Gravel cycling is only growing as we start 2024. It's a discipline of cycling which is now so far reaching it encompasses so many different styles of riding.
In this video Cycling Weekly looks to the rest of 2024 and make our predictions as to what we think the big tech trends in gravel cycling will be. These predictions range from brand new groupsets, new suspension and also new ways for bike manufacturers to start building their frames.
In this video Cycling Weekly looks to the rest of 2024 and make our predictions as to what we think the big tech trends in gravel cycling will be. These predictions range from brand new groupsets, new suspension and also new ways for bike manufacturers to start building their frames.
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00:00 As the gravel bike realm continues to evolve, the echoes of 2023 resonate with a surge in
00:08 gravel racing and the continued expansion of gravel exploration.
00:13 In the world of racing, the UCI Gravel World Series went from strength to strength, with
00:18 16 events globally and the second world championships in Italy, while the world of bikepacking has
00:24 continued to gain traction worldwide.
00:27 Unsurprisingly, all of this has led to more and more gravel-specific tech hitting the
00:32 shelves in the last 12 months.
00:34 Brands such as Canyon and Bianchi both brought gravel-specific carbon cockpits to their 2023
00:40 gravel bikes, while Vitus further blended the road/gravel bike line with the release
00:45 of the Venon.
00:47 Suspension has started to slowly enter the market too, with the gravel bike genre finding
00:51 its feet between the two subcategories of all-road riding and exploration gravel riding.
00:57 While seemingly expanding in all directions, we're taking a look at what we think is
01:02 coming to the world of gravel in 2024.
01:10 In late 2023, Shimano finally updated its GRX lineup to feature 12-speed shifting.
01:17 The big news though is that it was mechanical only.
01:21 Shimano's justification for this was that, apparently, more than 50% of its customers
01:26 bought mechanical GRX over electronic Di2, so Shimano made mechanical shifting a priority.
01:34 We think though that Shimano GRX Di2 will receive an update in 2024, and we expect we
01:40 could see 12-speed electronic gravel shifting as early as spring this year.
01:46 It's fair to say that Shimano left us slightly bamboozled by the lack of it in 2023, with
01:51 clear pressure on the Japanese component giant to catch up to the ever more wallet-friendly
01:56 12-speed electronic offerings from rival, SRAM.
02:00 The 12-speed Di2 shifting technology already exists in both Shimano's road and mountain
02:06 bike ranges, so it seems almost inevitable that GRX Di2 is on the horizon.
02:12 The big question remains though, and that being whether or not Shimano will be able
02:16 to bring a combination of cost and quality that can rival the competitively priced competition.
02:24 It's always worth remembering that the gravel bike genre is still relatively new.
02:31 Even the big brands are still pretty early on in product development cycles, which means
02:36 we are still years off the much smaller refinements often associated with road bikes today.
02:42 With most gravel riders starting to set up in either the Speed or Adventure camp, bike
02:47 manufacturers are getting a better understanding of the demands that the different subcategories
02:51 face, most notably frame geometry.
02:55 Matej Mohoric's recent victory at the Gravel World Championships in Italy showed us that
03:00 aerodynamics might just be overrated, on gravel at least, after he won on a new Merida
03:06 Silex, the brand's gravel explore bike.
03:10 Something we think the industry will certainly pick up on.
03:13 2024 will almost certainly follow a similar trend to the last few years, with bikes becoming
03:18 even more progressive.
03:20 This means slacker headtube angles, longer reaches and shorter stems, all in the name
03:25 of stability.
03:27 The difference here though is that we expect to see this across race bikes as well as adventure
03:31 bikes, so expect to see a lot more mountain bike inspired geometry over the next 12 months.
03:42 We mentioned at the start of this video that both Canyon and Bianchi have recently released
03:47 gravel specific carbon cockpits to the cycling world, and we think they are just the beginning.
03:53 Gravel riding brings a totally different set of demands to what we commonly see on the
03:57 road, with vibration dampening and comfort being more of a priority.
04:02 Off-road handlebars are often flared too, to allow for a wider, more stable base when
04:07 descending or traversing technical terrain.
04:10 The magic of carbon fibre allows it to be engineered in such a way that it can provide
04:15 stiffness in one direction while remaining flexible in another plane.
04:19 With gravel riding entailing such a broad range of terrain, it seems obvious that bike
04:23 brands will be battling to build strong, comfortable and controllable cockpits as gravel bikes
04:29 become both faster and more capable.
04:32 All of this development comes at a cost, which is probably why we're only at the very beginning
04:37 of high level gravel specific kits, but we think as gravel riding continues to grow,
04:42 so will development budgets, leaving plenty of innovation to come at the front end of
04:47 gravel bikes in 2024.
04:54 Adaptive dampers are most commonly associated with range-topping sports cars and avid off-roaders,
05:00 but a recent patent from SRAM tells us they could be coming to the world of gravel bike
05:04 riding in the very near future.
05:07 Back in 2016, SRAM released ShockWiz, a suspension sensor capable of analysing your setup and
05:13 then communicating data to your smartphone.
05:16 Theoretically enabling you to make smarter setup decisions for your weight and riding.
05:22 It's fair to say that it hasn't really become mainstream, perhaps due to the £379 price
05:28 tag, but the patent published in November 2023 indicates that ShockWiz might be about
05:34 to receive an overhaul.
05:36 The idea seems to be integrating ShockWiz to suspension technology, which alongside
05:41 a remote lockout system, could allow for adaptive suspension on gravel and mountain bikes.
05:46 We think suspension systems from SRAM will likely come out in the next 12 months.
05:51 Whether or not we'll see them on gravel bikes first though, is another matter.
06:00 Over the last few years, the bike industry has seemingly embarked on a mission to hide
06:04 every nuts, bolt and cable from our view, in a bid for both aerodynamic efficiency and
06:10 aesthetic perfection.
06:12 And the obsession for neatness is no doubt coming to the gravel bike sphere, but we're
06:16 not talking about brake hoses and gear cables.
06:20 In 2023, Canyon made a bid to add functionality to its gravel bikes through integrating storage
06:25 into its Endurance Road and gravel bikes, and we think many more brands will be hopping
06:30 on the bandwagon this year.
06:32 Bikepacking has continued to grow in popularity over the last year, and it seems like a no-brainer
06:37 for more bikepacking integration to hit the market in 2024.
06:42 We expect the untidy sights of Velcro straps to decline this year, making room for neater
06:47 bag mounting like Canyon's magnetic system on the latest Grail.
06:52 It's not just the bags though.
06:54 Trek first showed off in-frame storage in the checkpoint two years ago, and since then,
06:59 frame storage has continued its refinement.
07:02 We expect that this year, we will see a continuation of the bike brands shamelessly cutting holes
07:07 in their frames, making room for more inventive toolkits, and freeing up more pocket real
07:12 estate.
07:15 2023 saw a whole host of gravel race bike and all-road bike releases.
07:24 The Specialized Roubaix SL8, the Vitus Venon, Canyon Grail, and the Merida Endurance GR
07:31 just to name a few.
07:32 But with so many UCI-focused releases over the last couple of years, 2024 will likely
07:38 see the pendulum shift back towards adventure gravel bikes, which we think will increasingly
07:43 be offered with suspension.
07:45 As riders push the limits of what gravel riding entails, bikes are becoming more capable,
07:50 which has led to many bikes in 2023 coming suspension fork ready.
07:55 The main drawback of a suspension fork for most though, is the cost.
08:00 For example, SRAM's Rudy Explore fork retails for £779 here in the UK, which is enough
08:07 to drastically increase an off-the-shelf bike price tags, perhaps dissuading some brands
08:13 from selling suspension fork builds.
08:15 Back in September however, State Bicycle Co released an all-road suspension fork, which
08:20 offers the same 40mm as the Rudy Explore for just $450.
08:26 We expect that this is just the beginning, and as the cost of suspension falls, it will
08:31 become much more commonplace on the most progressive gravel bikes, which will no doubt reignite
08:36 the age-old question, "Isn't a gravel bike just an old mountain bike with drop bars?"
08:42 Let us know down in the comments below which piece of gravel bike tech you are most excited
08:46 for and tell us, how would you define a gravel bike?
08:50 If you enjoyed the video, then please do drop it a like, subscribe to the channel for more
08:54 content and we will see you again very soon.
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