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An overview of the five fully equipped gravel bikes
Gravel bikes with full equipment are becoming increasingly popular
The gravel bike is also so popular because, as the "SUV among bicycles", it can, if not replace, then competently replace several specialists. If you don't necessarily race, you can use it for a sporty after-work ride, a family outing on forest paths, an extended cycle tour or the daily commute to work. Many models also allow for mudguards to be fitted for everyday and winter use, luggage to be carried when travelling and some manufacturers have even designed the frame with a lighting system in mind.
Gravel bikes that are already equipped with all of this from the factory are becoming increasingly popular, as the road scene has shown in recent years. If the accessories are fitted by the manufacturer from the outset, this has the advantage that all components are harmonised and should work better than subsequently adapted solutions. In most cases, it is also cheaper overall and saves a lot of tinkering - and last but not least, it looks better.
The test field
We took a closer look at five particularly popular, current examples of such bikes. The criteria for us were a sturdy aluminium frame and a modern drive unit with hydraulic disc brakes. The price window for these bikes ranges from 1599 euros (Cube) to 2499 euros (Rose). This is a surprisingly wide range considering the equipment, which at first glance appears to be very comparable - almost all of the drive components and brakes on the test bikes come from Shimano's GRX gravel groupset.
However, our test reveals even more surprises when you take a closer look, go through the test lab and in practice. One of them is that in this test field, a higher budget does not automatically mean a lighter bike. Most of the candidates are around twelve kilograms, regardless of price, but Bergamont is clearly left behind in this rating with a very heavy frameset. A closer look at the equipment also reveals differences.
In principle, Shimano's GRX parts for the wheels are a good choice, robust and the spare parts are inexpensive. In detail, however, the bike brands do not always offer state-of-the-art technology. For example, only Cube and Stevens have modern twelve-speed drivetrains. Bergamont, Radon and Rose shift with eleven sprockets, which means either one less gear or a coarser gradation. There are also differences in the brakes: Often, savings are made on the brake discs, only Rose gets everything out of the hydraulic systems with a high-quality disc.
Wide tyres, narrow mudguards
Not everything works so smoothly when it comes to accessories either, as the test rides show. Take mudguards, for example: to fulfil their purpose optimally, they need to be long and wide enough; one centimetre more than the tyre width would be good. Cube and Radon stand out negatively here because the mudguards only just cover the 40 millimetre wide gravel tyres and splash water flies past them. The front mudguards on the Rose and Stevens could also be five centimetres longer to better protect your feet and drivetrain from dirt; on the Cube, on the other hand, the rear rider gets really wet.
Good news from the lighting: all bikes are equipped with high-quality hub dynamos and LED lighting including parking light function. The lights from Supernova (Stevens) and Busch&Müller (Rose) represent the state of the art in lighting technology. Only the light from Radon looks a little cheaply made, but also shines well. The rear lights are more restrained: the high-quality Busch&Müller rear light on the Rose is minimalist, but does a good ballet in the dark. On the Stevens and Cube, the small rear lights are integrated into the mudguard - on the Stevens so far that it is barely visible from the side. Nevertheless, an LED seatpost does make up for the weak point.
The candidates have little to offer in terms of passive safety: Only Stevens installs tyres with reflective strips and a large reflector at the rear. Strictly speaking, all the others would have to have rear and spoke reflectors retrofitted so that the bikes are allowed on the road in accordance with the German Road Traffic Licensing Regulations (StVZO).
The test results of the fully equipped gravel bikes at a glance
*LL = for life, CR = crash replacement, RA = racing exclusion
At a glance
The sub-scores from 4.0 are in red, so you can see which bikes are out of the question for you due to weaker individual scores.
The bikes were assessed according to TOUR scaleOnly the weight rating has been adjusted due to the accessories fitted.
How TOUR tests
Jens Klötzer
Editor
