Ribble Gravel 725 Pro

Joe Baker heads out on a steel gravel bike that’s ready for the rough stuff

£2,899 | 10.6kg

Boasting Reynolds 725 tubing, progressive geometry and a multitude of mounting points for any adventure, this could be Ribble's most capabale and versatile off-road drop-bar bike. The changeable weather over the last few weeks has allowed me to really delve deep into its true character.

Ribble supplied the all-singing, all-dancing top-of-the-range 725 Pro for this review. Although the frameset is the same through all the models, the upgraded wheels and wireless electronic SRAM Rival eTap AXS groupset have been a joy to work with.

Ribble's in-house component brand Level provides pretty much all the finishing kit for the bike and I haven't found any issues here. The flared bar felt slightly alien to me on the first few rides, but the more I got used to it the more I enjoyed the added control when in the drops to achieve a wide stance on more technical trails.

The bars and stem, both alloy, seemed stiff enough too, with no unwanted front-end flex. Better still, they didn't provide me with a particularly harsh ride - but that could have been masked by such a comfortable steel frame. The carbon seatpost was a nice touch too, helping to save a little bit of weight on a build that still came in at over 10.5kg.

The Rival eTap AXS shifting is nothing short of exemplary - not a single botched gear change in all the time I had with the bike. Stopping on the Rival 160mm hydraulic disc brakes is effortless, which has been greatly appreciated given the recent sub-zero temperatures and resulting numb hands.

As for said weather, I'd planned on doing some 'proper' bike-packing on the Gravel 725 but December was just too cold, dipping down to as low as -12°C where I live. While it's not camping weather, the rare snowfall made for some great riding. But not before an issue.