Best gravel bikes 2024 — adventure-ready rides for leaving the tarmac behind

Canyon's Grail gravel bike has been around for a while now, particularly known for its distinctive double-decker handlebars featured on the carbon models. However, the German brand has left those double bars behind in pursuit of enhanced aerodynamics.

The new Canyon Grail continues to offer what its predecessor did: speed without compromising on comfort. It has improved in terms of versatility and would be a great all-rounder for someone who is serious about racing gravel but occasionally fancies a road ride, too.

We’ve also reviewed the Canyon Grail AL 7 eTap which, as the name suggests, is an aluminium version of the brand's flagship gravel bike and it's an excellent choice if you're looking to spend less.

The latest gravel machine from Vitus is the Venon EVO-GR and it's very impressive. While it's actually designed as an 'all-road' bike, it excels as a gravel bike and also performs superbly on the road.

The Venon's racy nature makes it a blast to ride on fast-flowing trails and tracks and the blend of stiffness and comfort means it's a bike you can ride for hours at speed. 

It has plenty of tyre clearance too, with room for tyres up to 45mm. If you wanted to switch the GR to a road build you can ride pretty much any tyre size you want as most slicks top out around the 38mm mark, and even with those fitted you could run full mudguards. This really adds to the versatility of the EVO-GR. With big tyres and mudguards fitted you’ve got an ideal lightweight tourer, audax machine or year-round commuter. 

The 2022 Specialized S-Works Crux is an exceptional gravel bike for fast riding that can still excel in cyclocross races. The lightweight package is combined with brilliant low-speed stability that makes the S-Works Crux insanely good at climbing, be it fast or technical, and it's a blast to ride on the lanes too. This machine is one that will best suit racers and roadies who want a fast bike for mixed surfaces. Oh yes, and as you've probably noticed it's outstandingly expensive although there are less pricey models available in the Crux lineup.

Tester Liam writes: “The Crux was long Specialized’s pure cyclocross bike, but when I first saw the redesigned model I wondered what the Aethos was doing wearing a set of gravel tyres. It's a bit more nuanced than that, but in essence, that is what you're getting here. Its low weight makes the Crux an excellent climber and it is a joy to ride on faster gravel as well as on the road. Okay, it might not be the best for loading up with luggage, but for going fast it is fantastic". 

We don't always recommend women's-specific bikes here at road.cc, and many brands have stopped even producing them, as there's no reason why most bikes can't be unisex; however, the Liv Devote is an excellent exception. The alloy frame and carbon fork cater for riders down to 150cm, and the bikes are well-specced with sensibly-sized bars, cranks and stems throughout the range.

The frame can fit up to 45mm tyres, which makes this a versatile machine that reviewer Lara found to be no slouch. The Liv ships with a reliable Shimano GRX 400 groupset and benefits from Giant componentry elsewhere, such as tubeless wheels and finishing gear.

Lara summed up the bike by concluding that those who favour women-specific designs and want a gravel-focused do-it-all bike "will love the geometry and confidence-inspiring handling of the Devote 1, and it's not bad value for money either."

The Landrace Tupelo is a titanium frameset proving to be an excellent companion for adventure-hungry cyclists seeking a bike for a lifetime. Landrace was set up by London-based bike shop/bike fitting studio Cyclefit's Julian Wall and Phil Cavell and the Tupelo is their first model.

The Landrace Tupelo adapts to every adventure with reliable performance and comfort, from epic multi-day bikepacking trips to smooth tarmac cruises. The frameset has a claimed weight of 1,900g and it's equipped with an extra bottle cage on the down tube as well as the usual two, and mudguard mounts, and has clearance for 35mm tyres (32mm with mudguards).

Titanium frames don't come cheap but you get a custom fit as part of the package when you buy the Landrace Tupelo frameset. Additionally, Landrace offers the option for a complete build, with various configurations available, and they make their own wheels too.

The Sonder Camino AL frame and fork is an excellent base on which to build a commuting, gravel or bikepacking bike. Loaded with features and at an excellent price, it compares well with far more expensive framesets. This latest iteration has a full-carbon fork with three-bolt luggage mounts, internal cable routing and a slacker head tube at 69° with a longer wheelbase.

Tester Mike writes: "The Camino frameset represents cracking value for money. It's a bike you could build as a commuter or a round-the-world tourer, or a bridleway escape machine. Or all three, changing wheels, bar and luggage as needed. At about 2.7kg for frame and fork it's not winning any weight contests, but that's not what this sort of bike is about. Alpkit's full-build Caminos are great value for money, but if you have the bits kicking around, building an adventure-capable bike up using the Camino frameset won't disappoint.”