Best budget gravel bikes – Gravel options that won't break the bank

Budget gravel bikes are going to mean different things to different people. The bikes within this guide represent solid value for money at a price point roughly between £2000 to £4000 (or US dollars). However, if you have a specific price in mind and none of the bikes here are right for you, check out our guides for the best gravel bikes under £1,000 or the best gravel bikes under £2,000 for even more options. 

Luckily for gravel riders on more modest budgets, technology from the best gravel bikes at the upper end of the pricing spectrum trickles down towards the best entry-level gravel bikes and all the ranges in between. There are cheap gravel bikes that may not stand up to the beating you want to give them, there are premium gravel bikes that most of us will only ever ride in our dreams, and then in between are the best budget gravel bikes, which hit a sweet spot between the two and offer the best value for money. That's what we're looking at here. Solid, well-equipped bikes, with durable components to handle a range of riding and serve as a platform to upgrade from. 

There are also bikes within this guide that featured in our gravel bike group test and subsequent awards this year. After a decent amount of testing with the CN tech team, we have included are pick of the bunch from those bikes here too. 

Quick list

Best budget gravel bikes

Best value option

The Boardman Adv 9.4 is solid option for the money and represents good value. If you're buying your first gravel bike or upgrading an existing one, there are a lot of plus points to consider here. There's a solid carbon frame, electronic 1x SRAM groupset and a capable enough build kit elsewhere. The OEM wheels are fairly basic, but wheels are pretty easy to upgrade further down the line. 

It has a round, simple seatpost clamp which won't give you any trouble compared to the integrated wedge style clamps that are more involved and can sometimes slip. A non-integrated front-end and standard stem and bars also mean maintenance costs should be lower and you can upgrade the cockpit more easily to get the perfect fit. 

It won our best value award in our recent gravel bike field test, beating a lot of other more expensive machines. The ride itself is solid, if a little unremarkable, but for the price and kit, this bike will see you right.

Best for racing

The Vitus Venon is a real racer and took home the best racer award from our group test. The bike looks purposeful and fast standing still with its deep carbon wheels and wide tyres. 

This feeling continues when riding the bike and the Venon Evo urges you on at every turn, our whole test team found themselves riding more aggressively and putting in digs on every little rise in the road and when accelerating out of corners. It's a really fun bike to ride; you could race cyclocross very easily on it or fit some road tyres and not lose out much there either. 

We really liked the carbon wheels and Michelin tyres and the Prime carbon handlebars have a really nice aero teardrop profile on the drops which although a small point really stood out for us. 

SRAM electronic shifting takes gear of the groupset duties, the only point we raised in this department is that the 42T chainring is possibly a little on the large side for some gravel applications, but fits in well with the fast nature of the bike. 

Best for getting rowdy

We first rode the top-end Szepter Core 4 late last year and the Core 3 model took our most fun award from our group test. If you're coming from mountain bikes to drop bikes or want to challenge yourself with your gravel riding and just have the most amount of fun possible, the Szepter is the bike for you. 

It will cover regular gravel duties just fine, but if you want to really test it off-road, the RockShox Rudy fork and front-end position will let you tackle terrain other bikes will struggle with. We found this ourselves when testing the bike off-road. 

The spec is solid throughout the bike with no corners cut. There's a Zipp aluminium finishing kit, external brake cables for hassle-free headset maintenance and SRAM AXS electronic shifting. The WTB wheels are a good choice and you also get some premium Peaty's tubeless valves included as standard. 

If you want to set off from home on the road, linking some off-road sections into your ride, and hammer some descents and technical sections the Szepter will do it all without breaking a sweat. 

Best for bikepacking

The Fairlight Secan won our best for bikepacking award during our recent gravel group test. The Secan is a steel-framed gravel bike that can do almost anything. Made from quality Reynolds 853 tubing, the geometry is road orientated so the bike feels nimble and quick on the road, but also feels right at home riding off-road on gravel. It's a really nice balance that makes the bike a lot of fun. There are plenty of frame bag mount points, full-length mudguard and pannier rack mount points and you can fit 650b or 700c wheels. 

Our test bike came with GRX Di2 which we really love, but you can spec mechanical options as well as a range of other components on the Fairlight website. Check our in-depth review of the Secan for a more detailed take. 

Best titanium option

While there are cheaper ways of getting a versatile titanium bike, you'd be hard-pushed to find something that looks and feels this luxurious. With its triple-butted, multi-shaped pipework, Ribble's titanium gravel bike hits that sweet spot, offering all-around versatility and a lovely ride feel.

Despite being built from a classic material, there's plenty of contemporary flair to deliver the ride you want from a bike like this. From the dropped seat stays and CNC-machined 3D dropouts to the bolt-through rear axle that doubles as a mech mount to mitigate damage in the event of a crash.

Add to this clearance for 47mm tyres on 650b wheels, plus 700c compatibility, the option for a single or double chainset at the front, and Shimano's flagship 1x GRX groupset, and you're in for a really good time. The CGR Ti rolls on a set of Mavic Allroad Elite wheels shod with chunky WTB tyres (the Byway comes stock, ours had Senderos), and upfront are Ribble's own-brand Level handlebars.

Read how it earned four stars in our Ribble CGR Ti review.

Best for adventure

The second gravel bike to join Canyon's line-up, the Grizl, is all about loading up and heading out into the wilderness. The Grizl adopts some very clever tube wall profiling and composite construction keeping the weight down, while also maintaining some chunkiness to certain parts of the frame which, in partnership with some big volume tyres from Schwalbe, delivers a comfortable and surefooted ride that still feels fun.

Unlike its sibling, the Grail, the Grizl comes with a lot more frame mounts (including three mounts on each side of the fork), custom bikepacking bags and a conventional handlebar, spelling out its purpose very clearly. This is an excellent steed for bikepacking and one that not only rides confidently over rough ground but also offers great value for money.

The specced components are not to be sniffed at, with a full hydraulic Shimano GRX 800-series groupset, tubeless-ready DT Swiss G100 wheels, and a Fizik Argo Terra X5 saddle.

Sizing, meanwhile, is incredibly inclusive, ranging from XXS to XXL, making the Grizl an option that will fit most people's needs. If you want to know more, check out our Canyon Grizl CF SL 8 1by review.

Best of the rest

The Merida Silex 700 is an alloy gravel bike designed with a frame geometry that leans more towards off-road capability than on-road speed. It's capable, fun, and comfortable for hours and hours in the saddle, and the ever-impressive 11-speed Shimano GRX provides smooth shifting and powerful, well-modulated braking. 

It has mounting points on the forks, under the down tube and in all the usual places, so it's good for long-haul bikepacking rides, and its long-reach/short-stem means handling is sharp, without being twitchy. 

Maintenance is made easier thanks to barrel adjusters and hose splitters on the cables, however, the press-fit bottom bracket can cause creaks if not serviced regularly, and the wheels are difficult to set up tubeless without the right tools, so this may present an additional cost to consider. 

While the name doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, this model of the Orro Terra C offers excellent value for money and, despite its race DNA, would make an ideal 'do it all' bike for those who have limited storage space at home. 

It's constructed around a stiff carbon fibre frame that allows the rider to put down sufficient power to accelerate quickly and maintain momentum. Within the carbon layup, high-modulus fibres are interwoven to provide enhanced strength and protect the frame from impact damage, which results in the light, fast and durable beast most gravel racers rely upon.

However, if racing isn't the only reason you're looking at this bike, you'll be pleased to know that it comes with the potential to make an excellent commuter and road bike as well. It's powered by the reliable Shimano GRX 1x groupset, and zippy Fulcrum wheels, offering smooth shifting capabilities, a wide range of gears and the longevity required from a bike that's going to be seeing a lot of use.

Specialized's gravel machine comes in a range of models, with the E5 Comp sitting third from the bottom. This makes it lower-mid-range, meaning it doesn't have all the cheapest parts but is definitely very affordable.

The Diverge E5 Comp is designed to be versatile enough to offer an escape onto gravel back roads away from urban traffic, as well as a place on the start line of a gravel race. 

It features Future Shock 1.5 - the brand's proprietary built-in suspension, to smooth over the bumps and provide a comfortable ride no matter how rough the terrain gets. The FACT carbon fork is paired with an aluminium frame, delivering a light and lively ride. Specialized equipped the Diverge with what it claims to be its most progressive geometry, meaning a relatively slack head angle and long reach to help you feel planted and confident.

It comes specced with 700c Axis Elite Disc wheels but is also compatible with 650B if you wish to add on some wider rubber (up to 2.1in to be precise), and is driven by Sram's Apex mechanical, hydraulic groupset, delivering smooth gravel-specific shifting and powerful braking.

The Topstone 2 makes this list as a versatile bike that is good both on the road and off it. The 700 x 42mm tyre clearance isn't breaking any ground, and the design won't be winning any awards - despite the nice paint schemes - but with mounting points for bottles, bags, racks and mudguards, it's a bike that can see you through a week of commutes, loaded up for a weekend in the wilderness, and stripped back to basics for a road bike that will happily tap out the miles on the tarmac. If you're looking for a one-bike solution, this might just be it. 

There are also no proprietary standards to trip you up, the Topstone 2 has a round seatpost and standard seatpost clamp, external cable routing from the bb shell to the rear derailleur and a regular stem and round handlebar to make maintenance work simpler. 

How to choose the best budget gravel bike for you