The stratospheric rise of gravel bikes over the last couple of years has been phenomenal to behold. From a virtual standing start, the category has gone through the roof in terms of popularity, and now every mountain biker and road cyclist I know either has a good-looking gravel bike in their garage, or is eyeing one up. Their ascendency has taken place in parallel with that of the best electric bikes, and some gravel bikes now come in battery-assisted versions.
Such is the buoyancy of the category, however, that real deals are relatively hard to come by on the very best gravel bikes, which is why this chance to save over £500 on the excellent 2023 Cannondale Topstone Apex 1 caught our eye.
Cannondale Topstone Apex 1 Gravel Bike (2023)
Was £2,200 now £1,695 - save 23%
The versatile Cannondale Topstone Apex 1 gravel steed is designed for proper adventures, with confidence-inspiring relaxed geometry and a droppable seat for taking on technical trails. Here you can save £505 on the usual asking price.
Aimed at riders who like to embrace technical trails as well as exploring gravel tracks and lost lanes, the highly capable Cannondale Topstone Apex 1 (one of T3's top Gravel Bike choices) has a dropper seatpost, so you can take on the kind of terrain that most other dropbar bikes would struggle on. The 40mm tyres enhance the steed’s off-road performance even further, and there’s more clearance on the fork go bigger if you want to.
The nimble Topstone has an aluminium frame, with a carbon fibre fork up front. The geometry is relaxed, to keep riders comfortable over long distances (during multiday bikepacking adventures, for example) and to inspire confidence on lumpy, bumpy trails.
In the frame game with Kinesis
If the Cannondale doesn’t do it for you, another excellent deal we’ve spotted is this stunning offer to bag a Tripster AT Gravel Bike Frameset from brilliant British bike brand Kinesis, together with a set of Columbus Forks, for more than £600 less than the usual asking price (a saving of 56%).
Kinesis Tripster AT Gravel Bike Frameset with Columbus Forks
Was £1,080 now £479 - save 56%
A superb gravel bike from a trusted British brand, the Kinesis Tripster AT features a revolutionary fork that offers you the chance to alternate between a 47mm and 52mm rake, depending on the technicality of terrain and type of riding you’re doing. Here you can save over £600 on the frame and fork.
The Tripster AT’s aluminium frame is specced for adventure, with through-axles front and rear, clearance for 700c x 45mm or 650B x 52mm tyres, and with cable routing to compatible with any kind of group set.
However, arguably it’s the innovative Columbus Futura Cross fork that gets people most excited about this rig, because it features a ‘flip-chip’, which enables you to switch the rake (offset) of the fork from 47mm and 52mm. For general gravel riding, rolling around on a mixture of road, lanes and trails, go for the 47mm option. But when you want to load up your steed and go bikepacking, you can change to the 52mm setting. Genius.
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Author of Caving, Canyoning, Coasteering…, a recently released book about all kinds of outdoor adventures around Britain, Pat Kinsella has been writing about outdoor pursuits and adventure sports for two decades. In pursuit of stories he’s canoed Canada’s Yukon River, climbed Mont Blanc and Kilimanjaro, skied and mountain biked across the Norwegian Alps, run ultras across the roof of Mauritius and through the hills of the Himalayas, and set short-lived speed records for trail-running Australia’s highest peaks and New Zealand’s nine Great Walks. A former editor of several Australian magazines he’s a longtime contributor to publications including Sidetracked, Outdoor, National Geographic Traveller, Trail Running, The Great Outdoors, Outdoor Fitness and Adventure Travel, and a regular writer for Lonely Planet (for whom he compiled, edited and co-wrote the Atlas of Adventure, a guide to outdoor pursuits around the globe). He’s authored guides to exploring the coastline and countryside of Devon and Dorset, and recently wrote a book about pub walks. Follow Pat's adventures on Strava and instagram.
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