Go anywhere adventure bikes

Most gravel bikes spend more time on tarmac than they do on actual gravel. The geometry suits long road rides, the wider tyres handle British potholes without drama, and you lose perhaps one or two miles per hour compared to a road bike. For many riders, a gravel bike makes more sense as their only bike than a pure road machine.

38-42mm handles most British gravel and mixed surfaces nicely. Go wider for bikepacking and rougher terrain. Go narrower if you lean more towards road riding. The key is buying a bike that clears properly wide tyres, then experimenting to find what suits your riding.

Cyclocross bikes race a specific discipline with 33mm tyre limits and twitchy handling. Gravel bikes explore. They clear much wider tyres, carry bags and bottles, and have more relaxed geometry for all-day comfort. Unless you're actually racing CX, get a gravel bike.

Shimano GRX and SRAM XPLR are excellent: optimised gearing, clutch derailleurs that prevent chain bounce on rough terrain, and brake levers shaped for gloved hands. But they're not essential. Road groupsets with sensible gearing work perfectly well. Spend on the frame first, upgrade the drivetrain later if needed.

Britain has thousands of miles of bridleways, byways, towpaths, and forest roads waiting to be explored. Link quiet lanes with off road sections for routes impossible on a road bike. The gravel community is welcoming, events like Dirty Reiver and Grinduro Scotland are growing, and the bikes suit our climate better than pure road machines.

700c wheels roll faster and suit road-biased riding. 650b wheels with fatter tyres offer more cushion and grip for rougher terrain. Some bikes fit both, letting you swap depending on the ride. Most UK gravel riders do fine on 700c with 40mm tyres.