Updated October 26, 2026 10:17AM
Our quest to find the future of gravel bikes at the Velo Field Test has taken us on a long journey. We’ve test ridden six bikes that couldn’t be more different on a first impressions loop, and put the bikes through a series of head to head challenges. Now it’s time to test these bikes in the way that really matters: a big ride. In this final episode, we’re riding 100 kilometers (62 miles) up British Columbia’s Sea to Sky corridor from Squamish to Whistler.
In a discipline where people regularly ride hundreds of kilometers in one go, 100 isn’t the most insane distance. But it’s what’s contained in that distance that’s the challenge. Mike Levy has wracked the depths of his local knowledge to devise a course that hits all sorts of gravel terrain, and will push Josh and Logan to their limits as they in turn find the limits of the bikes.
There’s champagne gravel, gravel that is more aptly described as large rocks, steep climbs, technical single track, and some connectors on paved roads for good measure. Each of our six test bikes gets a chance to shine, and will also have its weaknesses glaringly exposed.
We have three riders and six bikes, so in order to test every bike on the ride, each tester will be switching out bikes at the halfway point. Who gets to pick what? Well we settled that in the most obvious way possible: go-karts. We found out that while Logan has Josh beat in a gravel race, Josh’s background hanging around L.A.’s underground street racing scene gave him the upper hand with track times. And that means he gets to pick what bikes Logan rides.
After hundreds of kilometers of riding and a series of head-to-head challenges, Levy, Josh, and Logan sit down to debate what the future of gravel bikes really looks like. Are bigger wheels the answer? Does suspension belong on gravel bikes? Are we sacrificing too much capability in the pursuit of speed? And most importantly, which of these six bikes would each tester actually take home?
The 6 bikes on test
Giant Revolt Advanced SL
The all-rounder: race it or go adventuring.
Specification: Giant Revolt Advanced SL 0, SRAM Red XPLR
Tire clearance, claimed: 53mm
Weight (tested size): 7.85kg/17.3lbs (ML)
Factor Sarana
The ultra endurance machine.
Specification: Factor Sarana, SRAM Force XPLR
Tire clearance, claimed: 56mm
Weight (tested size): 9.58kg/21.12lbs (Medium)
Argon 18 Anti Matter
The aero approach to gravel.
Specification: Argon 18 Anti Matter + SRAM RED XPLR
Tire clearance, claimed: 55mm
Weight (tested size): 8.5kg/18.74lbs (Medium)
Obed GVR
The progressive race bike.
Specification: Obed GVR, SRAM Red XPLR
Tire clearance, claimed: 56mm
Weight (tested size): 9.12kg/20.1lbs (Medium)
Pivot Les SL Drop Bar
The drop-bar mountain bike.
Specification: Pivot Les SL Drop Bar, SRAM GX Eagle Transmission 12-Speed
Tire clearance, claimed: 29 x 2.4″
Weight (tested size): 9.78kg/21.56lbs (Medium)
Salsa Fargo 32 Ti
The 32er. How much difference do big wheels make?
Specification: Salsa Fargo 32 Ti, SRAM GX Eagle Transmission
Tire clearance, claimed: 60mm
Weight (tested size): 9.48kg/20.9lbs (Medium)
The route
The test riders
To settle the debate about the future of gravel once and for all (or perhaps muddy it more than ever), we’ve assembled three test riders who, like the bikes, couldn’t be more different.
Reformed mountain biker turned drop-bar obsessive Mike Levy leads the charge, bringing a technical, rowdy background and a preference for chunkier roads and adventuring far off the beaten path—on Earth and beyond.
He’s joined by Velo’s in-house team of tech editors. Josh Ross likes to ride long distances as efficiently as possible—catch him pedaling all day and night across the gravel roads of the Pacific Northwest and beyond. He’s all about pushing his personal boundaries, and finding the equipment that will help him go the extra mile (or extra 200 miles).
Having once finished 18th overall at the Unbound 200, Logan Jones-Wilkins can’t stop thinking about going fast and squeezing every drop of performance from gravel gear. But when he’s not mixing it up in the pointy end of races, he likes his gravel bike to be a medium for adventuring into the unknown.
That’s three different approaches to gravel, and, naturally, their takes are as varied as the riders themselves. Can they settle their differences and agree on anything? We may have to resort to some good ol’ fashioned tactics to resolve things—which may or may not mean go-kart racing.
Squamish: The ultimate testing grounds
To put these bikes to the ultimate test (and the riders too), we’ve taken everyone to the outdoor playground that is Squamish, British Columbia. Finding out the future of gravel means pushing bikes to their limits, so we’ve found a mix of terrain from single track to washboard fire roads to do just that.
We’re stress testing the bikes to get the most possible out of them. In this first episode, we’ve put together a test loop that takes our riders on a smattering of every kind of terrain one might consider gravel, from champagne roads, to loamy dirt trails, to slightly technical, rocky single track, and we’ve got climbing and descending for all of the above.
To keep our testing focused on the bikes themselves, we’ve brought in control tires, 50mm Schwalbe G-One RX tires run at the same tire pressure, mounted to Easton EC90 ALX wheels.
Poll: Which bike is the future of gravel?
Thank you to our sponsors!
Velo Field Test wouldn’t happen without the support of these sponsors. A big thank you to Endura for providing kits and helmets, Schwalbe for tires, and Easton for wheels!
The team that made Velo Field Test possible
A special thank you to the crew who made this Velo Field Test a reality!
- Video team: Logan Patrick Nelson, Max Barron, Stefan Licko
- Video editor: Stefan Licko
- Bike shop support: Bici
- Lunch wranglin’, Kei truck driving and chauffeuring: Will Tracy, Brian Park
- Testers: Josh Ross, Logan Jones-Wilkins
- Host: Mike Levy
There’s more to come from the Velo Gravel Bike Field Test! We argue in depth about the future of gravel bikes on our podcast roundtable discussion, plus we have individual reviews for every single bike on test.