Off the grid

We look at three exciting new gravel bikes that can help you get off the road and up the hills without the grind

- Warren Rossiter

Gravel has become one of the most popular drop-bar pursuits, and with the combination of road-bike speed, challenging terrain, spectacular views and lack of traffic, it's easy to see the appeal. Ebike popularity is also booming as motors keep improving, batteries become smaller, weights lighter, and looks a lot more appealing.

The marriage of the two bike genres is a match made in heaven, especially here in the UK with our changeable climate. Without the USA's dry, dusty gravel conditions, we can struggle to get traction on steep, slippy inclines where you'd usually have to stand to get the pedal power. If you slip and put your foot down, it's a battle to get going again, so inevitably most gravel rides will involve some bike-hiking. An extra 250W or so of motor power allows you to stay seated and increase grip, giving you a boost up those tricky bits. So a good e-gravel bike will save you plenty of shoe leather but, most importantly, it'll add a huge dollop of spark and fun to a ride, particularly on the ascents.

We've chosen three new e-gravel machines at a variety of prices and all with different power units. Let's get down and dirty with them!

AL e Al e!

First up, Ribble's Gravel AL e is the only aluminium-framed option tested, which means it's the heaviest - though not by much. At 14kg, it's only 320g heavier than the Orro and 460g more than the Scott. It's the cheapest here by some margin, too, but Ribble value shines through as it has a better specification than the Orro and isn't far off the hugely pricier Scott.