Gravel bike suspension: the next frontier or costly gimmick?

By Katherine Moore

Published: Thursday, 05 May 2022 at 12:00 am

For a category that borrows tech from both road cycling and mountain biking, it was only a matter of time before suspension tech became more commonplace in the gravel riding world.

Integrated frame suspension, short-travel forks, bouncy stems, squishy seatposts and headset springs: there’s now a growing number of suspension options on the market, from new gravel bikes that integrate suspension to aftermarket components.

In this guide, we’ll discuss whether or not suspension has any place on a gravel bike, go into some of the history of gravel suspension and explain the gravel suspension options currently available on the market.

Suspension: gravel’s next big thing?

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Could we be seeing more suspension designs like this soon?
Ben Duke

From micro-suspension gadgets such as the Trek Checkpoint’s IsoSpeed decoupler to integrated headset suspension as seen in the Specialized Diverge and Roubaix: you could argue that the origin of modern gravel bike suspensions was actually bike tech from the spring classics.

Here, the rough roads and pavé of Paris-Roubaix and Flanders led to early road tech innovation, which we’re now seeing a few generations later in the gravel market.

At the other end of the scale, mountain bike suspension specialists such as Fox, RockShox and Suntour have released shrunk-down gravel forks, with around 30-60mm travel.

Do you need suspension on a gravel bike?

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If you think suspension gravel bikes are something new, think again… This rare 1990s Riedel has a suspension fork and 3×8-speed Campagnolo drivetrain.
Paddle8 Auctions

Gravel bike suspension is largely used for one of two reasons: either to add capability on more technical trails, or to smooth out high-frequency vibrations, improving comfort and reducing fatigue over longer rides.

If you’re considering buying a gravel bike and you know that suspension is something you’d like to try, check out the latest builds that feature in-built suspension.

Our testers have been really impressed by bikes such as the Lauf Seigla and Cannondale Topstone Carbon, and they shouldn’t be overlooked if you’re in the market for a new gravel bike.

Alternatively, there are plenty of options that you can retrofit to your current gravel bike for a little extra squish.

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Products such as the Fox 32 Taper-Cast Gravel allow you to add suspension to your gravel bike, provided your bike is compatible with it.
Warren Rossiter / Our Media

Equally, you can try altering your tyre pressures, or opting for wider-volume tyres or tyre inserts to run lower pressures, which can also make your ride more comfortable, typically with a lower price tag. More on that later.

Whether or not you feel you need suspension on your gravel bike is personal, depending both on where and how you like to ride, and how you’d like your ride to feel.

If you have any niggles or ongoing physical issues, then a little extra cushioning might not be a bad thing either – although it’s well worth getting a professional bike fit first if you feel that it might be caused by your position.

Gravel suspension: what are your options?

Here are the current choices in terms of gravel bike suspension, and how they’re best utilised.

Headset

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The Future Shock suspension system is almost universally liked here at BikeRadar.
Robert Smith

There are only a couple of integrated headset suspension options on the market currently.

Debuted in 2017 on the endurance road-focused Roubaix and since introduced to the gravel-specific Specialized Diverge, the Future Shock yields 20mm linear travel above the head tube.

The coil suspension cartridge is housed within the fork steerer, with on-the-fly adjustability added for the most recent second generation.

The system allows the stem and handlebars to move up and down independently of the rest of the bike, reducing road chatter and vibrations from rougher gravel roads. We’ve found it to be very effective in testing, though it’s not to every rider’s taste.

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The BMC URS LT features 20mm of suspension travel built into the lower cup of the headset.
Russell Burton / Our Media

The BMC URS LT features a coil spring within the head tube, coupled with a hydraulic damper to give 20mm travel.

BMC claims this can reduce front-end suspension by up to 46 per cent, allowing you to run slightly higher tyre pressures, should you wish. This mechanism can also be adjusted with three different spring stiffness settings or locked out.

Suspension stem for gravel

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Redshift is making inroads in the world of gravel racing with its suspension stems and seatposts.
Oliver Woodman / Immediate Media

Although not such a popular option in terms of gravel bike suspension, the Redshift Shockstop Stem scored well on test, effectively absorbing trail vibrations through the use of interchangeable internal elastomers.

This has similar results and benefits to integrated headset suspension, although can be easily fitted to any bike and is available in a range of lengths.