You could drag anchor with bags, and trailers, and enough cargo to bikepack for a couple of months—or you could find the ragged edge of your efforts on open roads and wild trails. Our gravel offering takes a page from the unapologetic speed of our race bikes. Gravel giant ROAD BIKES riding doesn’t require any uniquely special gear. You’ll need the same tools you might already have for road or mountain biking. The sealant will close tiny punctures from goat heads or road debris. Always bring a repair kit with a tire plug and a new spare tube .
In addition, you get less-powerful mechanical brakes and the tires aren’t the best in slippery and dicey conditions, so many backcountry explorers will want to upgrade those right off the bat. For those looking for a little more capability at a still-reasonable price, check out Norco’s XR A Suspension model ($2,399), which features a front fork with 50 millimeters of travel and a dropper seat post. Like all Santa Cruz bikes, the gravel rig is undeniably pricey at $4,649 for the GRX model, which includes the high-end 800 groupset. For $400-$600 less, the Trek and Specialized models above feature similar components but include a notable upgrade in ride quality over bumpy terrain with their proprietary suspension designs. That said, buying from Santa Cruz involves paying a premium for the brand’s attention to detail (all models are admittedly fantastic-looking), strong warranty, and reliable long-term performance. Whether that’s worth the added expense is up to you.
Bottom brackets are often lower, which gives the rider the sensation of riding in, rather than on the bicycle. We feel this model with its Shimano GRX 810-level groupset, sensible alloy wheels and decent finishing kit represents the best balance of performance and value from the 2021 Diverge range. To get even more from the Silex chassis, we think this bike could do with tyres a little wider than the 38mm Maxxis Rambler parts that come as standard . Unfortunately, the narrow internal width of Merida’s narrow Comp SL wheelset means you’d have to plump for a wheel upgrade at the same time. Tyre clearance is excellent, with space for 700 x 45mm or up to 50mm tyres on 650b wheels.
Evans own brand Pinnacle refers to its Arkose as being an adventure road bike rather than an out and out gravel machine. There’s a lot of mountain bike influence in Merida’s Silex 400 and that’s a very good thing. By combining a long reach figure with a short stem, the aluminium frame of the Silex 400 positions its rider perfectly to make giant mountain the most of its brilliant off-road handling. You also get a nice smart set of Cannondale’s own Hollowgram carbon wheels, which are tubeless ready and weigh around 1.5kg, which helps keep the overall weight of the bike down to 9kg in a size large. Personally i prefer drop bars as i mainly ride road and not that challenging terrain.
Want one bike that can toggle between road and gravel? State Bicycle Co. makes it easy to get into a bike with a no-haggle price that won’t leave you asking if you got a deal. Every All-Road is offered at a flat rate of $1,399. giant ROAD BIKES Trimmed with Specialized’s own proprietary 700 x 38c tires off the floor, the Diverge is a truly robust gravel tire. If you want to go beefier, the clearance supports up to 700 x 47c 2.1 inches on 650b x 2.1 inches.