are you dreaming of soaring down open roads as fast as possible or bouncing your way across dirt tracks and through cobbly streams? What trails and roads are around where you live?
If you’re not sure about your answers to any of the above, or you simply want to keep your options as open as possible, then this is where a double duty gravel bike comes in. To sum it up in a sentence, gravel bikes are essentially just road bikes that don’t mind a few pebbles and the odd trail.
Key things to look for? Durable, high-quality components, rack and fender mounts and hill-friendly gearing. “Just like a road bike, the fit is key for gravel if you’re planning on spending multiple hours in the saddle – so make sure you know what size you need,” advises Mike Anderson, from online bicycle retailer Freewheel. “Also, check gear ratios and tyre clearance as both will have an effect on what terrain the bike can handle.”
Whether you’re looking to bike-pack into the wilderness or tear up singletrack, here are our top picks of rugged gravel bikes, designed to excel across any terrain.
Genesis Fugio 30
Combining a rather compelling spec list with a loud Reynolds 725 steel frame, this gravel bike combines lightweight carbon forks (so it works well both on and off-road) with 47c wide tyres – which means it copes on rougher terrain in comparison to skinnier tyred options. So if you’re looking for something that can handle a daily commute but also a cross-continental trip, you won’t be missed in this bright and bold bike. As Genesis says, “when your riding is this rowdy, you need a paint job to match”.
Canyon ââGrizl CF SL 8
Best suited for off-road cycle touring and bumpy yet open trails, this functional, clean-looking, classic-yet-modern Canyon Grizl merges stable handling with long-distance comfort. The highlights? It’s incredibly versatile, it boasts robust DT Swiss gravel wheels and 45 mm tyres, and it has a decent range of bikepacking mounts. The Grizl is a do-it-all beauty.
Look Gravel 765
This bike is the epitome of luxury – where high-end price meets high-level performance. Finished with super glossy paint, the Look carbon champagne 765 gravel bike is designed for “weekend warriors, gravel purists or seasoned racers in search of marginal gains”. With electronic shifts and groupset, this lightweight machine is very much a race-focussed gravel bike. Use it on the road with regular road-sized wheels and tyres or up to 40c tyres if you want a mix of road and dirt.
Liv Devote Advanced
For the ladies who prefer a female-specific frame, it doesn’t get much better than Liv. Their gravel offering is versatile in both design and spec. And it looks pretty great, too. With mighty hydraulic disc brakes and an excellent range in gears, tubeless tires and carbon frame and fork, this eye-catching gravel offers lots of stability, which makes it a great choice if you’re just getting into adventures further off the beaten track.
Specialized Diverge E5
The newest edition of the Specialized Diverge combines the best components from the S-Works range –topping road and mountain bikes – creating something that sits perfectly in the middle. The aluminium frame, which provides a stiff and durable platform, is married to a carbon fork – balancing it out to become light, lively and versatile. Other noteworthy features include plenty of rack mounts, progressive geometry and a fancy power saddle.
Vaast A/1
From up-and-coming, sustainable brand Vaast, the A/1 is made from ‘super magnesium’ (that weighs less than aluminium and titanium and is stronger than both), rather than carbon fibre, the latter of which may be good for speedy, lightweight bikes but is not so great for the planet. The A/1 – named as the ‘all road’ bike – is perfect for exactly that: all roads. It’s essentially a fantastic eco-friendly alternative for any climate-conscious rider.
Cervelo Aspero-5 Gravel bike
This is the latest race aggressive, lightweight gravel bike from Cervelo. Its aim? To win gravel races. With a stunning, super-clean, full carbon frame, top-spec components and innovative design touches, including specially optimised tubes to increase aerodynamic efficiency, if you’re after something fast – this is the racer you want. Unfortunately, though, the range-topping Aspero-5, with fancy electronic gear shifting and lots of weight savings is in very limited supply at the moment.
Also available at Sigma Sports
Polygon Bend R5 Gravel bike
Although there are slightly limited sizing options with this gravel bike, the Polygon Bend R5 offers better value-for-money than most. Pairing an alloy frame and a carbon fork with 41mm WTB Venture tyres – and enough space if you want to size up slightly – this gravel bike is ideal for doubling up as a commuter bike during the week and an adventure bike at the weekend. It also comes with a flat-mount that is compatible with carriers and fenders, which is super useful for those longer explorations.
Cannondale Synapse
If you like gravel biking, but you don’t fancy working too hard on those dirt paths, there’s no shame in opting for an assisted e-gravel bike. E-bikes, in general, have surged in popularity recently, and this Bosch powered Cannondale is a particularly exciting model. The Bosch eBike System’s Active Line Plus motor delivers up to 25kmh of assistance – ideal for giving you an extra oomph up those hills – with a battery range stretching to 220km/137 miles. Plus, it looks pretty trendy too.
Cannondale Topstone 3
For fans of Cannondale looking for an entry-level gravel bike (and one that’s not turbocharged), the Topstone 3 is a great starting point. Constructed with Cannondale's light Smartform C2 Alloy and a carbon fork with great clearance for larger gravel tyres, this gravel bike handles pretty nicely while offering durability ââand capability over all different types of terrain. We like that it also has a removable fender bridge which is simple to bolt on when you want fenders, and then vanishes when you don't.
Verdict
It’s a truth universally acknowledged that the best cycling adventures happen off the beaten track – which means you’ll need to leave the road bike at home and hop on an adventure gravel bike instead. We really love the range-topping model from Genesis. Perhaps we’ve been a little swayed by the outrageously fun paint job, but with a wide range of gears and hydraulic discs, it’s not just pretty to look at – it’s also both durable and stable, ticking our boxes for a bike that feels at home both on and off-road.
