What is a gravel bike?

A gravel bike is a drop-bar bike designed to be ridden on a wide variety of surfaces and not just gravel – even if this is where gravel riding did originate.

The best gravel bikes look a lot like traditional road bikes, but there are four key features that usually distinguish them.

Wider tyres

First and foremost, gravel bikes have wider tyres. Since these bicycles are designed to traverse miles of unpaved roads, their tyres are substantially larger. Likewise, mud clearance is also a concern in these conditions.

Tyre widths range anywhere from 30mm to 48mm. In addition to 700c wheels, it is also common to see smaller-diameter 650b wheels used with higher-volume tyres. Many of the best gravel bike tyres feature a fast-rolling centre tread with knurling or side knobs to improve cornering ability on mixed surfaces.

Tubeless tyres are also commonly found on gravel bikes because the latex tubeless sealant provides a degree of insurance against punctures.

Geometry

In addition to wider tyres, gravel bikes have geometry that favours stability and comfort.

The best gravel bikes have a longer wheelbase than most road bikes thanks to longer chainstays and slacker head-tube angles.

Head tubes are generally taller as well, placing the rider in a more relaxed, upright position. Bottom brackets are often lower, which gives the rider the sensation of riding in, rather than on the bicycle.

The end result of these geometry differences is a more comfortable, confidence-inspiring and forgiving ride than you would find in a typical road bike.

The best women’s gravel bikes follow the same principles in terms of geometry but are often tailored to better suit women riders.

Frame features

Another thing you’ll usually find on gravel bikes that road bikes don’t have is extra mounting points for luggage. That allows them to be used for bikepacking or just lets you add a third water bottle for long rides in the outback where water sources may be scarce. Likewise, there are often mounts on the top tube for a feed bag.

Gravel bikes also usually have mounts for a rack and mudguards/fenders, so they can do double duty as poor weather road bikes.

There’s a newer category of gravel race bikes though, like the Pinarello Grevil F and the Cervélo Áspero, which abandon their bikepacking pretensions and just have a fairly standard set of road-type mounts, maybe with extra bottle cage bosses under the down tube. They’ll have a more racy geometry, more like a road bike, and often include aero features and tube profiles.

Handlebars and stem

Gravel bikes typically have a shorter stem and wider handlebars than road-going drop bar bikes. That mirrors mountain bike geometry and leads to a bike that’s more easily manoeuvred over variable terrain.

The handlebars usually have a flare to them, where they widen out from the tops to the drops. That gives you more control when descending in the drops. It also means that if you decide to fit a handlebar bag, there’s more space to grab the drops without the bag getting in the way.

Gearing

Gearing is another area where gravel bikes diverge from the pack.

The rise of gravel bikes has, in turn, been accompanied by the arrival of gravel-specific groupsets. While early gravel bikes might have featured road bike groupsets with compact cranksets, the latest gravel groupsets – including Shimano GRX, Campagnolo Ekar and SRAM XPLR – provide a more suitable and forgiving selection of gears.

Given the terrain, many gravel bikes feature sub-compact cranksets and wide-range cassettes, to give a spread of gearing that remains fast on the road, while providing a low enough bottom gear for off-road climbing.

Double cranksets with 48/32t chainrings are common. Likewise, many gravel bikes come with 1x gearing and super-wide cassettes, keeping the drivetrain simple by removing the front derailleur.

You can read our guide to gravel bike setup for more on gearing choices.

Suspension

In addition to wide tyres, relaxed geometry and low gearing, many of the latest machines have active or passive gravel bike suspension systems built into them.

Much like bikes in the endurance road category, these features could take the form of slender chainstays, a bowed top tube or a skinny seatpost, all of which are designed to flex in order to absorb road chatter.

Some of the best gravel bikes take things one step further by using short-travel suspension forks, such as the Lefty Oliver or aesthetically odd but very effective Lauf Grit fork.

We’ve also seen the arrival of the RockShox Rudy XPLR gravel fork and the Fox 32 Taper-Cast Gravel.

How much do I have to spend on a gravel bike?

Well, that depends on what you define as a gravel bike. A used cyclocross bike, for example, could work perfectly well as a gravel bike and cost you a fraction of the cost of even the most basic ‘true’ gravel machine.

You can buy gravel bikes for under £1,000 with an alloy frame with entry-level components with gravel bikes under £2,000 offering slightly higher specs.

A mid-range build from a major brand will likely cost in excess of £2,000 / $2,800. Aluminium frames still dominate here but they’ll sport more up-to-date designs in terms of tubing, geometry, tyre clearance and mounting points.

Spend more and you’ll start to step into the world of carbon frames, with upscale components to match.

As is normally the case in the cycling world, it’s possible to spend a small (or not so small) fortune on a custom-built bike should you wish to.

What else do I need for gravel riding?

The growth in gravel riding has been matched with the growth in gravel-specific kit. While you can go gravel riding with your normal cycling – or sports – kit, there are numerous gravel accessories, pedals and shoes that can enhance your time riding off-road.

---