Best gravel bike: Our favourite bikes for drop-bar off-road action

The best gravel bikes let you take on untarmacked surfaces, but will in most cases allow you to keep up a good turn of speed on-road too, so that you can head to a wider range of places.

We recently tested a range of gravel machines in our Cyclingnews gravel bike awards field test. We pitted a range of gravel bikes under a price point of £4000 against one another and learned a lot in doing so. We have also added the best budget racer, and best racer best budget bike to this guide as well (no.15 and 16) as well as our testing notes for the YT Szepter, and Fairlight Secan which also feature in this guide. 

If you're not sure, we've got a guide to what is a gravel bike, which explains more about this ever-more-popular style of bike. Although many gravel bikes are generalists, there's a proliferation of fast gravel race bikes, as well as bikes that will let you load up and head off on multi-day off-grid adventures, loaded up with bikepacking bags.

As gravel has increased in popularity, there's been an increase in gravel-specific components, including gravel groupsets, gravel wheels, tyres and a whole collection of kit such as gravel shoes too. 

After extensive testing, we've rounded up our pick of the best gravel bikes below, but we've also got guides to the best women's gravel bikes, the best budget gravel bikes and even electric gravel bikes if you're looking for some other choices. 

Read on for our pick of the best gravel bikes, or scroll down to the bottom of the page for our guide on how to choose the best gravel bike for you.

Best gravel bikes: Quick list

Best gravel bikes available today

Best all-rounder

We've always been fervent admirers of the Specialized Diverge and its ever-evolving capabilities. Having sampled all three versions since its inception in 2014, this edition has taken an already winning formula and tempered it into yet another stellar offering.

The geometry is more progressive than before, featuring a slacker headtube angle, a longer reach and a shorter stem. The fork has also received some adjustments and now boasts a longer offset while the trail number ensures greater steering response and front-end agility. The bottom bracket drop has been raised by 5mm for all frame sizes while the chainstays have marginally grown to 425mm.  

The range-topping S-Works Diverge comes dressed in a combination of SRAM's road and mountain bike electronic components. Often referred to as a mullet build, it combines eTap AXS road levers with an Eagle AXS rear derailleur and 10-50T cassette - an arrangement which fully complements the Diverge's multi-faceted skillset and left-field demeanour. 

Other noteworthy components include an X-Fusion Manic dropper post which offers just 50mm of travel, Roval Terra CLX gravel wheels, an Easton EC70 AX Carbon bar with 16-degree flare, a Specialized S-Works Future Stem with integrated Bar Fly computer mount and an S-Works Power saddle.

The Specialized Diverge is the quintessential adventure bike. It can tackle anything from fast-paced road rides and long-haul gravel adventures to CX-style lap racing with consummate ease. Furthermore, the Diverge range - as a whole - caters for every kind of rider and budget imaginable, making it one of the most accessible bikes of its kind on the market. 

Read our Specialized S-Works Diverge review for even more details as to why we love it.

Best value

The Ribble Gravel SL manages to mix fast with a dose of adventure for a bike that can be configured as you like your gravel. There's a wide range of builds available and options for customisation beyond that. Unfortunately what you won't find are any 2x options despite the ability to mount a front derailleur. 

Taking full advantage of the customisation Ribble has a reputation for, our test bike was a mix and match. The groupset was the SRAM Rival 1 AXS from near the bottom of the SRAM hierarchy but the wheels got an upgrade to the Zipp 303s in 700c. In an effort to add even more on-road usability, the bar and stem was also swapped to the one-piece aero option from the top spec build that Ribble offers. 

There are loads of mounts, including on the fork legs, making the Gravel SL a do-it-all gravel bike rather than a specialist gravel racer. It even works well for winter road use with mudguards.

Read our full review of the Ribble Gravel SL for more on the bike's versatility.

Most fun

If you're coming to gravel from mountain biking, or you're after a bike that is best suited to doing laps of the trail centre rather than 100 milers, then the Szepter, from German mountain-bike specialists YT has got to be on your list. It's probably the funnest gravel bike on the market today as we found out when we first rode it.

Its main talking points have to be the Rockshox Rudy XPLR front suspension and, in the case of this Core 4 model, the Rockshox Reverb XPLR dropper post. They combine to create a bike that, in our experience, can float over the rough stuff with ease and descend steep trails with confidence. 

But it's not all about going downhill, when we reached the bottom of the trail and needed to work our way back up, we found that the steep seat angle puts you into a planted, powerful position over the pedals, while the relaxed head angle helped to maintain control and precision, even on tight, steep uphill hairpin corners. 

We rode the slightly cheaper Core 3 Szepter model during our gravel bike testing. We enjoyed riding this version just as much. The non-ultimate version Rudy fork on the Core 3 doesn't feature lockout, however, so there may be a little more bob on the road or hardpacked trails. The Szepter is a bike for having fun on though and whilst there may be quicker bikes on the fast and flat. If you want a smile on your face and a bike that can get loose this is it. 

Best racer

The Factor Ostro Gravel is an unabashed aero gravel race bike - in fact the UCI would let you use it in its sanctioned road races alongside the best aero road bikes. It's light too, with a 900g claimed frame weight and 7.9kg total weight for the review bike with pedals and extras included.

We rated the Black Inc integrated cockpit and wheels, as well as the fast-rolling Goodyear Connector tyres. Although you could build up the frameset 2x, complete builds are only available 1x with SRAM XPLR.

The ride on smoother gravel is sensationally fast, taut and responsive and encourages you to get down and aero to up your speed, while the Ostro Gravel even copes well with mud thanks to the tyres' side lugs. Things aren't so great once it gets rough though, with a jarring ride that makes putting the power down difficult and made landing back on tarmac a relief. 

Check out our Factor Ostro Gravel review for more juicy details.

Adventure companion

The Canyon Grizl is the direct-to-consumer brand's idea of a do-everything-go-anywhere gravel bike that's designed to take on everything from epic gravel rides to laden exploration, covering a broad spectrum of terrain.

If you're already familiar with the Canyon Grail, you may wonder why the brand has added another gravel bike to its line-up, and the answer is to create something that's more of a rugged explorer than a lightweight race machine. If you're after the latter, the Grail could be more up your street, whereas the Grizl comes with a longer wheelbase that provides a more stable and comfortable ride feel over long periods of time.

There are plenty of mounts on the frame for accessories, including anything cage mounts of the fork that can carry up to 3kg on each side. However be warned that the mudguard mounts are only compatible with Canyon's mudguards.

Canyon Grizl CF SL 8 1BY - First look gallery

Budget adventure

If you're planning some rambunctious off-road adventures that will involve tackling rough terrain, the Polygon Bend R5 is a good value-for-money choice. The ALX alloy frame is mated with a carbon fork, and the angular tubes are hydroformed to produce a blend of stiffness and compliance that work well together.

The Polygon Bend R5 comes stock with 650b wheels and 41mm WTB Venture tyres, though there's definitely more space if you want to size up slightly. We reckon that with 80mm between the fork legs, you could easily squeeze in something over 2-inches and still have room for mud.

The Bend R5 is a versatile steed that could serve as a commuter during the week and a gravel adventure mule at the weekend. It comes with two build options: 2x or 1x Shimano GRX drivetrain, with the latter also including a Tranz-X dropper post. All the finishing kit is supplied by Entity, Polygon's in-house components brand.

Our Polygon Bend R5 review will cover all these points in more detail and more besides.

Comfort first

Trek is on the pointy end of the pack when it comes to comfort technology, and it shouldn't come as a surprise to find the brand's IsoSpeed decoupler integrated into the seat cluster — though we are surprised not to have it at the front too. 

The frame sees Trek's high-end OCLV carbon fibre and the back features the brand's Stranglehold sliding dropout; allowing the Checkpoint to be run as a single speed and the chainstays to be adjusted by 15mm for slight changes in wheelbase and handling characteristics.

The Checkpoint also features mounts galore and bash guards on the down tube and chainstays. The drive-side chainstay has also been dropped to allow for additional tyre clearance as well as room for a wider variety of front chainrings.

We've got a Trek Checkpoint SL 6 review for you if you need some more information.

Do-it-all steel

Another versatile gravel bike, the custom Reynolds steel tubed Fairlight Secan 2.5 has the skinny good looks of the best steel bikes and details like a third in-frame set of bosses on larger frame sizes and custom-made dropouts.

The smallish volume manufacturing means that you can choose your own geometry and spec for the Secan. We've ridden the bike under pretty much every gravel scenario and come away impressed by its do-it-all nature. Add big tyres and you can tackle MTB territory; load up and it's a bikepacker; thinner tyres and it's a pretty good cyclocross bike; slicker ones and it's good for that 300km Audax ride.

The Secan was also featured in our gravel bike group test and came away with the best backpacker award due to its customisable nature and steel frame. It's a really solid all-rounder that's fast and nimble on the flat but can also handle a surprising amount of rough stuff. 

Want to know just how we've been using and abusing the Fairlight Secan 2.5? Read our long term review.

Budget titanium

A titanium frame makes this gravel adventure bike feel like absolute luxury, with a gliding ride feel that makes it well suited for road and off-road alike. The Ribble CGR Ti is a great bike for exploring dirt options without becoming a barge pilot on back roads. 

Ribble offers several build options for the CGR Ti, ranging from its 700 x 40mm Schwalbe G-One tyre ‘SUV’ versions in Shimano 105, Ultegra and Ultegra Di2, to its ‘hero’ SRAM Red eTap AXS spec, plus this chunky 650b x 47mm rubber gravel option with Shimano’s GRX RX810 mechanical group.

While cheaper titanium frames make use of the same materials, Ribble's consists of expensive triple-butted, multi-shaped pipework that provides the kind of sprung resilience that is the whole point of titanium in the first place. What results is a strong, compliant frame that glides over the rough stuff.

Check out our Ribble CGR Ti gravel bike review to hear more about how the titanium frame rides.

Versatile racer

The Enve MOG is a gravel bike that's fast enough for racing, but comes with all the mounts and other options to make it much more versatile than the majority of the best gravel race bikes. It's stiff like a race bike and lively, but not so much so that it's scary to ride. 

Despite its racing bent, the MOG comes with all the mounts a bikepacker might want, including on the fork legs. There's a storage cubby in the down tube and you can fit a dropper post. Although it's aero optimised for 42mm tyres, you can fit 50mm rubber if you want more squish.

You can buy the MOG as a "rolling chassis" including Enve bar and seatpost and Enve now sells an Ekar build - complete with Enve Foundation AG25 wheels of course.

See how we got on with the Enve MOG at the launch event in our review.

Custom carbon

Argonaut's build-to-rider model means that if it doesn't have a mould for a frame that will fit you, it will construct a new one. It also matches the carbon lay-up to your power, weight and riding style. Strange thing is, it's cost is competitive with off-the-shelf gravel bikes from the big brands.

Argonaut has achieved very short 415mm chainstays for agility but still retained 50mm tyre clearance. It's used tight clearances to do this, although that does mean that crank arm power meter pods aren't an option. The GR3 is light too, at 7.6kg.

The head tube angle is an exceptionally slack 68.5 degrees, which leads to downhill stability, which in turn means you don't need to concentrate too hard to get to the bottom fast. With everything custom, you can choose your own build. 

You can read more of our launch ride around Bend, Oregon in our Argonaut GR3  first ride review.

Best titanium

Moots and its titanium frames have achieved almost legendary status. The RSL is the brand's raciest gravel bike option, with its premium custom butted tubing and 3D printed dropouts. Although not totally custom, Moots frames can be tweaked to your requirements.

Beyond the frame itself, the build is also customisable. The 50mm tyre clearance means that your options aren't limited and you can fit something that will take you into tough terrain.

We raved about the ride feel that's stiff at the head tube and bottom bracket, but disperses vibration and larger hits for great comfort. Although the frame and fork aren't the lightest, the ride surpasses this.

You can read more about our 320km endurance ride on the Moots Routt RSL here.

Best lightweight gravel bike

Once Tom Pidcock's cyclocross race bike, the latest generation S-Works Crux has turned its attention to gravel. It's still light though: 7.25kg light, which Specialized claims makes it the lightest gravel bike in the world.

The Crux inherits a lot of the lightweight tech from the S-Works Aethos and applies it to a gravel bike. The Crux's 700c x 47mm/650b x 2.1" tyre clearance means that you can fit wide rubber, as well as using the Crux as a racing rig, and Spesh has tweaked the geometry for increased stability. The front end still runs external hoses, rather than being integrated, and there's a two-part bar and stem though. 

We felt a little underbiked on even unaggressive terrain, where a less edgy geometry or wider tyres would have helped, but the Crux's gravel racing (and cyclocross racing) credentials are impeccable.

You can read more of our experience of the bike in our Specialized S-Work Crux first ride review.

Best budget racer

The Vitus Venon Evo-GR put a smile on all of our testers' faces when they rode it during our gravel bike group test. It's a racy and aesthetically pleasing gravel option that looks fast standing still. 

The Evo-GR encourages you to go faster, everywhere and we found ourselves riding more aggressively and attacking sections at pace on it. It could make an excellent cyclocross bike and you could even swap out the tyres and it would perform well as a road or crit machine. If you are looking to invest in one bike that could do a lot for you this would be a solid option. 

The spec choices are nice, with an electronic AXS groupset, carbon wheels and Prime carbon handlebar all standing out. We really like the teardrop profile of the drops of the bar and they felt really nice to hook into.

Best budget bike

The Boardman ADV 9.4 came away from our testing with the best value award. For the money, the Boardman arrives with a carbon fibre frame and a Sram Rival AXS groupset which we were impressed with. 

The components are all easily interchangeable and there aren't really any proprietary parts or hardware to cause you any headaches at home. The wheels, which come with good Panaracer tyres are probably the area owners may look to upgrade in the future and we arrived at the conclusion that a wheelset is easier to change and upgrade than a groupset. The electronic shifting is already in place here for you. 

Ride-wise, we found the Boardman to be solid, if a little uninspiring but it's a good bike for the money and a nice option. An upgraded wheelset further down the line would probably improve the ride feel and experience.  

Best of the rest

Before she defected to Team Ineos, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot won the inaugural UCI Gravel World Championships on the BMC Kaius. It's that kind of a bike.

Everything is aero. The one piece bar/stem, for example, is only available in one width: 36cm wide at the tops - even narrower than the Trek Madone - and placing your arms closer for a more aero ride. The drops flare out to 42cm and BMC has countered any tendency to edginess with a large trail and bottom bracket drop.

The One spec gets a SRAM Red AXS XPLR groupset and Zipp 303 Firecrest wheels, although the two lower specs are 2x and have a separate bar and stem.

Despite the racy credentials, the Kaius handles like a gravel bike on rough terrain and is comfortable enough for long ride days. It's expensive but not out of line with the best gravel race bikes from other brands.

Read our review for our experience racing the BMC Kaius 01 One.

Canyon's Grail is a bit of an odd bird. The frame itself is clean with all the lines making for a relatively futuristic look until you get to the cockpit, where you are met with a tiered drop bar.

Now called the Grail Cockpit, we think the name it was launched under is a more apt description — the Hover bar. The idea behind this double layer handlebar is two-fold; the top layer provides a degree of suspension and shock absorption using flex built into the floating section, while the crossbar that connects to the drops gives you something to hook your thumbs around for improved grip and control — similar to what you get with Road Togs — not to mention increased stiffness.

Canyon says there is only room for a 40mm tyre, and geometry is pretty close to the brand's Endurace, so it's better suited to big days on fire roads than spicy singletrack. 

Curious to find out more? Then read our Canyon Grail CF SL 7 review.

While gravel suspension may be relatively new, it does seem to be taking hold, with different interpretations on the theme from different manufacturers. Eschewing traditional telescopic suspension forks the BMC URS One has a fork vaguely reminiscent of an original Cannondale Headshok. It's not the easiest suspension fork to dial in, requiring replacement of preload spacers and stiffer/softer springs, but it is super reactive across rough ground.

The tyre clearance, at 45mm, could be larger, particularly given the 'Gravel Plus' moniker, but despite this our first impressions of the URS One are that it's extremely capable. 

In addition to the suspension, the geometry of the frame makes for an extremely stable ride. In contrast to the Basso Palta II, the BMC URS One, with its long wheelbase and slack head angle, positively encourages you to bite off more that you'd otherwise be able to chew.

Are you into the more rowdy end of the gravel spectrum? Then the BMC URS One gravel bike review should be on your reading list.

With the Silex+ 8000-E, Merida has taken its proven model bearing the same name and swapped out the 700c wheels for 650b, which affords chunkier tyre options and makes it even more suitable for rough riding.

The Silex+ is definitely the type of gravel bike that tries to disassociate itself from any tarmac relatives. With its 45mm Kenda Flintridge Pro tyres, tall stack and slack geometry, it's definitely an off-road ready machine. It's hugely capable as well, with a relaxed fit and handling that leaves you feeling composed and in control at all times.

It really comes into its own when you descend off-road, thanks to its high stack, long reach and short step. It has plenty of space for you to shift position, while the compliant frame helps to absorb some of the chatter while you roll over rough sections at speed.

If you want to know more about how it rides then be sure to read our Merida Silex+ 8000-E review.

Released in January of '21, Focus was rather late to the gravel party when it launched its Atlas gravel bike, but being late can be fashionable, right?

We were one of the first to test the Focus Atlas 6.8 gravel bike prior to its release, and we found it to be tough, versatile and adaptable. These are all great qualities if you want to load up and escape the everyday for a while. The Atlas is definitely on the smooth-ride easy-cruiser end of the gravel spectrum, which means it's not as light as some of its competitors, but it's robust enough to load up on luggage and take out for a long and exploratory ramble.

The alloy frame has a large, rectangular downtube with triple-mounts for adjustable bottle cage positioning, while the seat tube features a plugged entry point for a dropper post, should you wish to install one.

The Atlas 6.8 comes equipped with 700c wheels, but is also 650b compatible, and has clearance for up to 45mm tyres. One of the nice additional features is the top tube bag that comes with every bike as standard. 

As the range's second-highest model, the 6.8 is kitted out with a mixture of Shimano GRX 600 and 800 drivetrain components, as well as Novatec tubeless-ready wheels and WTB Riddler tyres.

Have a read of our Focus Atlas 6.8 review if you're curious to know more.

The Cannondale Topstone Carbon has had a makeover since we last reviewed it, which adds extra tyre clearance and dispenses with its Ai symmetric dished rear wheel, so that the frame is now compatible with some of the best gravel bike wheels.

It's retained its Kingpin rear suspension though, which gives you 30mm of rear travel in a design that doesn't add a lot of weight over a non-suspended rear triangle.

The Topstone Carbon 3 is kitted out with a Shimano GRX810/600 mixed drivetrain and WTB tyres in 40mm width on WTB rims. If you want more front end suspension, the Topstone Carbon is available equipped with the Lefty Oliver carbon single-legged fork for 30mm of front end travel.

Hit up our Cannondale Topstone review to find out more.

How to choose the best gravel bike for you

Gravel cycling is an incredibly popular branch of the cycling tree, with most brands offering up at least one gravel model. It's hard to know what the ideal gravel bike for you will be when there is such a dizzying array of options on the market, so we've got some answers to the key questions, as well as a few questions you need to answer yourself honestly to get the most out of your new purchase.

As a starting point, decide on a budget. Ultimately as always, this dictates everything. It's probably also a good idea to know what type of off-road riding you think you will be doing most and look for bikes that fit this bill in your research. 

As an example, if you're looking for an aggressive, burly off-road bike to take on tough terrain, a fast, race bike that can handle light gravel duties may not be the best option. 

The converse is true: if you like to ride fast on less demanding gravel and want to be able to keep up a good pace on tarmac as well, you may want to look for a gravel bike that has narrower tyres, higher gearing and possibly aero features.