The best gravel adventure bikes will take you into more extreme gravel terrain and allow you to set up for bikepacking expeditions.
While a few years ago the best gravel bikes were do-it-all machines, the popularity of gravel racing and the emergence of gravel racing pros has seen brands increasingly differentiate their gravel bikes.
Bike makers that used to have just one gravel bikes now often offer two gravel bike platforms, one for gravel racing and another for adventure gravel riding. Examples are the BMC Kaius and URS and the Cannondale SuperX and Topstone.
There are still plenty of find do-it-all gravel bikes though, if you’re not sure where your gravel allegiances lie. Adventure gravel bikes won’t hold you back unless you’re on the pointy end of gravel racing. Indeed, Matej Mohorič even won the 2023 UCI Gravel World Championships on a Merida Silex, one of the bikes below.
But adventure gravel bikes are designed to offer a stable geometry and tyre clearance now often exceeds 50mm. Wider tyres still on 650b wheels may be an option. You’ll get a full set of mounting points for bags and bottles and maybe internal routing for dynamo cables.
Below are our picks of the best gravel adventure bikes we’ve reviewed at Cyclist and further down you’ll find a short buyer’s guide to what to look for in an adventure gravel bike.
Reviews of the best gravel adventure bikes
- 3T Exploro Ultra – read our full review
- 3T Extrema Italia – read our full review
- Cannondale Topstone Carbon – read our full review
- Canyon Grizl – read our full review
- Fara F/Gravel – read our full review
- Giant Revolt X – read our full review
- Merida Silex – read our full review
- Open Wide – read our full review
- Specialized Diverge STR – read our full review
Related questions you can explore with Ask Cyclist, our new AI search engine.
Why trust Cyclist's advice?
We like a bit of adventure at Cyclist. We've been riding and reviewing gravel bikes since the outset and they're a major part of our drop bar bike coverage. We've watched as the original general purpose gravel bikes have morphed into differentiated gravel race and gravel adventure bikes and our testing has reflected this change.
All the bikes and cycling paraphernalia we review are independently chosen and we're not paid for our reviews, so you can trust us to provide an unbiased opinion.
The best gravel adventure bikes reviewed by Cyclist
3T Exploro Ultra
£2,447 frameset | View offer
- Designed to be fast on road but still handle well on technical gravel
- Low weight and aero tuned for wide 650b tyres
The Exploro Ultra (now just known as the 3T Ultra) has big tyre clearance, although not quite the match of the 3T Extrema Italia, below. That allows you to fit 46mm 700c or the preferred 650b tyres in 61mm width, with 3T saying the Ultra is for riders looking for in-town as well as gravel performance. As with the Extrema Ultra, the Ultra's frame is aero tuned for the wide tyres, while the geometry leads to a fast ride on tarmac, with the 419mm chainstay length short for a bike with so much clearance.
3T makes a lot of the components on our test bike, including the 1x Torno carbon crankset and the wheels, contributing to a low 8.4kg bike weight, even with the dropper post. With the wide tyres, there's enough cushioning to offset the frame stiffness and the Ultra is adroit on tougher terrain, although it's not quite as off-road oriented as the 3T Extrema Italia.
- Read our full 3T Exploro Ultra review
- Buy now from 3T (frameset £2,447)
3T Extrema Italia
£4,868 (frameset) | View offer
- Huge 57mm 700c tyre clearance gives MTB trail capability
- Feels rather niche, heavy and slow on climbs and on road
Looking for massive tyre clearance, even with a 2x groupset? The 3T Extrema Italia is the bike for you, with 57mm 700c tyre clearance while still offering claimed aero benefits. That opens up MTB terrain, while the massive 75mm wide down tube is claimed to still be aero.
The frame is built to order in Italy and can be configured for different groupsets. There's internal cable routing, although it's still easy to disassemble the bars for travel.
The geometry leads to a planted, deft feel and fast riding on MTB trails, with huge grip from the equally huge tyres. Stock builds get a mullet drivetrain for plenty of lower gear ratios, although we reckoned the dropper post was unnecessary for UK riders.
The downside of the 3T Extrema Italia's competence on MTB trails is a 9.9kg weight that makes climbing hard work and progress slow on tarmac, even if it's smooth and comfy. We reckon it's a bit of a niche bike, but great if you want monster truck off-road capabilities.
- Read our full 3T Extrema Italia review
- Buy now from 3T (frameset £4,868)
Cannondale Topstone Carbon
£4,500 | View offer
- Kingpin rear suspension aids traction and comfort without excess weight
- Specs available with full suspension and without SmartSense lighting
Cannondale's Kingpin rear suspension provides around 30mm of linkage-free, low maintenance rear travel to the Topstone Carbon and you can add the same amount of front end travel by choosing a spec with Cannondale's Lefty Oliver single leg suspension fork, for a fully suspended gravel bike. Even with just the rear suspension, there's plenty of gravel comfort on offer, while the Out Front steering geometry makes for confident handling.
The 45mm tyre clearance feels about right to put enough rubber on the trail for grip and isolation from bumps and the longer reach and short stem aid flickability. We're not fans of Cannondale's SmartSense lighting, which makes up around 500g of the bike's 9.6kg weight and adds to the messy front end cabling. Fortunately, you can find many specs without it.
- Read our full Cannondale Topstone Carbon review
Canyon Grizl
From £2,349 | View offer
- Allows you to tackle rougher terrain, with clearance for wide 50mm tyres
- Clean looks and quality specs
While the Canyon Grail focusses on faster gravel rides, the Grizl is designed for adventure off-road. Its 50mm tyre clearance and full set of mounting points allow you to explore tougher terrain and we reckon that the worse it gets, the better the Grizl performs. It's hugely competent off-road, although a little slow-feeling on tarmac.
The Grizl's clean looks shine too, although the short reach and high stack leave you quite upright and the 9.3kg weight slow things down on climbs. But the fairly steep angles and short stem add sharp handling on tight trails and there's plenty of rigidity in the frame, offering good power transfer. In typical Canyon fashion, the specs on offer are high value, with options from all the main groupset makers and quality wheels, so there's little cause to upgrade.
- Read our full Canyon Grizl review
- Buy now from Canyon (from £2,349)
Fara F/Gravel
From £3,381 | View offer
- Long ride credentials but still fast-handling
- A few spec niggles which could be avoided with the custom build option
Norwegian brand Fara aims at long distance off-road adventurers with the third generation F/Gravel, while its geometry and low weight make it lively enough to be engaging on shorter rides and equip it for gravel races as well. There's a range of bike bags available for load carrying, attached by Fidlock magnets, as well as a full set of bosses and in-frame storage.
50mm tyre clearance allows you to set the bike up for bigger off-road adventures, although the supplied Panaracer GravelKing SK+ tyres aren't really up to the job and would need an upgrade for most UK riding. The Fulcrum wheels on the spec tested are underwhelming too. Go for a custom build and both can be swapped out though, along with the cockpit and other components.
We found the F/Gravel fast, comfortable and compliant, although held back a little by the near 2kg weight of the wheels.
- Read our full Fara F/Gravel review
- Buy now from Fara (from £3,381)
Giant Revolt X
£6,499 | View offer
- Great ride on rough non-technical paths thanks to suspension fork and dropper travel
- Not so good on MTB-style descents
The Revolt X adds a 40mm travel suspension fork, a dropper post with 25mm travel built in, and more tyre clearance to the standard Revolt, for added capability on rough terrain. While the Revolt saw an upgrade in 2024, the X still has non-integrated cabling and lacks down tube storage. As with the non-X bike, a flip chip in the rear dropout allows you to increase the wheelbase, fit tyres up to 53mm wide and add extra stability.
Hit rutted, rocky sections and the suspension does a great job of smoothing things out, making the bike good for longer bikepacking excursions, although the riding position isn't great for steeper, fully MTB terrain. The added mechanicals push the weight close to 10kg too. We reckon the standard Revolt makes more sense for most riders.
- Read our full Giant Revolt X review
Merida Silex
£5,250 | View offer
- MTB-like geometry offers great handling on both techy and non-technical gravel
- Cruisy on tarmac thanks to long trail and wheelbase and 9.8kg weight
The Merida Silex is far more akin in its geometry to a hardtail MTB than many gravel bikes, even if its 45mm tyre clearance is no greater. The long top tube, short stem, slack 69.5 degree head tube angle and long trail add off-road stability and you can swap in a suspension fork, should you wish. Merida puts a multitool under the saddle.
Riding on tarmac, the Silex feels a little ponderous, although it has a smooth momentum. Once on gravel paths though the bike's ride-smoothing abilities and long wheelbase shine, with handling that adds grip and speed. 180mm brake rotors and cooling fins on the frame add extra heat dissipation for longer, hotter descents, where the Silex excels. It's no wonder Matej Mohorič won the 2023 Gravel World Championships on one.
- Read our full Merida Silex review
Open Wide
€2,800 (frameset) | View offer
- 60mm tyre clearance on 650b wheels, 46mm on 700c
- Versatile, rigid and fun
Along with 3T, Open is led by Cervélo co-founder Gerard Vroomen, who continues to push the envelope in bike design. The Wide gravel bike has space for 650b tyres over 60mm/2.4 inches in width, although the 46mm 700c clearance is now more conventional. The Wide's handling is lively, without detriment to stability, so it's easy to weave your way along technical trails and downhills. There's road bike performance on roads and less technical gravel too.
Vroomen has championed 1x and there's no front mech hanger on the Wide. We didn't miss a double crankset; with enough gear range and low weight the Open Wide can tackle pretty much any terrain. It's a tuned performance bike, but still fun and versatile.
- Read our full Open Wide review
- Buy now from Open (frameset €2,800)
Specialized Diverge STR
£4,699 (RRP: £6,250) | View offer
- Front and rear Future Shock suspension smooth the ride
- Rather over-engineered for tamer gravel riding
The Diverge STR adds rear Future Shock suspension to the Future Shock 2.0 headset found on the non-STR bike, allowing 30mm of tuneable movement at the saddle without affecting saddle height or causing the bike to bounce when out of the saddle. In-frame storage and 45mm tyre clearance add versatility and the geometry lends itself to faster handling, although it's not as progressive as many competitors.
The top spec S-Works bike comes with SRAM mullet gearing and is spendy, but we reckon the Expert offers better value. As with many highly engineered gravel bikes, we'd question whether many riders need so much capability though. We were impressed by the Diverge STR's capacity to smooth the terrain when seated, although there's some work required to tune the suspension to get the best ride.
- Read our full Specialized Diverge STR review
Gravel adventure bikes: what to look for
Here are the key features to look for in a gravel bike geared for adventure, rather than one aimed at gravel racing and fast gravel rides.
Stable handling
A gravel adventure bike will usually have geometry that makes for a stable ride. That usually equates to a long wheelbase, slack head tube angle of around 70 degrees, and longer trail. The chainstays will often be a little longer too, in part to accommodate wider tyres, in part to aid stability.
The bike's stability will set it up for rides on trickier terrain and steeper descents. It's also useful when you're loaded up with bikepacking bags.
Big tyre clearance
Tyre clearance for adventure gravel bikes is getting ever-wider. While a few years ago 40mm was considered wide, now it's not uncommon to see 50mm clearance or more. The extra rubber on the trail aids grip and rollover of obstacles and helps on climbs and descents. It also allows you to lower tyre pressure for more ride comfort.
650b wheels and tyres are still an option, although they're falling out of favour and many of the best gravel adventure bikes now sport 700c wheels. The smaller 650b wheel size typically allows you to fit even wider tyres, although with modern wide-range gravel bike gearing the argument that these will provide a similar rolling radius to a narrower tyre on a 700c wheel and hence similar gearing is now less significant.
Wide range gearing
Which brings us to gravel bike gearing. Almost all gravel groupsets now provide gear ratios down to 1:1 and usually below that, thanks to subcompact cranksets and wide-range cassettes. Gear range (the difference in ratios between the highest and lowest gears) is now typically over 400%, so you're not too compromised on faster sections or when riding on tarmac.
1x gearing is an alternative to 2x for almost all gravel bike groupsets, often offering as much or more range than a 2x set-up, with small jumps in ratios thanks to 12 or 13 sprockets in the cassette. Shimano, SRAM and Campagnolo all offer 1x gravel bike groupsets, with Shimano and SRAM also selling 2x options for gravel. If you want lower gearing, a mullet build can take your ratios even lower.
Suspension
Many brands incorporate suspension systems in their adventure gravel bikes. Rather than the heavy, long travel suspension systems seen on mountain bikes, these typically offer around 30 or 40mm of travel, with little weight penalty. Examples are Cannondale's Kingpin rear suspension and Specialized's Future Shock system, seen at the front in the standard Specialized Diverge and both front and rear in the Diverge STR.
A short travel suspension fork is also an option, such as on the Giant Revolt X. Even if a bike doesn't come with one, many now have a shorter head tube so that they're forward compatible with a suspension fork, should you wish to upgrade.
Even if there's no active suspension system, adventure gravel bike frames typically include compliance zones and features in the rear triangle, such as that seen in the GT Grade Carbon, designed to provide passive ride smoothing.
Dropper post compatibility
Many adventure gravel bikes are compatible with a dropper seatpost and provide ports for internal cable routing. Some are sold with a dropper post already installed.
We've questioned the need for a dropper post for most UK riding, although it might be handy if you're planning to ride your gravel bike somewhere more extreme. Some dropper posts have a small amount of travel built in when they're locked out, aiding saddle comfort.
Mounting points
Expect a full set of mounting points on a gravel adventure bike, so you can lash a set of bikepacking bags to your bike for the myriad bikepacking essentials. That usually includes fork leg mounts, as well as frame mounts and three sets of bottle bosses. You'll often have scope for internal dynamo cable routing through the right hand fork leg and sometimes the frame too.
In contrast, gravel race bikes may forego some mounting points, particularly those on the forks and may not be compatible with mudguards to preserve their close clearances.
