A fresh, young bike genre is shaking up the bike industry as a super trend: Gravel bikes are sexy! With a rather sporty riding position and minimalist equipment, they are dynamic, and thanks to off-road gears and grippy studded tyres, they don't have to give up when the tarmac ends. We got infected and realised: The fun grows with the challenge. Gravel bikes open up a new horizon of adventure where dirt, dust and spray are involved, where powerful acceleration, tenacious endurance and an eye for the best riding line are required. But even with a gravel bike, you first have to get to adventure land - usually via ordinary tarmac roads or cycle paths. That's why gravel bikes also need good riding characteristics on tarmac. Gravel bikes also convey a strong image that fits in well with our times: They suggest that you could simply break out at any time and leave all civilisation behind - a signal that also helps the SUV to succeed in the car world.
Gravel bikes combine elements of road bikes, MTBs and trekking bikes
... and yet they are completely different: more robust and off-road capable than a road racer, lighter and rougher than an MTB and more sparsely equipped than a trekking bike.
MYBIKE test video
Their rise began with the triumph of the hydraulic disc brake. Since disc brakes became established on all types of bikes, the development of gravel bikes has really taken off.
- TFLSBERG from 8BAR
- GRIZL CF SL 8 from CANYON
- SILEX 4000 HP2 from MERIDA
- ANEMOS from PARAPERA
- RUUT ST 1 from RONDO
- CUTTHROAT C GRX 810 from SALSA
- VASCO GT 28 SELECT from TOUT TERRAIN
- SPEEDSTER SP 2 from VELOTRAUM
Travelling, tours, everyday routes
What characterises gravel bikes most visually are the many threaded bushes distributed across the frame and fork. Triple threads with the same spacing as bottle cage bolts are particularly characteristic. They are usually found on the outside of the fork legs or on the top and down tubes. 8bar even places them on the seat stays in the rear triangle. The idea for these attachment points comes from the USA, the motherland of gravel bikes. There, so-called Anything Cages have become established, round-shaped clamp cages, not unlike a bottle cage, but much larger. They can hold all sorts of things, from large bottles to rolled textiles and panniers with stuffed filling. Secured by lashing straps or Velcro straps, the luggage sits firmly on the frame without protruding or flapping.
You can download the complete comparison test of the gravel bikes including all individual ratings as a PDF below the article. The test costs 1.99 euros.
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