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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00:00As the gravel bike realm continues to evolve, the echoes of 2023 resonate with a surge in
00:08gravel racing, and the continued expansion of gravel exploration.
00:13In the world of racing, the UCI Gravel World Series went from strength to strength, with
00:1816 events globally and the second world championships in Italy, while the world of bikepacking has
00:24continued to gain traction worldwide.
00:27Unsurprisingly, all of this has led to more and more gravel-specific tech hitting the
00:32shelves in the last 12 months.
00:34Brands such as Canyon and Bianchi both brought gravel-specific carbon cockpits to their 2023
00:40gravel bikes, while Vitus further blended the road gravel bike line with the release
00:45of the Venon.
00:46Suspension has started to slowly enter the market too, with the gravel bike genre finding
00:51its feet between the two subcategories of all-road riding and exploration gravel riding.
00:57While seemingly expanding in all directions, we're taking a look at what we think is
01:02coming to the world of gravel in 2024.
01:10In late 2023, Shimano finally updated its GRX lineup to feature 12-speed shifting.
01:17The big news though is that it was mechanical only.
01:21Shimano's justification for this was that, apparently, more than 50% of its customers
01:26bought mechanical GRX over electronic Di2, so Shimano made mechanical shifting a priority.
01:34We think though that Shimano GRX Di2 will receive an update in 2024, and we expect we
01:40could see 12-speed electronic gravel shifting as early as spring this year.
01:46It's fair to say that Shimano left us slightly bamboozled by the lack of it in 2023, with
01:51clear pressure on the Japanese component giant to catch up to the ever more wallet-friendly
01:5612-speed electronic offerings from rival SRAM.
02:00The 12-speed Di2 shifting technology already exists in both Shimano's road and mountain
02:06bike ranges, so it seems almost inevitable that GRX Di2 is on the horizon.
02:12The big question remains though, and that being whether or not Shimano will be able
02:16to bring a combination of cost and quality that can rival the competitively priced competition.
02:24It's always worth remembering that the gravel bike genre is still relatively new.
02:31Even the big brands are still pretty early on in product development cycles, which means
02:36we are still years off the much smaller refinements often associated with road bikes today.
02:42With most gravel riders starting to set up in either the Speed or Adventure camp, bike
02:47manufacturers are getting a better understanding of the demands that the different subcategories
02:52face, most notably frame geometry.
02:55Matej Mohoric's recent victory at the Gravel World Championships in Italy showed us that
03:00aerodynamics might just be overrated, on gravel at least, after he won on a new Merida
03:06Silex, the brand's gravel explore bike.
03:10Something we think the industry will certainly pick up on.
03:132024 will almost certainly follow a similar trend to the last few years, with bikes becoming
03:18even more progressive.
03:20This means slacker headtube angles, longer reaches and shorter stems, all in the name
03:25of stability.
03:27The difference here though is that we expect to see this across race bikes as well as adventure
03:31bikes, so expect to see a lot more mountain bike-inspired geometry over the next 12 months.
03:42We mentioned at the start of this video that both Canyon and Bianchi have recently released
03:47gravel-specific carbon cockpits to the cycling world, and we think they are just the beginning.
03:53Gravel riding brings a totally different set of demands to what we commonly see on the
03:57road, with vibration dampening and comfort being more of a priority.
04:02Off-road handlebars are often flared too, to allow for a wider, more stable base when
04:07descending or traversing technical terrain.
04:10The magic of carbon fibre allows it to be engineered in such a way that it can provide
04:15stiffness in one direction while remaining flexible in another plane.
04:19With gravel riding entailing such a broad range of terrain, it seems obvious that bike
04:23brands will be battling to build strong, comfortable and controllable cockpits as
04:28gravel bikes become both faster and more capable.
04:32All of this development comes at a cost, which is probably why we're only at the very beginning
04:37of high-level gravel-specific kits, but we think as gravel riding continues to grow,
04:42so will development budgets, leaving plenty of innovation to come at the front end of
04:47gravel bikes in 2024.
04:54Adaptive dampers are most commonly associated with range-topping sports cars and avid off-roaders,
05:00but a recent patent from SRAM tells us they could be coming to the world of gravel bike
05:04riding in the very near future.
05:07Back in 2016, SRAM released ShockWiz, a suspension sensor capable of analysing your setup and
05:13then communicating data to your smartphone.
05:16Theoretically enabling you to make smarter setup decisions for your weight and riding.
05:22It's fair to say that it hasn't really become mainstream, perhaps due to the £379 price
05:28tag, but the patent published in November 2023 indicates that ShockWiz might be about
05:34to receive an overhaul.
05:36The idea seems to be integrating ShockWiz to suspension technology, which alongside
05:41a remote lockout system, could allow for adaptive suspension on gravel and mountain
05:45bikes.
05:46We think suspension systems from SRAM will likely come out in the next 12 months.
05:51Whether or not we'll see them on gravel bikes first, though, is another matter.
06:00Over the last few years, the bike industry has seemingly embarked on a mission to hide
06:04every nuts, bolt and cable from our view, in a bid for both aerodynamic efficiency and
06:10aesthetic perfection.
06:12And the obsession for neatness is no doubt coming to the gravel bike sphere, but we're
06:16not talking about brake hoses and gear cables.
06:20In 2023, Canyon made a bid to add functionality to its gravel bikes through integrating storage
06:25into its endurance road and gravel bikes, and we think many more brands will be hopping
06:30on the bandwagon this year.
06:32Bikepacking has continued to grow in popularity over the last year, and it seems like a no-brainer
06:37for more bikepacking integration to hit the market in 2024.
06:42We expect the untidy sights of Velcro straps to decline this year, making room for neater
06:47bag mounting like Canyon's magnetic system on the latest Grail.
06:52It's not just the bags, though.
06:54Trek first showed off in-frame storage in the checkpoint two years ago, and since then,
06:59frame storage has continued its refinement.
07:02We expect that this year, we will see a continuation of the bike brands shamelessly cutting holes
07:07in their frames, making room for more inventive toolkits, and freeing up more pocket real
07:12estate.
07:152023 saw a whole host of gravel race bike and all-road bike releases.
07:25The Specialized Roubaix SL8, the Vitus Venon, Canyon Grail, and the Merida Endurance GR
07:31just to name a few.
07:32But with so many UCI-focused releases over the last couple of years, 2024 will likely
07:38see the pendulum shift back towards adventure gravel bikes, which we think will increasingly
07:43be offered with suspension.
07:45As riders push the limits of what gravel riding entails, bikes are becoming more capable,
07:50which has led to many bikes in 2023 coming suspension fork ready.
07:55The main drawback of a suspension fork for most, though, is the cost.
08:00For example, SRAM's Rudy Explore fork retails for £779 here in the UK, which is enough
08:07to drastically increase an off-the-shelf bike price tag, perhaps dissuading some brands
08:13from selling suspension fork builds.
08:15Back in September, however, State Bicycle Co released an all-road suspension fork, which
08:20offers the same 40mm as the Rudy Explore for just $450.
08:26We expect that this is just the beginning, and as the cost of suspension falls, it will
08:31become much more commonplace on the most progressive gravel bikes, which will no doubt reignite
08:37the age-old question, isn't a gravel bike just an old mountain bike with drop bars?
08:42Let us know down in the comments below which piece of gravel bike tech you are most excited
08:47for, and tell us, how would you define a gravel bike?
08:50If you enjoyed the video, then please do drop it a like, subscribe to the channel for more
08:54content, and we will see you again very soon.