THE YEAR'S BEST AND MOST EXCITING BIKES - GRAVEL

Bicycling’s annual Bike Awards are the culmination of a year’s worth of real-world ride testing of hundreds of bikes. We rode them as you would—commuting on city streets, in the bikepark, up tough climbs, deep in the woods, or just out for a spin after a busy day. In selecting our top 40, we evaluated each bike’s performance, its value, and how it stacks up against similar models in its category. We thought hard about each bike and whether it was one we’d want for ourselves before recommending it. If you’re searching for a new road, mountain, gravel, or commuter bike—or just dreaming—one of these will be right for you.

SPECIALIZED CRUX COMP

$4,200 // 19.1 LB (56CM)

The Crux looks like Specialized took its much-loved Aethos road bike platform, made some geometry tweaks, and gave it massive tire clearance, all while keeping it extremely light. They ended up with a bike that comes as close as we’ve seen to one that can almost do it all. The updated, longer and slacker geometry, clearance for 47mm tires, and low frameset weight make the Crux one of the snappiest and most exciting dropbar bikes we’ve ridden off-road. The base Comp model comes equipped with the highly reliable SRAM Rival 1 mechanical drivetrain. The only riders who should look elsewhere are folks who need to fit racks, fenders, and other gear to their frames for bikepacking adventures. For everyone else, the Crux might just be the best bike you’ll swing a leg over.

ALLIED ECHO

$7,410 // 19.2 LB (Large)

Whether at coffee stops, on group rides, or even on the car rack in traffic, everyone wants to chat us up about the Echo. Maybe it’s the bike’s clean lines and satin wineberry paint upgrade? Or the ability to change up the geometry from gravel to road-oriented? But often the questions pertain to this being one of the few American-made carbon frames you can buy.

You read that correctly: Allied designs, manufactures, and paints the Echo (and its two other drop-bar models—the Able gravel bike and the Alfa Disc road bike) at its Bentonville, Arkansas, factory, where about 35 employees produce more than 1,000 framesets annually. This includes the frame’s small parts, like the beautifully crafted and intricate hidden-cable stem used on the bike.