What didn’t we test then? Even we as a magazine are not immune to the current poor availability and the limited supply capacity of the bike industry. With these considerations, we have put together an exciting and relevant test field, in which not only a deserving test winner is hiding, but in which there should also be a suitable gravel bike for everyone of you. Nevertheless, we have dared to perform exactly this balancing act and have racked our brains over which candidates absolutely have to be there and which could be an exciting broadening of perspectives. With the boom of the gravel segment, the choice of gravel bikes is also continuously increasing – and with it the difficulty of putting together a test field that keeps a sensible balance between relevance for you – our readers – and a look beyond the end of one’s nose and towards trends or exciting exotics. Gravel bikes have the power, their hour has come and our test field reflects exactly that! The test field: What did we test? So gravel race bikes, everyday bikes, adventure bikes and all-road offshoots are being drawn from the niche of the niche into the centre of the mainstream. Where there are more people, there is a greater desire and need for specialised solutions. But it is not just purely economic interests that are accelerating and favouring the segmentation of gravel bikes. In business administration, “shelf space” is an important metric and of course no bike brand wants to lose out here, so it seems that what contracts on one side expands on the other. You can find our comparison test of the best road bikes in general here ( to the test). In the end, two types of race bikes remain: highly developed and pure bred race bikes ( you can find our comparison test here) on the one hand and what is called an everyman, all-road, endurance or “whatever” bike on the other. Technical innovations make road bikes able to do more and more, while the UCI and its rules tirelessly regulate and define with their statutes exactly what can and cannot be on a race bike. If you take a look at the current market for road bikes, you can see that more and more categories are being combined. The GRAN FONDO community has decided: most of you ride gravel bikes or want to buy one. At the same time, specially optimised bike models naturally offer clear advantages for specialised riders who know exactly what they want. Instead, you get the feeling that you have to be classified as a gravel racer, pleasure rider, adventurer or commuter. For the gravel fan in search of his perfect companion, this is of course both a curse and a blessing! Because apparently it is suddenly no longer enough to want to ride a bike that can simply take on any adventure. Gravel bikes trial#From gravel bikes for MTB light trail use to time trial gravel machines, there is hardly anything left that is not available. Although there were already considerable differences between the brands’ gravel interpretations at that time, a lot has changed in recent months: the market for gravel bikes is moving further away from its “one bike for everything” approach towards a finely segmented mass market. All models seemed to have the same all-round characteristics. For quite a while, it was enough for bike manufacturers to have a single gravel bike in their portfolio. The bike industry has long recognised this. Our comparison test should make your purchase decision easier, and explains clearly which bike suits which type of rider. In a field as diverse as the gravel market, everyone is guaranteed to find a suitable model – provided you know what you want and are honest with your self-assessment. We invited the 19 most exciting models for the 20 season to test and find out which bike is the best all-rounder. As multi-talented bikes that know almost no obstacles, they bridge the gap between paved roads and natural surfaces. For many of us, gravel bikes are freedom machines, shrinks, expedition vehicles, tour operators, training tools and everyday companions all rolled into one. Gravel is an attitude towards riding and towards life itself. This is it: the biggest gravel bike test we have ever done – the gravel world championship of all gravel tests! For us, gravel bikes are much more than just road bikes for the gravel road and since you are reading these words right now, there is a very high chance that you feel the same way.
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