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Best gravel bikes 2024 — adventure-ready rides for leaving the tarmac behind

The best gravel bikes will help you ride just about anywhere

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In this buyer's guide you can find out about the best gravel bikes and adventure road bikes available. We've ridden and tested these bikes in real conditions, and this is our pick of the bunch.


Gravel bikes have gone very quickly from the latest craze to a significant part of most bike companies' ranges. These bikes are tailored for long-distance comfort, with disc brakes, big tyre clearance and geometry honed to excel both on the road and off, whether it's a gravel, forest or dirt track.

Descended from touring bikes, endurance road bikes and cyclo-cross bikes, gravel bikes and adventure bikes are go-almost-anywhere machines for riders who want to explore and race on dirt roads, and ride tarmac to get there.

> How much slower is a gravel bike on the road?

Disc brakes allow frame clearances for fatter tyres, making for a bike that can cope with a very wide range of surfaces that points and laughs at potholes.  

If you're working with a budget ranging from £1,000 to £2,000 for a gravel bike, be sure to check out our best gravel bikes under £2000, and if you're planning on sticking to the roads then you'll want to start with our guide to the best road bikes instead. In this guide, hopefully you should be able to find a gravel bike that is to your liking whatever you budget or riding style. 

If you want to know more before choosing your ideal bike, head on down to our Q+A section where we answer some common FAQs about gravel bikes. 

How we review gravel bikes 

With our bike reviews, we make sure that our reviewers have at least a month with each test bike to thoroughly evaluate it before delivering their final verdict.

Most importantly, our gravel bike reviews assess how the bike riders in our usual riding environment, and compare the bike to similar products on the market when generating a value score. Other parts of the bike test report include ratings for the components, efficiency of power transfer, stiffness, handling and finishing kit. We believe this comprehensive evaluation offers valuable insights into what it’s like to ride a gravel bike regularly across various conditions.

Why you can trust us 

Our reviewers are experienced cyclists, as are those of us who put together these buyer's guides, ensuring that our recommendations are based on first-hand experiences. We only ever recommend bikes that fared well in reviews in our buyer's guides, so you're not just seeing a list we've plucked from thin air.

Without further ado... 

The best gravel bikes

Canyon Grail CF SLX 8

Canyon Grail CF SLX 8

9
Best gravel race bike
Buy now for £5149 from Canyon
Very comfortable
Efficient power transfer
Innovative and functional frame storage
Great spec
Looks sleek – even better with the Quickloader frame bag
Smallest sizes have slightly different geometry that might affect ride feel
Stock handlebar is wide

Canyon's Grail gravel bike has been around for a while now, particularly known for its distinctive double-decker handlebars featured on the carbon models. However, the German brand has left those double bars behind in pursuit of enhanced aerodynamics.

The new Canyon Grail continues to offer what its predecessor did: speed without compromising on comfort. It has improved in terms of versatility and would be a great all-rounder for someone who is serious about racing gravel but occasionally fancies a road ride, too.

We’ve also reviewed the Canyon Grail AL 7 eTap which, as the name suggests, is an aluminium version of the brand's flagship gravel bike and it's an excellent choice if you're looking to spend less.

Fairlight Secan 2.5 GRX 820 2x

Fairlight Secan 2.5 GRX 820 2x

9
Best steel gravel bike
Buy now for £3049 from Fairlight Cycles
Amazing ride quality
Loads of mounting points
Exceptional finish
Proportional geometry gives near custom fit
A chain pip would be a nice touch

Fairlight's Strael has impressed us over all of its three versions; in fact it's one of only three road bikes to ever score top marks in the 15 years that we have been reviewing them. The Secan 2.5 is no different, offering everything you could want or need from a gravel bike – as long as your main concern isn't the light weight that can be achieved by going carbon fibre.

Fairlight's Secan 2.5 is a stunning looking steel gravel bike, finished to an exceptionally high level and the Reynolds steel tubing provides all of the stiffness you need, while also having a smooth, rough-road-defying ride quality.

The Secan 2.5 can comfortably accept a 60mm tyres in a 650B size, or 50mm if you are using 700C and a 1x chainset. If you are running 2x with 700C, that drops slightly to 47mm.

Orro Terra X GRX400

Orro Terra X GRX400

8
Best value for money gravel bike
Buy now for £1299.99 from Winstanleys Bikes
Versatile frameset
Geometry gives balanced handling
Good spec list for the money
Not as much tyre clearance as some
A bit weighty on the climbs

The Orro Terra X is an aluminium-framed gravel bike and one of the latest additions to the company's gravel line-up. It's a good entry point to gravel riding and is fun and easy to ride, thanks to the balanced geometry. 

The Terra X brings the great handling and ride quality of the carbon fibre models to a lower price point, and for the money, it's well specced. Tyre clearance isn't massive compared with some gravel bikes, but it easily accepts the 40mm fitted as standard, even if you were to go for a wider wheel rim, and Orro reckons a maximum of 42mm will fit. 

 The Orro Terra X works well on the road too, and has the ability to take mudguards and a rack, lending itself well to commuting and road touring. 

Specialized S-Works Crux

Specialized S-Works Crux

9
Best money-no-object gravel bike
Buy now for £8499 from Sigma Sports
Very light
Fast on the road
Fast off the road
Clean frame lines
Comfortable
Might not be 'gravel' enough for some

The Specialized S-Works Crux is an exceptional gravel bike for fast riding that can still excel in cyclocross races. The lightweight package is combined with brilliant low-speed stability that makes the S-Works Crux insanely good at climbing, be it fast or technical, and it's a blast to ride on the lanes too. This machine is one that will best suit racers and roadies who want a fast bike for mixed surfaces. Oh yes, and as you've probably noticed it's outstandingly expensive although there are less pricey models available in the Crux lineup.

Tester Liam writes: “The Crux was long Specialized’s pure cyclocross bike, but when I first saw the redesigned model I wondered what the Aethos was doing wearing a set of gravel tyres. It's a bit more nuanced than that, but in essence, that is what you're getting here. Its low weight makes the Crux an excellent climber and it is a joy to ride on faster gravel as well as on the road. Okay, it might not be the best for loading up with luggage, but for going fast it is fantastic". 

Cairn E-Adventure Rambler

Cairn E-Adventure Rambler

9
Best gravel e-bike
Buy now for £2489 from Cairn Cycles
Frame geometry well-suited to gravel
Versatile and adaptable for different kinds of riding
Excellent drive system and battery
Motor occasionally cut out

The Cairn E-Adventure Rambler is an all-around beast that will tackle anything you ride it on. The Rambler is the most recent version of Cairn's popular e-gravel bike, the E-Adventure 1.0, with versatility that this previous version didn't offer. It also comes with upgraded frame geometry and a much sleeker look. 

It uses a Fazua drive system which helps contribute to the bike feeling stable yet agile, and the Rambler uses one of the newer options, the Fazua Ride 50 Street Drive Pack. The 50 provides up to 58Nm of torque, which reviewer Rebecca felt was enough.

Liv Devote Advanced 0 gravel bike

Liv Devote Advanced 0 gravel bike

8
Best women's gravel bike
Buy now for £3199 from Edinburgh bicycle
Versatile
Great built-in comfort from frame and seatpost especially
Lovely, stable ride quality
Handlebars are not great shape
Internal storage too small

The Liv Devote is one of the few women-specific gravel bikes available and the newest iteration has been made racier and more performance-oriented. Liv has introduced internal storage to the Devote, nestled in the downtube and the flip-chip dropouts allow for tailoring the wheelbase and tyre clearance to suit more riding preferences. 

There are seven models in the Liv Devote range: three aluminium-framed Devotes and another three carbon-framed Devote Advanced models. Our test bike sits in the middle of this range complete with a Shimano GRX 2x groupset, pairing a 48-31T chainset with an 11-36T cassette. The bottom bracket is of the press-fit variety. 

The Devote Advanced Pro and Devote Advanced models also boast the new Contact AeroLight Stem, which routes cables from the handlebars below the stem and down through the frame for a more streamlined and aerodynamic cockpit.

The best of the rest: more of our top gravel bikes recommendations

Lauf Seigla Weekend Warrior Wireless

Lauf Seigla Weekend Warrior Wireless

9
Buy now for £2968 from Lauf
Confident gravel-specific geometry gives excellent handling
Fork is very effective for gravel use and is maintenance free
Competitively priced compared to the opposition
Fewer rack mounts than alternatives
No mud guard mounts means it’s definitely race orientated
Limited to 1x but nearly everyone chooses to run gravel bikes like this anyway

The Lauf Seigla is a modern-day gravel racer that achieves huge tyre clearances without sacrificing its geometry or performance. The geometry remains almost identical to Lauf's True Grit gravel bike which scored 4.5 stars overall when we reviewed it back in 2018. 

The fork is sure to divide opinion but whether you like the aesthetics or not, it really does function well. Reviewer Jamie had his doubts about the suspension fork before trying it but he says, "I'm a convert. It delivers nearly all of the advantages of suspension without the accompanying drawbacks, for example, it adds just 430g to the total bike weight which is very competitive". However, if you're not a fan of the suspension fork, Lauf also offers a fully rigid Seigla.

As with any gravel bike, the biggest difference in comfort comes down to the tyres. The Seigla has room for 57mm rubber on 700c wheels which equates to 2.25 inches; that’s some of the largest clearances we’ve seen on a gravel bike and removes the need for a separate 650b wheelset.

YT Szepter Core 4

YT Szepter Core 4

9
Buy now for £3299 from YT Industries
Superb value for money
Gravity-orientated long and slack geometry
Super compliant ride quality
Limited colourways
Integrated mudguards are polarising in appearance

This bike seriously impressed our friends at off-road.cc and is well worthy of our title of best gravel bike for mountain bikers or anyone looking to transition to drop bars from flat bars. 

It's fast, dynamic and properly capable on technical trails and whilst the geometry is less racy than some of the other best gravel bikes, the stability and predictability of this set-up make it incredibly enjoyable to manoeuvre on the trails. The bike was designed around the idea of a 40mm fork to ensure the front end played nicely with the front suspension and the numbers of the YT Szpeter take on very much a hardtail mountain bike-like facade. 

The Szepter comes out of the box with 42mm rubber but can accommodate a maximum tyre width of 45mm, and despite not being designed for touring or bikepacking, it features multiple bottle cage mounting positions and built-in rear and front mudguards.

Scarab Apuna gravel bike

Scarab Apuna gravel bike

9
Buy now for £3050 from Scarab Cycles
Oval steel tubing
Precise handling
40mm tyres fit
Matte paint is soft
Not for the roughest days

The Scarab Apuna is a custom steel bike. There's no exact spec sheet and no need to relay manufacturer details to you. Despite that, there are pieces of the puzzle that don't change from bike to bike. While some custom steel builders start with a blank slate, Scarab isn't one of them and there are models to choose from that dictate a direction.

One of the defining features of the Apuna is the tubing. That's always the case for a steel bike but the Apuna uses ovalised Columbus steel. There are no lugs and, if you've mistaken the finished product for aluminium, you aren't alone. Instead of steel at the front of the bike, you will find a carbon Columbus Futura Gravel Fork. 

The official specifications for the Apuna list tyre compatibility as "700x28-700x38 or 650Bx35-650B-42" which comes from the fork, not the rear triangle. According to Columbus though, there's room for a 700x40mm tyre and that's with the standard ISO space on the sides.

Scott Addict Gravel 10

Scott Addict Gravel 10

8
Buy now for £5699 from Westbrook Cycles
Sub 8.5kg weight
Fast, nimble and agile
Impressive ride quality
Non-round seatpost means no dropper post upgrade
No mounts for luggage

If you are more of a gravel racer than a gravel adventurer, the Scott Addict Gravel 10 is a bike that will interest you. Reviewer Stu says, "It’s light, nimble and an absolute blast to ride". The frame and fork are constructed from high-modulus carbon fibre and feature fully integrated cable and hose routing for a clean look.

A tapered steerer on the fork and a head tube to match means a stiff front end under heavy steering and braking loads while a press-fit (PF86) bottom bracket and the resulting oversized tube junctions make for plenty of stiffness on the lower half of the frame, too. From a geometry point of view, the Addict Gravel is available in five sizes ranging from XS/49 to XL/58. The M/54 we have here sits in the middle of the lineup and comes with a 554.5mm top tube. The head tube is 140mm and sits at an angle of 71 degrees while the seat tube is a steeper 73.5 degrees. 

The bike we reviewed is the 2023 model with the 2024 model now on sale with a few different component choices. Both come with a SRAM Force AXS groupset and everything is completely wireless so there are no wires to snag on anything. 

3T Extrema Italia gravel bike

3T Extrema Italia gravel bike

8
Buy now for £6636 from
Huge tyre clearance
Super-plush ride quality
Crushes technical trails
Expensive
Not the lightest gravel bike
Bar arrangement better suited to road bikes

The 3T Extrema Italia gravel bike is a super-comfortable, albeit pricey all-terrain-taming gravel bike, which 3T believes is the most capable gravel bike yet. A big focus for the 3T team when designing the Extrema Italia was the notion of generous tyre clearance and you’ll notice enough clearance to accommodate 57mm or 2.0- to 2.2in tyres, supplying it with the same level of grip as a cross-country mountain bike. 

High-speed stability is an area that 3T also focussed on, outfitting the Extrema with 436mm chainstays that have resulted in a wheelbase of 1,036mm (medium). The other key geometry numbers such as the head angle come in at 70.5-degrees. The 368mm reach and 570mm stack figures represent the middle ground in the category and deliver better comfort and control. 

Reviewer Aaron says, "While the 3T Extrema Italia might not be as fast or light as the racier options on the market, it is one of the most complete, comfortable and competent gravel bikes I've ever ridden. For those looking for the one-bike solution, it makes a convincing case". 

Marin Gestalt XR

Marin Gestalt XR

8
Buy now for £1903.99 from Bike Inn
Versatile but confidence inspiring geometry
Solid built kit for the cash
Great rear end compliance
Front end is a little harsh
Low standover limits space for frame bags

The Gestalt XR takes the formula that Marin concocted for the standard Gestalt and gives it a serious shake up. Donning a super aggressive geometry and equipped with a very solid built kit for the cash, it proves that gravel can learn a thing or two from mountain bike design. To put that into numbers, this medium frame on test gets a 440mm reach, a 67.5-degree head tube angle, and a 74-degree seat tube. With its 425mm chainstay, all of that results in a 1092.8mm wheelbase. 

The Gestalt XR is built around Marin’s Series 3 Beyond Road 6061 aluminium frame that’s paired with the brand’s full carbon fork with triple cage mounts at either side and it's also internally cable routed. The seat tube has been formed to allow clearance for up to 54x650b or 50x700c wheel and tyre combinations while retaining that short chainstay.

Tester Liam writes: "This bike’s mountain bike-esque geometry really opens up what gravel can be as it’s certainly not shy of steeper gradients, or the odd bit of singletrack. The Gestalt XR’s heft of stability turns into calm, considered, and very well-mannered cornering". 

Windover Bikes Bostal

Windover Bikes Bostal

8
Buy now for £3400 from Windover Bikes
Exciting and engaging ride
Comfort
Understated looks
Only 4 sizes available
The price

Windover Bikes is a relatively new company to emerge and their Bostal is described as an on- and off-road gravel bike. The Bostal is a Reynolds 853 Steel gravel bike designed in-house, tested in Sussex, and then made in the EU by a hand-picked frame fabricator. All 853 tubes are traditionally round with no fancy shaping passing the review panel and are of Windover's own requested diameter.

The frame features internal cable routing from the top of the downtube to the rear of the bike. There's a 1x set-up on this bike but 2x, Di2 and wireless options are possible. 

There are four sizes available S, M, L and XL and Windover offers the Bostal frame in three versions; frame only, Frame and Type 2 Fork, and Frameset (Fork, seat clamp, BB and Headset). The company also offers three ‘standard’ complete builds with some options. 

Ribble Gravel 725

Ribble Gravel 725

8
Buy now for £2899 from Ribble Cycles
Great ride comfort
Good tyre clearance
Geometry gives balanced and stable handling
Welded section at BB adds stiffness but not aesthetics

If you're after a steel frame, Ribble's Gravel 725 brings a classy, comfortable and fun-to-ride steel frame to the mix, paired to a full-carbon fork. Reviewer Stu says, "It has a forgiving ride that flatters any style of riding, and thanks to a multitude of mounting points it can be loaded up for adventure as well as used for a blast on the rough stuff."

This Gravel model has the geometry to really exploit the aggregate-based trails, giving a confidence-inspiring ride quality and behaviour, regardless of how technical or loose the terrain is. The geometry creates a long and low stance, with this medium getting a wheelbase of 1,052.5mm, a lengthy top tube of 570mm, and a shortish head tube height of 150mm.

Tyre clearance is probably one of the most crucial things on a gravel bike, and while the Ribble isn't groundbreaking it's capable of accepting 45mm rubber on 700C wheels or 47mm when wearing 650B wheels.

Wilier Rave SLR

Wilier Rave SLR

8
Buy now for £7090.27 from Lordgun bicycles
Light
Quick
Efficient riding position
Limited tyre clearance
More expensive than rival models
Lacks versatility

The Wilier Rave SLR is a high-performance gravel bike that's light, speedy and a real blast over firm and firm-ish tracks and trails. It's not purely a race bike but if you're after something that sits towards that end of the gravel spectrum then have a good look.

Reviewer Mat says, "Think of a lightweight road bike that allows you to corner hard, accelerate fast, climb quickly, and get into an efficient riding position for the flat setons... The Rave SLR is the gravel bike equivalent."

The one factor – and it could be an important one – that might hold you back over some surfaces is the maximum tyre width of 42mm on 700C wheels.

How to choose from the best gravel bikes

faq-icon
What is a gravel bike?

Gravel bikes have drop handlebars, wide-range gearing and fat tyres, hung on frames configured for stable handling over rough surfaces.

The best gravel bikes and adventure bikes aren’t simply rebranded cyclocross bikes. While there’s no single blueprint that the best gravel bikes and adventure bikes follow, they generally sit between an endurance road bike and a cyclocross race bike, if anything leaning more towards the former. Gravel bikes and adventure bikes are designed with longer wheelbases, so they’re stable on the road and when riding over an unpredictable surface like gravel, and provide comfort over long distances. The geometry is more relaxed than a race bike, the head angle slacker and the head tube often taller. The bottom bracket of a gravel bike or adventure road bike will usually be a little lower than a cyclocross bike.

Gravel bikes are also referred to as adventure bikes but that term is becoming rarer.

faq-icon
What is the benefit of a gravel bike?

Their adaptability, versatility and ruggedness makes them the perfect commuter bike, an ideal light touring or audax bike, a great winter training bike, or simply one bike that can tackle any sort of terrain you care to take it along. If ever there was a case for the one perfect bike for the British non-racing cyclist, then one of the best gravel bikes is probably it.

The US gravel bike racing scene hasn’t been much emulated in the UK yet, but the style of bike has piqued the interest of British cyclists. The idea of bigger tyres and relaxed geometry that promotes extra comfort when the going gets rough and bumpy is very attractive given the generally poor state of repair of UK roads. Let's be honest, in many places they're almost gravel anyway.

They can be ridden anywhere, these bikes, on the road and off it. The idea of adventure (or allroad, roadplus and enduroad as some people are calling this style of bike) is also finding fans, with the ability to dart down a bridleway or over the plain or along a fireroad to mix up a regular road ride appealing to cyclists keen to get away from the congested streets and into the wide open countryside.

Of course, the idea of riding a road bike across any sort of terrain, be it smoothly paved roads or rough and bumpy gravel tracks, woodland trails laced with roots or edge-of-field bridleways, is nothing new really. Road cyclists have been doing it since the dawn of the bicycle. How do you think cyclocross was invented? Gravel bikes and adventure bikes, though, are better suited to the demands of on and off-road riding. They split the difference between an endurance road bike and a cyclocross bike, with space for bigger tyres than an endurance bike and geometry better suited to road riding than a cyclocross bike.

Don't confuse a gravel bike or adventure bike with an endurance road bike like the Cannondale Synapse or Giant Defy. While they do look similar, the key difference is in the bigger tyres the former accepts and the modified geometry. It's worth taking a look at our roundup of endurance road bikes for examples of bikes that come close to a gravel and adventure bike.

faq-icon
What kind of brakes do gravel bikes have?

Gravel bikes all feature disc brakes. Discs make it easy for bike companies to design a frame and fork able to accommodate bigger tyres. Disc brakes, especially hydraulic discs, offer more power which provides more confidence when riding off-road and are useful in mixed conditions.

faq-icon
What size are typical gravel bike wheels and tyres?

Gravel bikes and adventure bikes have space for bigger tyres, but how big varies from brand to brand. Endurance road bikes go up to about 32mm as a general rule, but gravel bikes and adventure road bikes increase the clearance up to as much as 55mm. That provides a vast range of tyre choice options, including many rugged touring and cyclocross tyres, as well as road slicks, so you've got plenty of options for setting the bike up for your riding demands. In some cases, you can even fit 29er mountain bike tyres.

Tyre choice very much depends on the riding you want to do and the terrain in your local riding spot. There’s nothing to stop you from fitting light 25mm or 28mm tyres if you want it to be fast on the road. Or you could use a 35mm treaded tyre if you want to include some gravel and dirt paths in your rides. We’re seeing more tyre choice as well to go with the bikes, such as the Panaracer Gravel King, to name one example of the growing selection aimed at gravel and adventure riding.

As for wheels, the majority of gravel bikes use the same 700C wheel size as road bikes and 29er mountain bikes. However, some come with the smaller 650B size that are popular on mountain bikes as a compromise between the original mountain bike 26-inch wheel and the modern 29-incher. A 700C wheel is 622mm in diameter at the rim; a 650B is 584mm, so you can fit a fatter tyre for more grip and cushioning and end up with the same overall diameter. Only a few bikes come with 650B wheels off the peg, but many more will take them if you want to experiment with wheel and tyre sizes.

faq-icon
Is a 1x or 2x better for gravel bikes?

There are two schools of thought when it comes to gearing on gravel bikes and this will primarily depend on your preferences and what routes you'll be riding on your gravel bike. 

The Keep It Simple tendency favours single chainrings and very wide-range sprockets out back. That makes gear changing straightforward, and there's less to go wrong with no front derailleur.

Proponents of double chainrings point out that you get a wider gear range overall with closer steps between gears. 2x set-ups are the best solution for riders looking for their gravel bike to double up as a road bike and those riding fast gravel. 

Both Shimano and SRAM offer gravel bike gear systems with single and double chainrings. Campagnolo's Ekar is probably the most sophisticated single-chainring system, with a gear range to rival double-ring systems from its 9-42 13-speed cassette.

faq-icon
Can you put mudguards on a gravel bike?

While gravel bikes and adventure road bikes have grown from the gravel racing scene, manufacturers have been wise to cotton on to their do-it-all appeal, and many equip their gravel bikes and adventure road bikes with eyelets for fitting racks, mudguards and extra bags on the forks and top tube. That means you could build up the perfect winter or commuting bike, or add a rack for some light touring and explore further afield.

Emily is our track and road racing specialist, having represented Great Britain at the World and European Track Championships. With a National Title up her sleeve, Emily has just completed her Master’s in Sports Psychology at Loughborough University where she raced for Elite Development Team, Loughborough Lightning.

Emily is our go-to for all things training and when not riding or racing bikes, you can find her online shopping or booking flights…the rest of the office is now considering painting their nails to see if that’s the secret to going fast…