Best gravel bikes quick picks
A gravel bike for beginners: Marin Bikes Nicasio+
A gravel bike for experienced riders: Cervelo Aspero Apex 1X
A gravel bike for bikepacking: Kona Sutra LTD
Gravel bikes — versatile, beefed-up road-style bikes with fatter tires and off-road friendly gearing — are the fastest-growing style of bike today, with sales increasing by 109% since 2019. It’s not hard to see why, since they appeal to pretty much any type of cyclist. Hardcore mountain biker? Spandex-clad roadie? You’ll both like gravel, and more and more riders are hitting unpaved roads across the United States to try the new discipline.
Gravel bikes have drop bars like road bikes, but with more relaxed frame geometry and lower gearing so you feel more stable on rough, rolling terrain but can still cruise while riding pavement. Wider tires with lots of tread mean you can easily handle dirt, gravel or other similar outdoor terrain. While they’re not typically meant for extremely technical and rocky terrain, if you’re an experienced off-road rider, you can still take some of the gravel bikes out on flowy singletrack and have plenty of fun.
“Gravel riding gives you the freedom to explore and head off the beaten path, especially if you are coming from a road cycling background,” says Massimo Alpian, a cycling industry veteran and current board member for Ride for Racial Justice. “With this category exploding over the past several years, there are so many options now.”
Ready to call yourself a gravaficionado? We talked with various gravel grinding experts to get the lowdown on the best gravel bikes for all abilities. Whether you’re a first-timer hopping on the gravel ribbon or an experienced cyclist looking to get into bikepacking, here are some of our favorites.
Best gravel bikes for beginners
An inexpensive, well-built bike with a traditional steel frame, the Nicasio+ slays as a bikepacking rig. “It has a durable steel frame that eats the bumps and forgiving geometry that bolsters confidence, even when riding with heavy loads,” says Rory McAllister, a UESCA certified cycling coach and editor of BikeTips. With a steel frame and fork, the Nicasio+ isn’t the lightest bike out there, and its mechanical brakes aren’t as finely tuned as higher-end hydraulic options. However, those are small peanuts when you’re searching for adventure — and the price is right.
Beginners, here’s a great option. Cannondale’s Topstone 4 is the most affordable bike in the Topstone lineup, but it doesn’t lack performance. Cannondale cut costs by using a lower-end but still reliable groupset (the shifters, drivetrain and brakes — all the components that make a bike stop and go) from microShift rather than pricier options from Shimano or SRAM. The alloy frame is very rigid but the full carbon front fork minimizes the biggest bumps. And the price is decent. “As a short, heavier rider, the bike is super strong while being nimble,“ says Marley Blonsky, a fat adventure cyclist. “With mounting points for racks and fenders, it can easily turn into a daily commuter or adventure bike, in addition to being a great race bike.”
For just over a grand, the Kona Rove AL gets you a burly aluminum workhorse that is virtually indestructible on dirt roads. Sure, it comes with lower-end components and has mechanical disc brakes instead of hydraulic, but if you’re considering bikepacking and want a no-muss, no-fuss type of bike to fit your easygoing lifestyle, give the Rove a try.
Best gravel bikes for experienced riders
It’s quirky, it’s fun and it’s as close to a mountain bike as you’ll ever get with gravel. The Topstone Carbon 2 Lefty is the bike I ride in the hills outside of Aspen, Colorado, and the dual suspension allows me to go almost anywhere. Cannondale’s proprietary rear suspension and the brand’s signature Lefty single-sided fork deliver plenty of shocks, so you can bop over rocks without fear of breaking a wrist. It fits up to 29 by 1.77-inch tires and even has a dropper post for gnarlier descents (a dropper post allows a rider to drop the seat post while riding). I recently took it on an overnight bikepacking trip with roughly 5,000 feet of climbing, and the stiffness of the fork made me forget I had a squishy bike.?
It’s safe to assume that the bike is built for speed when it comes with the mantra, “Haul ass, not cargo.” The Aspero is just that, with a lightweight carbon frame that is stiff and comfortable enough to cover a lot of miles in a day. “This one is my go-to gravel race bike when I'm looking for my ‘personal best,’ as well as something I can train on when numbers count and I have a goal in mind,” says Alpian. It doesn’t come with a dropper post, but the internal cabling allows for one if you want. And the Aspero comes with a high-end groupset from SRAM, which means you get solid performance with the company’s signature double-tap shifting — and all at a decent price.
You get a lot of bang for your buck with the Grail CF SL 7 from direct-to-consumer brand Canyon. It’s not as inexpensive as the Topstone 4 or ADV 2.1, but it comes with a lot of nice features that you typically find on higher-end bikes like a carbon frame and a higher-end groupset. You also get a polarizing handlebar situation with Canyon’s funky two-tier design. They claim it adds a little front suspension without the weight of a traditional fork, and it definitely dampens bumps … if you can get over the aesthetics.
The Specialized Diverge series is a favorite thanks to its steadiness on descents that keep riders in control. The carbon frame is incredibly light, making it a solid choice for racing or speedy days with friends. It comes with hydraulic disc brakes and a 1x11-speed drivetrain (1 ring in front, 11 in the back). While this does mean fewer gears than a bike like the REI ADV 2.1 that has two rings up front, it also equates to less weight and an allowance for greater tire clearance. Plus, you get front suspension: “The Future shock in the handlebars softens all the impacts,” says pro athlete Caroline Gleich.
Liv is the sister company to Giant, the uber-large bike company. But unlike Giant, Liv only specializes in bikes for women — and the Devote Advanced 1 is no different. The composite frame and fork keep the bike light enough for those steep climbs and there is plenty of clearance for 2.75-inch tires with the integrated tubeless wheel system. The Devote also comes with a dropper post and plenty of water bottle mounts, so you’ll never go thirsty.
Best gravel bikes for bikepacking
If you want a legend, look no further. The LTD has been a venerable classic in bikepacking circles ever since it originally launched in 2019. I should know, since it was my first gravel bike. The beefy 29-inch tires roll over anything and it can fit tires with a width up to 2.4 inches so you’ve got plenty of rubber for rugged terrain (or you can opt for 27.5 tires that are a thicker 2.8 inches). Like the Nicasio+, the LTD is a steel frame, so it’s a bit heavy but absorbs bumps like a champ. Unlike the Nicasio+, Kona went with nicer hydraulic brakes and a dropper seat post. It does feel a little heavy while climbing, but it’s a great bet for gravel roads and mountain trails.
Built specifically for the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route (GDMBR) — the longest mountain bike race in the country — the Cutthroat GRX 600 has everything you need for long, repetitive days on a bike. The lightweight carbon frame makes climbs a bit easier and the frame fits up to 2.4-inch-wide and 29-inch-tall tires, while still allowing for extra space in case you build up some bonus mud on the tires. There’s also plenty of gear mounts for whatever bikepacking bag configuration floats your … bike.
Unlike every other bike on this list, the Bridge Club comes with the bull horn-shaped handlebar that’s flatter and more upright, designed to allow for a more natural hand grip when riding. It doesn’t sound like a big difference, but the relaxed positioning adds up during long hours in the saddle — especially in the upper back. While this steel frame doesn’t have as many higher-end features as some of the pricier bikes, it does come with hydraulic brakes.?
What is gravel biking?
Gravel biking has a broad definition, and that’s the beauty of the sport. For some cyclists, a gravel ride may include a flat dirt road wrapping around middle American farm country. For others, gravel riding may be climbing steep singletrack marred with pebble-sized divots. Gravel biking can and does even include all the paved sidewalks and roads that get you to the dirt ribbon. There is no one answer.
“Gravel biking bridges the gap between road biking and mountain biking,” says McAllister. “[It is] ideal for cyclists who want to explore beyond the asphalt confines of traditional road cycling, while avoiding the extreme technical challenges of mountain biking.”
What makes a gravel bike
Diving into any new sport can be disorienting, and while gravel cycling may seem like other disciplines, and gravel bikes like other bikes, there are some things you’ll want to know to decide on the best bike for you.
Frame
Gravel bike frames resemble road bike frames, though they often have more “relaxed” or “slack” geometry — meaning the frame angles are such that you sit back a little more so you’re lower, more stable and more comfortable on mixed terrain. They have a lot in common with old-school cyclocross bikes (drop-bar bikes made for high-intensity, short-track off road racing), and with the drop bar adventure bikes popular for bikepacking, with room for big tires and lots of braze-on mounts for bags and bottles and gear. They aren’t as robust as mountain bikes, but some designs do incorporate off-road style suspension elements.
As with road (and mountain) bike frames you’ll find all sorts of materials used. “The best frame material for a gravel bike really depends on the context,” says McAllister. Typically the more affordable bikes are made from aluminum tubing, while pricier bikes are made from carbon fiber. Both materials are light and strong and great bikes are available in either material, though carbon allows for more fine-tuning by the manufacturer to dampen vibrations, or to create a mix of stiffness and flexibility in the right places for racing rigs.
Steel bikes are a lot less popular than they were decades ago, but they’re still around. On the high end, smaller boutique manufacturers often use steel tubing because it allows for customization in a workshop. Exotic steel tubing allows for a very light frame, and adherents claim it’s more forgiving to ride. You’ll also see cheaper bikes made from more run-of-the-mill steel alloys.
“For casual gravel rides, I love using a steel frame,” says McAllister, noting he also prefers them for bikepacking. “However, for gravel racers and riders who care about performance above all, carbon fiber is the standout choice.”
Tires
While road bike tires have been getting bigger recently, gravel bike tires are fatter still, with big low volume rubber along the lines of mountain bike tires the norm nowadays. Tubeless tires are very popular as well; these don’t have inner tubes (obvious, we know), and are filled with sealant that instantly fixes punctures so you can keep rolling when you’re off-road.
You’ll find gravel bikes equipped with a variety of wheel sizes. Many use the 700c wheel size common to road bikes, but you’ll often see the 27.5-inch and 650b sizes used in mountain bikes, especially on smaller-sized frames (using a smaller wheel allows for better position for shorter riders). Smaller wheels also allow for fatter tires on the same frame design.
“The best tire width for gravel bikes really depends on the terrain you plan to ride,” says McAllister. “As a rule of thumb, the wider the tire is, the lower you can run tire pressures, meaning the bike will be more forgiving and provide better traction over tough terrain. Narrower tires sacrifice some of those advantages, but will perform better on roads or tightly-packed gravel trails.”
Many other factors of frame design come into play, of course, but if your idea of gravel riding involves linking up paved and gravel roads, you might want to opt for the bigger wheel sizes, while if the thought of muddy, wet or snowy conditions excites you, you might want to think about smaller wheels with room for huge tires.
Brakes
As with today’s road and mountain bikes, gravel bikes almost always use modern disc brakes; the brake mechanism is mounted near the hub and the small brake pads grip onto a rotor mounted to the wheel hub to slow you down — it works the same way as the brakes on a car or motorcycle.
You’ll run into both mechanical and hydraulic disc brakes. Mechanical brakes use a steel cable that pulls a caliper down to apply pressure on the brake pads against the rotors. Hydraulic brakes — again, like the ones on your car or motorcycle — use a fluid-filled reservoir and tubing to push the pads together. You’ll typically find mechanical brakes on cheaper bikes and those meant for long unsupported adventure riding, while higher-priced bikes and racing steeds will have hydraulics.
Both types of brakes can stop you perfectly well when adjusted properly, but there are a few differences. Mechanical brakes are easier to work on at home and cables are easy to replace in the field, but they can require more maintenance to keep them working at their best. Hydraulic brakes give you better ability to modulate your braking (you can apply just a bit of pressure or a lot and you’ll feel the difference) while mechanical brakes have more of an all-or-nothing feel, and while maintenance is more difficult (you’ll need some specialized tools and fluid and you’ll make a mess the first few times you attempt it), they are to some degree self-regulating, and can compensate for wear better.
Gearing
Gravel bikes are typically geared lower than road bikes. A road bike might have big chainrings up front (52 and 39 teeth) and small cassettes (12 teeth on up to 28 teeth or so). Those bikes give you big gears for going fast on flat ground, and enough range for strong riders to climb hills at a reasonable pace. But gravel riders don’t need to go so fast.
Thus a gravel bike often has a small single chainring up front (known as a “1x” setup), often 40 teeth or smaller, with a wide-range cassette, sometimes starting as small as 11 teeth but with a big inner cog of 32 teeth or even larger. This sort of setup has enough gearing to move you along at a good clip on flat ground, but with a better choice of easier gears to spin up climbs.
Other features to consider
You’ll see all kinds of other options on gravel bikes that you may not have encountered on road bikes. Wide, flared drop bars for better control off-road (and room for big, touring-style handlebar bags), cushy saddles and all manner of mounts for accessories are par for the course. You’ll often see bikes equipped with “dropper” seatposts that you can collapse out of the way for a lower position, mountain bike style, when you’re negotiating logs and ruts, but that spring back to a preset taller, roadlike position on command. All of these features are welcome for off-roading and well worth investigating, but aren’t essential for new gravel riders.
You’ll occasionally see suspension elements like the suspended stem on Specialized’s Diverge bikes. These can ease the fatigue-causing chatter rough surfaces can produce, and give you a more comfortable ride. You’ll even see suspension forks on some higher-end bikes, and some higher-end models — like the Cannondale Topstone Carbon 2 Lefty we talk about in this piece — even have rear suspension. This gives these bikes a little more versatility on rougher terrain, though even those aren’t mountain-bike nimble. They can definitely make singletrack you’ve grown tired of on your mountain bike fun again, and they do make challenging descents easier (and soak up the chatter, of course).
