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
Denne historien er fra January 2024-utgaven av Cycling Plus UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra January 2024-utgaven av Cycling Plus UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Air Apparent - Pollution hasn't gone away. It's still there in every lungful, even if we can't see it in the air or on the news. But there are reasons to breathe easier, thanks to pioneering projects using cycling 'citizen scientists'. Rob Ainsley took part in one...
The toxic effects of pollution have been known about for years. 'Just two things of which you must beware: Don't drink the water and don't breathe the air!' sang 1960s satirist Tom Lehrer.Over recent decades, though, pollution has dropped down our list of things to worry about, thanks to ominously capitalised concerns such as Climate Change, AI, Global Conflict, Species Collapse, etc. That doesn't, unfortunately, mean the problem has expired. Air quality often exceeds safe limits, with far-reaching and crippling effects on our health.
No limits
Not every adventure needs to be that epic, says bikepacking Scotland founder Markus Stitz
UNBOUND UNLEASHED
Josh Patterson was one of 34 starters for the inaugural edition of Unbound in 2006. Now, with more than 5,000 riders taking part in today's event, he charts the rise of the most important race in gravel
FOREST COMMISSION
Looking for a goal race in 2025 that'll stimulate the synapses and live long in the memory? You'd struggle to do better than ENID CRV in Finland
15 OF THE BEST ADVENTURES
Featuring Yorkshire, the USA, Sri Lanka and more, here are our picks of the world's greatest gravel races and routes
The stuff of dreams
Ned sings the praises of the Paris Olympics road-race course
"I rode 3,000 miles around Britain on a bamboo bike to highlight our climate crisis"
Recordbreaking cyclist and triathlete Kate Strong, 45, took to the road to raise awareness of environmental issues
FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE
We venture into the hidden gem of the glorious Creuse, one of France's least populated regions
STAR TREK
New tube shapes and carbon lay-up makes the eighth generation of Trek's legendary Madone an aero and climbing bike all rolled into one
GOLD RUSH
With conflict around the world, Paris 2024 was a ray of light. Here are our highs of a mighty Olympics
