Where riding goes, racing inevitably follows. So it has been with gravel. The category of early do-it-all bikes from the late 2010s has exploded into a complete spectrum of off-road drop bar machines. It incorporates designs that have more in common with mountain bikes at the adventure end, but as gravel events have become more popular and competitive, the scale now spans right the way over to what could be mistaken for aero bikes with larger tyre clearances.
It’s this niche that Cyclist turns its attention to in the fourth instalment of the Group Think series. Taking to the technical tracks and fast fire roads of the Forest of Dean on three stellar of examples of the segment, editor Pete, deputy editor James and tech editor Sam discuss how the category has developed, what attributes the bikes within it need to have, and where there’s still scope for individual features to set each machine apart and develop the niche even further.