The Bike Test NEW-SCHOOL GRAVEL

This month, we head to the really rough stuff to see how four of the latest gravel designs handle roots, rocks and plenty of mud

- Warren Rossiter

Need to know 

We tell you how these all-terrain steeds are designed to handle everything from fast fireroads to technical singletrack

AS GRAVEL BIKES DEVELOP, ONE of the most exciting emerging trends is a drop-bar bike that can handle the roughest of rough stuff. Forget the smoother wide-open tracks of gravel racing in the Mid West: our quartet here are more likely to be found in the woods on rooty forest trails or on the mountainside taking on natural single track and sheep trails. Sometimes, the build kit tips an adventure bike into an extreme gravel machine, with these machines often built to blur the lines between a drop-bar gravel bike and a mountain bike.

01 MTB influence

Geometry-wise, this test will see the biggest disparity between gravel bikes, but the unifying factor is bringing mountain bike geometry into play. There's often a long front-centre and a slacker head angle, combined with a short stem, making these bikes capable on descents and keeping the steering playful when the going gets technical.

On the flip side, the bikes on test might not climb with the prowess of a race, all-road or adventure gravel bike, but you'll make up the time when the trail tips back downhill. This category shows some of the most 'extreme' designs that drift a long way into mountain bike design territory.

02 First there was Genesis

Our first and cheapest bike on test is Genesis' revamped Fugio. The UK brand was one of the earliest creators of 'gravel' bikes, making all-road road bikes such as the legendary Croix De Fer. The original Fugio was a big-tyred, skinny-tubed steel bike. For 2024, the frame has been updated to 6061 double-butted aluminium to save weight and cash. It looks ready for anything.

03 Making the grade