The modern gravel scene is huge, with the best gravel bikes offering options to suit a wide range of riding styles. While gravel bikes used to be jacks of all trades, many bike brands now offer multiple models to suit different uses.
At Cyclist, we’ve ridden and reviewed many of the best gravel bikes on offer and here we have picked our favourites, but if you’re looking for something different, you can be pretty sure to find a review on our site.
The gravel bike spectrum now divides into multiple target markets. Gravel racing has really taken off, particularly in the USA. A gravel race bike has much in common with a road race bike, with aerodynamics as important for the off-road racer as the road racer. At the other end of the spectrum, adventure gravel bikes offer wide tyre clearance, low gearing and the option to load up for multi-day bikepacking rides.
Many gravel rides take in at least some tarmac and many road riders want to be able to take in light off-road to vary the riding, see somewhere different and link up their road riding in unfamiliar ways. It’s spawned a new category of all-road bikes. They’re among the best road bikes, offering wider tyre clearance and the handling to tackle less technical gravel surfaces.
Finally, while carbon bikes predominate, don’t discount metal gravel bikes. Whether alloy, steel or titanium, they provide a durable alternative to carbon and often offer features that mainstream carbon gravel bikes don’t.
We’ve covered all these gravel bike categories in this buyer’s guide to the best gravel bikes. Meanwhile, if you need help deciding, read our guide to what to look for in a gravel bike, lower down the page.
Reviews of the best gravel bikes
Best gravel race bikes
Read our full guide to the best gravel race bikes
Best gravel adventure bikes
Read our full guide to the best gravel adventure bikes
Best metal gravel bikes
Best all-road bikes
Read our full guide to the best all-road bikes
How we test and why you should trust our advice
With almost every manufacturer now offering at least one of these incredibly capable mixed-terrain bikes in their ranges, we’ve been hard at work riding as many of them as possible.
Every gravel bike featured here has been put to the test on a variety of terrain by our team of expert reviewers, overseen by tech editor Sam Challis. We’re not paid for our reviews, so you can trust us to provide an unbiased opinion.
New to cycling? Read our beginner’s guide to gravel bikes for a complete introduction to the discipline and, if you think gravel might be for you, don’t miss our detailed advice on how to buy a gravel bike.
Read on for the best gravel bikes chosen from our recent reviews.
Best gravel race bikes reviewed
Cannondale SuperX
From £4,250 | Buy here
- 7.2kg weight in top spec reviewed
- 48mm-plus tyre clearance
Taking aero features from the SuperSix Evo, the Cannondale SuperX fine-tunes its aerodynamics for a 35km/h ride speed, with a 1.6 watt claimed saving over its predecessor gravel race bike. The frame includes features from the SuperSix Evo including the same SystemBar R-One integrated cockpit and Delta steerer, which allow integrated cabling. In top tier LAB71 carbon, Cannondale claims a sub-900g frame weight and our top spec review bike weighed 7.2kg.
At the same time, Cannondale has looked to increase seated compliance while retaining front-end and bottom bracket stiffness. A BSA bottom bracket ensures easy maintenance, while tyre clearance is 51mm front/48mm rear and there’s scope to fit mechanical as well as electronic groupsets.
Fit-wise we found the geometry very similar to the SuperSix Evo road bike, although the handling is more relaxed and rear-end comfort enhanced. The front of the bike remains stiff though. We reckon handling would benefit from wider tyres than the 40mm Vittoria Terreno T50s fitted and the SuperX range from more affordably priced offers.
Cervélo Áspero
From £3,100 | Buy here
- Variable fork offset for consistent handling on 700c and 650b wheels
- Fast, but with adequate comfort
Cervélo’s latest model Áspero follows the now usual gravel route of additional frame comfort and wider clearance – enough for 42mm tyres on 700c wheels. It’s also claimed to be faster thanks to features including a more pronounced seat tube cut-out and lower seatstays and you can fit a larger 46-tooth chainring.
Cervélo has kept its flip-chip fork dropouts, although we didn’t detect any pronounced effect on handling from the 5mm change in the fork trail. There’s a reasonably large array of mounts, although none for mudguards. The Áspero uses the same semi-integrated routing as on the Soloist road bike and a T47 BBright bottom bracket to add extra tyre clearance.
It’s a fast climber, thanks to the stiff frame and the tyres are well-specced for faster riding, although the Fulcrum wheels on the review bike are fairly utilitarian. We reckon it’s pretty aero too, based on a semi-scientific roll-down test, and there’s decent comfort for a race-oriented gravel bike.
Cervélo also sells the even more race-oriented and lighter Áspero 5, which was updated in 2025, adding in-frame storage and space for 45mm tyres, as well as saving a claimed 37 watts over its predecessor.
Factor Aluto
From £6,999 | Buy here
- Lightweight, rigid and sharp-handling
- Offers the ride characteristics of Factor’s pricier bikes in a more affordable package
The Factor Aluto joins the Ostro Gravel in the brand’s off-road range, slotting in as a more affordable, more versatile alternative, while still boasting an 8.1kg weight for our size 56 review bike, versus 7.9kg for the Ostro Gravel. Factor includes in-frame storage and provides internal cabling and compatibility with both 1x and 2x groupsets, alongside 52mm front/47mm rear clearance.
Factor’s tube shapes are subtly aero, while retaining a willowy overall frame shape. Geometry is less aggressive than the Ostro Gravel and is designed to offer more nimble handling. This can make it feel edgy on more technical terrain but works well on most off-road and tarmac surfaces. The low weight and stiffness are tempered by the slim upper sections, but offer a fast ride on the flat or steep ramps, particularly when out of the saddle.
Trek Checkmate SLR
From £7,000 | Buy here
- 7.6kg weight for size L test bike
- More versatile than the Domane, cheaper and similar in weight
Trek is another brand to split its gravel bike offering into the adventure focused, in its case the Checkpoint, and the gravel race, the Checkmate. The Checkmate frame is made of the OCLV 800 carbon fibre used in the top spec Domane, but the bike also inherits features from the Madone, including its aero profiles its bar/stem and a geometry that favours a more aero ride position, while being less aggressive than the Madone for added stability and including a rear IsoSpeed decoupler for added compliance.
The result is a 7.55kg claimed weight in size M/L, along with capacity for 45mm tyres. The range extends to just three specs, all expensive and there’s no in-frame storage, although you can fit bags and mudguards.
We found the Checkmate great fun to ride, even without extensive gravel roads to ride or a gravel race to enter. It’s more a bike for fast, dry trails than techy riding and for getting to the trails fast, thanks to the low weight and handling. We reckon anything the Domane can do, the Checkmate can do better, with just a 30g weight penalty in top spec builds. It’s cheaper than the Domane too.
Best adventure gravel bikes reviewed
3T Ultra
From £4,061 | Buy here
- Ultra increases tyre clearance to 61mm
- Designed for the most technical terrain
The 3T Ultra marries extreme off-road capability with a fast ride on-road to create a versatile and distinctive design. The third iteration of 3T’s popular but controversial aero gravel bike, the Ultra has been shaped to work best with wide 650b tyres around 55mm-61mm.
Made for the most technical and therefore slowest terrain, the Ultra’s aero benefits are most likely to be of benefit on the rarer occasions it’s used on the road. At the same time, it utilises its big tyres to override the framesets’ otherwise aggressive attributes once off-road.
Other features include a dropper post and a super-wide single-ring drivetrain. So how does it add up? It’s undoubtedly the most exaggerated example of how designer Gerard Vroomen can successfully squish together two typically disparate drop-bar genres – aero and gravel.
Leveraging the transformative effect of tyre size and pressure, the Ultra switches personalities as extremely as it mixes genres. Off-road, its chunky Vittoria tyres offset the harshness of the aero frame and allowed it to take on technical terrain. Yet back on the tarmac, the frame’s attributes become more dominant, leaving it feeling far more like a quick road bike than its off-road capability would otherwise suggest.
Argon 18 Dark Matter
From £3,500 | Buy here
- Wide 57mm tyre clearance and suspension fork-compatible
- Very capable on technical ground, but a little ponderous on tarmac
Argon 18 looks to offer an adventure-ready gravel bike that can also handle racing, thanks to aero front-end features. But the aero morphs into a huge down tube with capacious internal storage and impressive stiffness. Coupled with 57mm clearance, kinked seatstays, compatibility with a suspension fork and Argon’s headset system, which puts the spacers below the top bearing, it’s impressively capable on tougher ground. Bash guards and fork mounts add to the ruggedness.
The geometry too is designed to handle rough riding, with a longer wheelbase, slack head tube and longer reach and trail. It adds up to a bike that handles technical gravel with ease, although this, along with the 9.4kg bike weight, does lead to a somewhat unengaging ride on tarmac.
Canyon Grizl
From £1,899 | Buy here
- Big 54mm tyre clearance and a full set of mounts
- Standard OG and bikepacking-focused ESC configurations with suspension fork and dynamo lighting options
The more adventure-focussed of Canyon’s off-road duo, the Grizl has been split into the OG (signifying Original Graveller) and ESC specs, the latter with a new handlebar that allows you to sling bags out-front and lower, more adventure-focused gearing. Both can be bought with dynamo lighting/charging and a Canyon branded 40mm travel fork. Clearance heads up to 54mm.
We’ve ridden the previous generation Grizl, where we found the ride geared to the off-road, with the Grizl’s combination of geometry, weight and grippy 45mm tyres felt out of its element on the road. But once off tarmac, the Grizl comes into its own and we sought out technical lines for fun.
As usual, Canyon provides quality spec choices with Shimano and SRAM 1x 12-speed or 13-speed gearing and DT Swiss wheelsets or Canyon’s own carbon wheels.
- Read our full (previous generation) Canyon Grizl review, stay tuned for our full review of the latest model
Cannondale Topstone Carbon
From £2,950 | Buy here
- Confident handling, with Kingpin rear suspension adding comfort
- Now with 52mm-plus tyre clearance, in-frame storage and semi-integrated cables
The Topstone Carbon offers 30mm of travel at the rear thanks to the KingPin rear triangle design and Cannondale sells specs with its Lefty suspension fork too, adding yet more ride comfort and control over rough ground. The latest model, from March 2025, increases tyre clearance to 52mm for the frame and 56mm for the non-Lefty fork, which we reckon hits the sweet spot for gravel riding. Other modern features include in-frame storage and semi-integrated cabling. A longer reach and shorter stem, Cannondale’s Out Front steering geometry and a BSA bottom bracket complete the design. There’s compatibility with 1x and 2x groupsets and a dropper post.
The Topstone Carbon feels both smooth-riding and sturdy under power. The previous generation bike tested had Cannondale’s SmartSense integrated lighting included, pushing its weight up to 9.6kg, slowing acceleration, adding to the messy front end cabling and precluding a bar bag or saddle bag. We also questioned SmartSense’s usefulness on a bike designed to ride off-road. SmartSense is easy to avoid though and overall the Topstone Carbon handles well and is comfortable.
Best titanium and aluminium gravel bikes reviewed
Enigma Esker
From £3,799 (frameset) | Buy here
- Hand built with custom and off-the-shelf frame sizes
- Smooth-riding, fast and versatile
Designed for fast gravel riding, the titanium Esker is welded and built to order in Sussex, allowing Enigma to offer 11 stock sizes as well as custom geometry for a small price uplift. Customers can choose their braze-ons, cable routing and component specs and the down tube is made of harder, stiffer alloy for power transfer.
The wide range of sizes meant we were able to choose the optimum fit and the geometry offered a smooth ride and great middle-of-the-road (or trail) handling that was surefooted without being lethargic on tarmac, with a 9kg weight as built. We reckoned the 40x50t lightest gear was a bit too low and the Enve bars a bit too flared, but they’re both options you can choose when speccing your own build.
Mason Bokeh 3
From £2,850 | Buy here
- Alloy frame with custom build options
- Balanced geometry mixes comfort and performance
With its third generation of the Bokeh, Mason has made subtle changes including the inevitable increase in tyre clearance, now 55mm on 650b wheels, more fixing points and a new carbon fork. It’s a bike that has excelled in ultra-endurance events, maturing into a fast gravel bike for multi-day trips. We reviewed the aluminium bike, but there’s a titanium frameset too.
Mason’s low volume allows a wide choice of specs for the Bokeh, including dynamo lighting routed internally through the fork legs and frame. The ride is punchy on tougher terrain, with geometry that owes much to the Definition all-road bike, so that the Bokeh feels like a road machine, but one that can handle pretty much anything. Load it up and, although slowing the Bokeh down, the extra weight doesn’t adversely impact the ride.
Moots Routt RSL
From £8,000 (frameset and kit) | Buy here
- Great ride on and off-road
- Superb construction and finish
The Routt is pretty close to being the perfect single bike. It’s a delight off-road yet gobbles up the tarmac with equal gusto.
This is managed thanks to its exquisite titanium construction and a geometry that transfers between genres without giving much away.
With clearance for tyres up to 45mm, swapping the treads redefines the bike, leaving the Routt as close to being a single bicycle for all occasions as we can think of.
Beautifully made and likely to outlive its owner, the Routt justifies its rarified pricetag and gains an equally rare five-star review.
Singular Kite Titanium
From £2,500 (frameset) | Buy here
- Quality frame with huge 55mm tyre clearance and plush ride
- Elegant, customisable frameset and titanium fork
Singular mixes MTB design and touring bike aesthetics. The Kite titanium frame and fork are built in small volume in the Far East to the design of Singular’s founder and owner Sam Alison, allowing buyers to tweak the spec to their needs. There’s huge frame clearance: 55mm on 700c and 60mm on 650b wheels and the stem and seatpost are also own-brand titanium.
The ride position is upright and MTB-like and there are other mountain bike touches such as the shape of the forks. It’s a straightforward frameset with custom-drawn round tubes, a threaded bottom bracket and external cables, making adjustment and maintenance easy. We found the ride on 44mm tyres plush and well-balanced across a range of surfaces, but a swap to either narrower or wider rubber would extend the bike’s capabilities still further.
Best all-road bikes reviewed
Colnago C68 Allroad
From £5,999 (frameset) | Buy here
- Hand-built in Italy with 35mm tyre clearance and a slightly more relaxed geometry than the C68 Road
- All-road orientation works well on UK tarmac and lighter off-road rides
The C68 Allroad offers 35mm tyre clearance and sits between the C68 Road, with 32mm, and the C68 Gravel with 42mm, allowing you to spec the frame for rougher roads or lighter off-road riding. As with all Colnago’s premium C68 range, the C68 Allroad frameset is hand built in Italy, although there are more pre-formed frame elements than on previous generation C-series bikes, saving weight and adding rigidity.
The frame geometry is similar to the C68 Road, although the ride position is more relaxed and geared more towards mixed terrain. The C68 Allroad feels firm on more technical terrain, but on the smoother off-road that Colnago says it’s designed for it’s an accomplished performer. A more comfortable ride position and more tyre clearance than the C68 Road might make it a better choice for many UK roads too.
Enve Fray
From €9,949 | Buy here
- Aero optimised 900g frame with mounts for mudguards and more
- Confidence-inspiring ride on 35mm tyres, with room to go up to 40mm
The Enve Fray offers 40mm tyre clearance, 10mm less than the Mog, Enve’s dedicated gravel bike, but 5mm more than the Melee road race bike and allowing you to spec the frameset for all-road or endurance duties. It adds to its versatility with comfortable geometry and a full range of mounting points and in-frame storage.
The claimed 900g frame weight and aero features lead to a fast ride for the 7.5kg premium build tested and Enve’s components offer internal cabling, benefitting the clean looks The Fray is confidence-inspiring on a mix of terrains and the high stack and long seatpost provide plentiful ride comfort.
FiftyOne Sika
From £3,899 (frameset) | Buy here
- Low weight, fits 40mm tyres, comfortable geometry
- Waiting list, few matching wheel choices for now
FIftyOne Bikes has designed the Sika, its first non-custom frameset, to provide a racy ride, while still providing 40mm tyre clearance and a comfort-oriented geometry thanks to the high stack. The Sika is low in weight too, with our test bike weighing 7.3kg. The stiff frame and sharp handling are on a par with many race bikes we’ve reviewed.
The wide tyre clearance allows you to configure the Sika for off-road duties, while the design still allows you to ride fast on tarmac. We reckon its all-road capabilities and competence on tarmac showcase where road bike design is heading.
Giant Defy Advanced SL
From £7,199 | Buy here
- Superb ride comfort, low weight and top-notch spec
- A little more racy than its predecessor
38mm tyre clearance places the fifth generation Defy firmly on the on/off-road boundary despite its billing as an endurance bike, while the D-Fuse seatpost and handlebars provide ride comfort. The weight of the SL 0 frameset has dropped by 195g, and unlike other high spec Giant bikes, the Defy retains its separate seatpost, rather than a seatmast, to add extra ride comfort.
Cabling is now internal and Giant has reduced the frame stack for a more performance-focussed ride position, befitting the Defy’s UCI race sticker. A sub-7kg weight for this top spec makes for lively handling and fast climbing, aided by the quality Cadex wheels and premium SRAM Red groupset.
What should I consider when buying a gravel bike?
What flavour of gravel riding do I prefer?
As outlined at the top of this post, gravel bikes are now very diverse, so a good place to start is deciding what type of riding you want to do. At the extremes, gravel race bikes are very different from the most adventure-focussed gravel bikes, so if you want to race or you want to load up for off-grid adventures, there’s a gravel bike for you.
Gravel race bikes often sacrifice tyre clearance in favour of speed, a gravel race bike may have higher gearing for faster riding and in many cases the frame will have a firm ride for off-road performance.
Adventure gravel bike, on the other hand, may be set up with wide, grippy tyres that feel a little slow on road and offer low gears that are great for off-road conditions but may cause you to spin out on faster sections.
Fortunately if you’re not sure, there are still plenty of all-rounder gravel bikes available which offer good tyre clearance and the mounts you need for bikepacking. If you want to mix off-road with tarmac, meanwhile, an all-road bike might be the best choice.
Do I want one or two chainrings?
Gravel bikes are often offered with a choice of single chainring (1x) or double chainrings (2x). 1x has the advantage of mechanical simplicity. It also usually increases tyre clearance and reduces the risk of clogging.
On the other hand, the gear range offered by 1x may be lower than 2x (although some of the widest ratio options are 1x).
Although theoretically you get half the number of gear ratios, in practice a 2x groupset has several overlapping gear ratios between the two chainrings. As the number of speeds offered now stretches to 12 or 13, the jumps between ratios with a 1x setup may not be that great, particularly in the mid-range in which most riding takes place.
Electronic or mechanical shifting?
Both Shimano and SRAM now offer a choice between mechanical and electronic shifting in their gravel bike groupset ranges, and Campagnolo has added electronic Super Record X to it mechanical Ekar and Ekar GT gravel groupsets.
Electronic shifting is less prone to contamination than mechanical shifting, so you should get more precise shifting with less fettling required. It’s also more configurable if you want to fine-tune your shifter behaviour.
On the other hand, you need to keep the derailleur batteries powered up and electronic groupsets are usually significantly more expensive than mechanical. Components for electronic groupsets are more expensive than those for mechanical ones, particularly the vulnerable rear derailleur.
Why choose hydraulic disc brakes?
Disc brakes are standard on gravel bikes, but in lower priced bikes there’s often a choice between cable-operated and hydraulic systems. As with mechanical groupsets, cable disc brakes are more prone to contamination and performance degradation.
Hydraulic disc brakes usually offer more powerful braking and more modulation, although they need to be bled periodically to keep them working at their best.
What tyres do I need?
Gravel bikes are normally sold with all-rounder tyres. They’ll be fine for many off-road surfaces, but may not have enough grip for damp conditions. A grippier tyre will serve better here, but may roll slowly on the road. There are also tyres designed for faster, drier conditions and on/off-road riding.
In muddy conditions, a low profile tyre tread can quickly clog up and you’ll lose traction. Mud can also accumulate on the tyre sidewalls and the frame, in the worst case stopping your wheels from turning. A dedicated mud tyre can help, while if you run a slightly narrower tyre you’ll have greater clearance in the frame and less tendency to clog.
Our guide to the best gravel bike tyres will help you choose.
Do I need to set up tubeless?
Almost all gravel bike tyres and wheels are tubeless-ready, although gravel bikes are usually sold with inner tubes. You’ll save yourself a world of grief by swapping to tubeless, as you can run your tyres at lower pressure, you get a measure of puncture resistance from the tyre sealant and you’ll reduce the chances of pinch flats should you hit a rock or other obstacle.
On the other hand, tubeless isn’t fit-and-forget and you’ll need to check sealant levels and keep them topped up, as sealant dries up over time. A puncture will deplete sealant too and not all seal properly with just sealant, so you may want to carry a tubeless repair kit and/or spare inner tube.
