Adventure Bikes

That farm track marked as a bridleway, that canal towpath and that disused railway line you pass on your Sunday road loop? An adventure bike will let you ride and explore those diversions, opening up new countryside and linking up roads in a way that you never could before.

With rugged features, wide, tyres and extra stability built-in, there’s enough capability to take in unmetalled surfaces but still hum along nicely on tarmac too.

Emerging racing scene

The adventure bike trend started in the United States, where there are plenty of long gravel roads and a burgeoning gravel racing scene that has put them to good use. In the UK where the gravel road network isn’t so extensive, events like Grinduro and the UK Cycling Events Adventure Rides let you pit your wits against off-road routes.

Gravel racing is attracting the pros too, with three EF Education First riders taking on the 200-mile Dirty Kanza in the States this year and the team’s Lachlan Morton winning the inaugural GBDuro — a race from Land’s End to John o’Groats that features long off-road sections.