The Canyon Grizl is handsome looking with all the mounts you could dream of for fenders, bottles and bags. Its pliancy will do a lot of work to minimise any chatter from the surface beneath while still letting you put a lot of power through the cranks. This has made it the go-to material for many road cyclists but also makes it a good choice for performance gravel bikes. Need to kit up? There are also many ‘gravel-specific’ versions of common cycling accessories and clothes, including shoes for gravel riding.Ĭarbon fibre bikes are lightweight, stiff and can be designed to effectively absorb vibrations.
If you need new pedals, check out our list of the best gravel bike pedals. We’ve also got a list of the best women’s road and gravel bikes tested by BikeRadar, and the best electric gravel bikes. If you’re on a budget, head to our round-up of the best cheap gravel bikes under £2,000.
Not found what you need? You can find even more gravel bikes in our extensive archive of gravel bike reviews. We have split our list of top-performing gravel bikes into each different frame material, so you can skip to each section here:
The best gravel bike frames come in the same variety of frame materials as other bike types, with carbon, aluminium, titanium and steel options commonly available.Īll of these materials have their advantages and disadvantages, and different riders will find that a certain one might make particular sense for them – whether that’s the low weight of carbon, the reliability and affordability of aluminium, the classic feel of steel or the desirability of titanium. Today, there are numerous purpose-built machines that gravel-curious riders can choose from, with options ranging from versatile all-road bikes that rival the very best road bikes, to progressive gravel bikes that resemble drop-bar mountain bikes.
In the early days, riders tackled these endurance events on cyclocross bikes with the largest tyres that would fit.