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00:00 We recently unveiled our selection for Race Bike of the Year,
00:03 but the time has now come to take this show off-road.
00:07 Welcome to Cycling Weekly's 2023 Gravel Bike of the Year Awards.
00:13 We've chosen to focus on the middle section of the gravel spectrum for this group test,
00:22 as these bikes are, on the whole, the most versatile rigs,
00:25 which keep your gravel horizons at their broadest.
00:29 Also, this part of the spectrum also includes gravel race bikes,
00:33 which is where a huge amount of industry development has been going on over the last few years,
00:39 and as a result, these are responsible for the most interesting recent releases.
00:45 As usual, we'll be awarding our Best Gravel Bike award to the Money No Object Best Performer on Test.
00:51 We'll also have our Best Value category, which simply factors price into that equation.
00:56 In a nod to gravel's broad spectrum, though, we'll also be running two sub-category awards,
01:02 Best for Expeditions and Best for Speed,
01:05 to recognise those models which have a particular bias towards either end of the gravel sphere.
01:11 Finally, we've included a Best of British category.
01:15 With gravel varying so greatly from country to country,
01:18 the bikes that work well on the wide open dirt roads of the Costa Brava or Arkansas
01:24 generally aren't so good for the bridleways around Berkshire or Bolton.
01:29 So, we've called out the best models made by Brits, for Brits.
01:33 So, without further ado, let's get into our winners.
01:36 The Best Value category arguably requires the most nuance out of all that we're testing for.
01:46 One basic approach would be to simply see which brand offers the cheapest entry-level model,
01:51 and then go with that.
01:53 But, out of the nine bikes that we had on test, that would be the Canyon Grail.
01:58 Although great in many respects, it's not a model that we could hold up as the single best one to buy for the cash-conscious.
02:06 The next cheapest entry-level models are the Cannondale Topstone and the Ribble Gravel SL.
02:12 Both are around £2,700 and specced with Shimano GRX 11-speed group sets.
02:19 Each is a solid platform and GRX is a dependable workhorse.
02:24 If your budget is already strained, both bikes are good options.
02:29 But, is cheapest really synonymous with best value?
02:33 I don't think so.
02:35 SRAM Rival AXS is a watershed group set.
02:38 It's the least expensive electronic 12-speed group set on the market,
02:43 yet provides you with the same huge range and the tight jumps between the gears as SRAM's priciest offerings.
02:50 You also get the option of running satellite shifters, plus all of the other advantages of an electronic group set.
02:57 The entry-level Scott Addict Gravel comes equipped with this group set,
03:01 and at £3,199, it's close enough to the Cannondale and the Ribble
03:07 that it would be well worth saving up a little longer to grab yourself that massive step up in performance.
03:14 Unusually for Scott, the £3,199 Addict Gravel is actually the joint cheapest model with SRAM Rival AXS out of all of those on test.
03:24 The title is shared with the Ribble Gravel SL, which would be a better option if you're after fork leg mounts.
03:31 But, overall, the Addict Gravel is the higher performance option,
03:36 and the best value on test.
03:39 Acknowledging that any slice of the gravel spectrum contains its own smaller spectrum,
03:48 our Best for Speed category recognises the bike on test which poses the greatest challenge to a stable of road and gravel bikes.
03:56 Which model does it all? Both trails and tarmac.
04:01 A year ago, that might have been the Specialized Crux.
04:04 Its frame is incredibly lightweight, lighter than many road bikes,
04:08 and its handling stood out amongst its peers as being pretty peppy and nimble.
04:14 But the BMC Kias has taken things up another notch.
04:18 Sure, the frame is a little heavier, but the riding position, and the ride itself, is even closer to that of a road bike.
04:26 It makes you wonder whether all road bikes really have a place anymore.
04:31 The Kias is at least an equal on tarmac, but still more capable off-road.
04:36 The place of endurance road bikes like the Giant Defy and the Trek Domane even start to become a little bit questionable.
04:44 Both of those brands are quite fortunate that the Kias isn't compatible with mudguards.
04:49 Otherwise, those questions really would start to be asked in earnest.
04:54 If you don't care about mudguards though, a Kias with 35mm slick tyres, the same as which can be fitted to a Defy or Domane,
05:02 would be a weapon on the road, but would still leave your gravel riding options wide open.
05:08 Although we've confined this group test to bikes which sit within the middle of the gravel spectrum,
05:19 any slice of that spectrum contains its own smaller spectrum.
05:23 So, our Best Expedition Bike category recognises the model on test which is best equipped for the demands of ultra-distance gravel.
05:32 Coming equipped with carrying capacity, comfort, tyre clearance and geometry best suited to taking on the task.
05:40 On these terms, the Trek Checkpoint stands head and shoulders above the competition.
05:45 As mentioned, it comes equipped with more mounts and storage locations than any other bike on test.
05:51 Although the IsoSpeed decoupler is not quite as forgiving as the Canyon Grail seatpost,
05:56 but the space for 2.1" tyres on 650b wheels more than make up for that.
06:02 The geometry of the Checkpoint is notably more controlled than the others on test.
06:07 It boasts the longest wheelbase by far, and the fork trail, which provides an indication as to how stable the steering is, is also amongst the highest.
06:17 But although the Checkpoint provides a more composed ride compared to other gravel race bikes,
06:22 it's still much faster and more lively than any out-and-out gravel expedition bike at the more extreme end of the spectrum.
06:30 If you're up for bikepacking and longer distance rides, but you still want to go fast on shorter loops, then the Checkpoint is an ideal match.
06:45 This award does exactly what it says on the tin.
06:48 It's for the best British gravel bike on test, designed with British riding in mind.
06:55 Understandably, there is a convergence between the Ribble Gravel SL and the Pearson On and On, in terms of what each bike is actually optimised for.
07:04 Both are lightweight, with a dash of aero features, but both are also fully equipped for bikepacking epics and multi-day trips.
07:13 The greatest distinction between them is apparent in their riding position and prices.
07:20 Regarding the former, the Ribble Gravel SL pairs its long and stable wheelbase with a notably low and aggressive rider position,
07:28 tipping its purpose a little more towards the racing end of the spectrum.
07:32 The Pearson, for its part, combines a similar chassis but with a higher stack height,
07:38 making it a little better suited to endurance riding rather than threshold.
07:43 On the question of price, Ribble sweeps the board.
07:47 Its range-topping model with Shimano GRX Di2 comes in at over £1,400 cheaper than an equivalently specced On and On.
07:57 Plus, Ribble's range starts at £2,699 compared to £3,550.
08:04 This, combined with Ribble's well-established Bike Builder function, which allows you to tweak most elements of the spec,
08:11 pushes the Gravel SL out front as our Best of British Gravel Bike Contest.
08:15 Whereas so many gravel bikes cater for one niche or another,
08:25 the Giant Revolt manages to straddle a much wider section of the spectrum than most.
08:31 Still, it's not a jack-of-all-trades and master of none.
08:35 It goes toe-to-toe with the best on either end, even offering some unique features which really make it stand out from the crowd.
08:43 Let's take a run-through of those spec details, which make the Revolt quite so distinctive.
08:48 After that, I'll share how it all played together in the ride.
08:52 As I mentioned previously, the Giant Revolt manages to both have its cake and eat it regarding the seatpost setup.
08:59 The stock D-Fuse seatpost is said to provide 12mm of flex and you can really feel that compliance.
09:07 But rather than simply being stuck with a proprietary post, the Revolt is also compatible with a 30.9mm round seatpost.
09:16 This opens up the compatibility with a greater range of dropper seatposts than the traditional roadie 27.2mm tube.
09:24 But skinnier seatposts can still be fitted with the use of a shim, which similarly keeps your options open for the majority of suspension seatposts currently on the market.
09:35 None of the other bikes on test offer such versatility.
09:39 The next neat feature is the adjustable rear dropouts, previously also a feature on the Trek Checkpoint but dropped from the latest iteration.
09:48 Disappointingly for the single speed community, Giant's design is binary, with only two fixed positions and therefore not much use for tensioning a chain.
09:58 For everyone else though, the functionality is excellent.
10:02 Set in the short position, the Giant Revolt is up there with the most aggressive of racing gravel bikes.
10:08 Not quite in the echelons of the Specialized Crux or the BMC Kias, but slotting in ahead of the Scott Addict Gravel.
10:16 But when set in the long position, the wheelbase extends further than the Ribble Gravel SL and the On and On.
10:22 It's only the Checkpoint that has a more stable chassis.
10:25 Now, a secondary benefit of that flip chip dropout is that it opens up the tyre clearance to a whopping 53mm, or 2.1 inches, on a 700c rim.
10:37 Larger than any other model on test.
10:40 The Revolt is also very well equipped on mounts, with bosses on the down tube and the top tube, as well as a pair on each fork leg.
10:49 Now, that's not the triple mounts that we normally see up front on the fork, so some cargo cages will be incompatible, but it does still open up the carrying capacity to some extent.
11:02 Coming on to the ride, the first thing to mention is the compliance, which is utterly exceptional.
11:08 The frame did an astonishing job of soaking up the impacts.
11:12 Sure, there were a few more vibrations transferred up the seatpost than on the Canyon Grail,
11:17 but then the Grail has a leaf-sprung suspension seatpost, with separate parts that move,
11:23 rather than just relying on the seatpost simply flexing as it is on the Giant.
11:28 But the Canyon seatpost didn't provide any help at all at the bars, which contrasts to the front end of the Revolt.
11:36 At the bars, we felt a similar amount of vertical compliance to the seatpost, but still with a high level of lateral stiffness.
11:44 We didn't feel any flexing away from the line when loading it up in the corners.
11:49 For our Gravel Bike of the Year award, we make our decision based on performance alone,
11:55 determining which is the best bike, with money being no object.
11:59 Still, it is worth giving a mention to the price of the Revolt, because it does actually stack up pretty well here too.
12:06 The top-end spec is the second cheapest on test, with Shimano's GRX Di2 2x11 groupset
12:13 and Giant's excellent CXR1 carbon disc wheels coming in at £5,499, and the wider range starts at under £3,000.
12:26 One criticism we would make though is the height of the headtube.
12:29 With a stack of 586mm, it's by far and away the highest on test.
12:35 It would be better if Giant shrunk down the headtube and then gave people more choice to set their own stack height.
12:42 Still, the Revolt is an excellent bike in so many aspects, and the way that it not only straddles,
12:48 but excels in two separate sections of the gravel spectrum is highly unusual, but very much appreciated.
12:56 So there we have it, those are our winners of the Cycling Weekly Gravel Bike of the Year 2023 awards.
13:05 Let us know what you think of the winners down in the comments below.
13:08 If you enjoyed the video, then please do drop it a like,
13:10 subscribe to the channel for more content, and I will see you again very soon.
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