Testing 6 completely different gravel bikes to find the future of gravel

October 9, 2026 6 Min Read

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Updated October 8, 2026 at 1:50 p.m.

Have you taken a look at the state of gravel cycling recently? It’s evolving faster than anyone can keep up, just like bikes. So we had to think, with choices more varied than ever, what exactly is the future of gravel bikes? Levy, Josh and Logan tackle this question head on during the Velo Gravel field test.

For this test, we assembled six models spanning the gamut of gravel bike designs, all progressive in their own way. From a super aero bike to what is essentially a mountain bike in an identity crisis, these six bikes couldn’t be further from each other – oh, and that’s before we get to the one with the really big wheels!

And yet they all have valid rights to the gravel.

Beyond the consensus on the need for 50mm+ tire clearance, there is no single approach to gravel bikes that everyone can agree on. Should they essentially be an aero road bike modified for off-road? Should they be soft, aggressive, or somewhere in between? And is suspension a nebulous innovation that should stay squarely in its MTB lane? Don’t tell that to brands that offer spongy forks with different travel distances in gravel: we have three in this test to analyze.

The 6 bikes in test

Advanced Giant Revolt SL

Velo Gravel field test: the future of gravel bikes — (Photo: Max Barron/Vélo)

The all-rounder: race or go on an adventure.

Specification: Giant Revolt Advanced SL 0, SRAM Red XPLR
Tire clearance, claimed: 53mm
Weight (tested size): 7.84 kg/17.3 pounds (ML)

Sarana Factor

The ultra-endurance machine.

Specification: Sarana Factor, SRAM Force XPLR
Tire clearance, claimed: 56mm
Weight (tested size): 9.58 kg/21.12 lb (medium)

Argon 18 Anti Matter

The aerodynamic approach to gravel.

Specification: Argon 18 Anti Matter + SRAM RED XPLR
Tire clearance, claimed: 55mm
Weight (tested size): 8.5 kg/18.74 lb (medium)

Obed GVR

The progressive racing bike.

Specification: Obed GVR, SRAM Red XPLR
Tire clearance, claimed: 56mm
Weight (tested size): 9.12 kg/20.1 lb (medium)

Pivot Les SL drop bar

The drop bar mountain bike.

Specification: Pivot Les SL drop bar, SRAM GX Eagle 12-speed drivetrain
Tire clearance, claimed: 29×2.4″
Weight (tested size): 9.78 kg/21.56 lb (medium)

Salsa Fargo 32Ti

The 32er. What difference do big wheels make?

Specification: Salsa Fargo 32 Ti, SRAM GX Eagle drivetrain
Tire clearance, claimed: 60mm
Weight (tested size): 9.48 kg/20.9 lb (medium)

Test pilots

To settle the debate over the future of gravel once and for all (or perhaps muddy it more than ever), we brought together three test riders who, like the bikes, couldn’t be more different.

Mike Levy, a reformed mountain biker who became obsessed with drop bars, leads the charge, bringing a technical, rowdy background and a preference for rougher roads and off-the-beaten-path adventure, on Earth and beyond.

He is joined by Velo’s in-house team of technical writers. Josh Ross likes to cover long distances as efficiently as possible: he rides all day and night on the gravel roads of the Pacific Northwest and beyond. His goal is to push his personal limits and find the gear that will help him go that extra mile (or 200 extra miles).

After finishing 18th overall in the Unbound 200, Logan Jones-Wilkins can’t stop thinking about going fast and squeezing every drop of performance out of his gravel gear. But when he’s not mixing things up at the end of a race, he likes his gravel bike to be a way to venture into the unknown.

That represents three different approaches to gravel and, naturally, their approaches are as varied as the riders themselves. Can they settle their differences and agree on anything? We may have to resort to good old-fashioned problem-solving tactics, which may or may not involve go-kart racing.

Squamish: the ultimate testing ground

To put these bikes (and the riders, too) through their paces, we took everyone to the outdoor playground in Squamish, British Columbia. Discovering the future of gravel means pushing bikes to their limits, so we’ve found a mix of terrain from singletrack to washboard fire roads to achieve this.

We test bikes to get the most out of them. In this first episode, we’ve put together a test loop that takes our riders over a handful of every type of terrain that one might consider gravel, from champagne roads to loamy dirt trails to slightly technical and rocky single track, and we have climbs and descents for all of the above.

Later in the series, we put the bikes through a series of timed head-to-head tests, including climbs, descents and a flat road efficiency test.

To keep our testing focused on the bikes themselves, we introduced control tires, 50mm Schwalbe G-One RX tires running at the same tire pressure, mounted on Easton EC90 ALX wheels.

Thanks to our sponsors!

Velo Field Test would not happen without the support of these sponsors. A big thank you to Endura for supplying the kits and helmets, Schwalbe for the tires, and Easton for the wheels!