DIAMONDS THE ROUGH

From super speedy to really gnarly, the gravel bike genre is expanding. We take four of the latest premium bikes out for some bumpy rides

- Warren Rossiter

GRAVEL BIKES HAVEN'T BEEN around for that long in the grand scheme of road-bike things, but in the decade or so since they arrived, they've become a lot more diverse. There's now everything from superlight and aero race bikes to those you could happily travel around the world on.

01 Gravel specifics

What's different on a gravel bike compared to a road bike? Well, potentially quite a lot: wheel-size options (650b or 700c?), generous tyre width (preferably tubeless), flared handlebars, gravel-specific groupsets with a good spread of gears (usually on 1x chainrings), possible dropper seatposts and suspension, scope for mounts and racks, down-tube protectors.... Then there's different geometry and other frame details and accessories to suit to the purpose.

02 Hangin' tough

Some bikes are made for the real rough stuff plus load carrying. Focus, for example, which originally got into the gravel/all-road space early with 2016's Paralane, an endurance bike that was built to take shortcuts on paths less travelled, has a much sturdier new offering. The Atlas Carbon in this test is a full-on, off-roadready ride, coming with a wider Boost rear hub to take a stronger mountain bike wheelset so it can carry heavy loads and take on tough terrain.

03 Off-road speed

More and more super-speedy rigs are popping up to service the demand for gravel racing. This type of bike is very streamlined, but with bigger tyre clearances and more stability than its on-road counterparts. Specialized's Crux fits this mould. It takes its cues from the featherlight road-race-bike the Aethos, producing a gravel-specific frame that weighs just 825g (56cm) and can take huge 47mm tyres. Italian brand Basso's speedy Palta is based on the superbikes in its line-up, but tunes its speed for the rough.

04 Very versatile