If you don’t have enough time to read through, here’s the list of best gravel bikes under $1500:
10. Tommaso Sentiero Shimano Claris Gravel Bike | Modern, Stylish, and Enviable.
9. Pure Cycles Adventure Gravel Pro | Speed at its very best.
8. Populo Quest 16-Speed Gravel Bike | Great for casual commuting.
7. Retrospec Bicycles AMOK-16 | You can’t leave home without it.
6. Takara Shiro Adventure Bike | Great for adventure and exploring the world around you.
5. GMC Denali | Simple and Sleek.
4. Mongoose Selous Sport | Branded just for you.
3. Raleigh Bikes Willard 2 | She’s desirable.
2. Diamondback Bicycles Haanjo Tero | Seems to be the most trusted brand.
1. Tommaso Illimitate Adventure | When you’re concerned about fun.
Note: We described each of these gravel bikes in detail below. We encourage you to read it so you can make the best choice.
Introduction:
Not everyone can be a professional road cyclist. Most cyclists ride bicycles for fun or exercise. If that is your situation, we recommend you choose a bicycle with more comfortable positioning.
In recent years, gravel bicycles have gained more and more popularity. They are called “gravel” due to the type of terrain in which they can be used (gravel).
Its shape and geometry are a little less extreme than road bikes, and therefore, are more comfortable.
Gravel bikes are unique and special. The angles of the frame are smaller, and the positioning of the bike is a little more vertical. The distance between the axes is greater and their covers are more voluminous. They also have a racing handlebar, a detail that may surprise, them since gravel bicycles are mainly intended for nature walks.
What is a Gravel Bike?
A gravel bike is a bike with a sporty character, drawing on the DNA of road bikes for maneuverability, Cyclocross, and hiking for all-road appearance and endurance. If we look at the elements of gravel, we can quickly find this multiple heritage.
The Gravel bike features wider tires that allow you to ride on all types of trails. Endurance-type geometry provides excellent comfort, and disc brakes give you more power and control over surfaces like dirt and gravel.
The most distinctive elements are immediately visible: disc brakes for safe and precise braking, and tubeless tires with large sections (from 30 to 48C).
The clearance at the level of the frame is more important than for a trucker to be able to accept the large sections. The frame has a typical endurance geometry, with sometimes more sloping than on a road and a higher head tube to be able to adopt a more upright and relaxed driving.
Always with the same comfort in mind, the crankset is placed lower to give less of the impression of riding on the bike, as you can on a road bike. The bases are also longer, to better absorb vibrations.
The development (cassettes and trays) is also different from what can be found on a road bike. Since you have to be able to take your gravel on the much less rolling ground than bitumen, we are on the short ground: 50/30 or 48/32. Many gravels are in a single tray with a cassette of 10-42 to be able to go everywhere.
On the handlebar side, you stay on a race hanger, but there too, modifications have been made to be able to hold your gravel bike on rough terrain and ride it comfortably for a long time.
Concretely, a gravel hanger will have a flared shape with the casseroles tilted inward you a better grip and less effort. This type of handlebar forces you to adopt a less aerodynamic position, but this is not the goal here.
If you do a lot of driving, it will make more sense to keep the classic hanger. Otherwise, don’t hesitate to snap for a specific hanger.
As you will have understood, the keywords on a gravel bike are comfort and versatility.
Gravel: a versatile hybrid
The gravel bike is at the crossroads of these different practices:
1. Cyclocross: with a gravel bike, you will find the pleasure of venturing on small undergrowth roads and rocky paths. Anyway, fun guaranteed!
2. Endurance: gravel is designed to ride a long time in a comfortable way, to you the long walks.
3. Mountain biking: without having the same crossing capabilities as a mountain bike, a gravel bike and an MTB share the same taste for adventure and freedom. You can enjoy the white paths, the tracks filled with leaves, or the muddy paths in winter.
4. Hiker: it comes to rejuvenate the old image of the hiker. Indeed, many gravel models are designed to be equipped with mudguards or luggage racks and you can very easily equip your gravel to make a perfect long-distance travel bike, capable of taking you far on roads not always paved.
5. Switching: as maneuverable as a road bike and equipped with powerful and safe braking, the gravel bike is a very interesting option for those who use their bike daily to go to work. Bonus, with gravel, it is easy to cut through a small road or path to vary the routes!
Gravel is suitable for all uses. It’s maneuverable enough to slip into urban traffic, you can easily equip it with luggage racks if you need to carry groceries.
It’s dynamic enough to hold the pace on a group road trip and most importantly, it’s strong enough and comfortable enough to allow you to explore undergrowth paths.
How to choose your gravel:
1). Frame (aluminum, carbon, steel, titanium): Gravel is not the lightest bike in the world, so you will find steel frames, renowned for their quality of comfort and strength. For people who want to do more road and want a lighter bike, they will go more on aluminum or carbon.
The frame comes from a road bike, in endurance geometry. It has a shorter frame and a higher stem to straighten the posture and gain comfort. For those who have practice rather than versatility (“do everything” or “leisure”), a steel or aluminum frame will provide strength and comfort.
For those seeking more competition or long hikes, the lightness of the carbon frame will be more interesting. Side price, the cheapest will be steel followed by aluminum and carbon.
The Gravel is also characterized by a wider fork to accommodate wider tires and a shorter rear base to swallow slopes.
2. Tires: The type of tires varies according to the use made of the Gravel bike but the tire section will be rather wide, between 35 and 42 mm on average.
If you stay on the road, it is advisable to choose smooth tires in order to limit the rolling resistance. If you like gritty roads, tires with crampons will provide extra traction on rough terrain and better grip on dusty surfaces.
Tubeless tires are generally preferred because they are more resistant. The Gravel bike has a wider fork that leaves room for the tire so that the mud can escape.
3. Gravel hanger: As we have seen above, the gravel bike is used with a hanger slightly different from a conventional road hanger: further apart at the bottom to gain stability when descending on rough terrain, wider for a more comfortable position.
Depending on your preferences, practice, and experience, you can mount a flat hanger or a special gravel hanger, or even a more compact road hanger.
4. The brakes: On a Gravel bike they will always be on record to offer effective braking whatever the weather. They also allow a better modulation of the power to better adapt to each situation. The other interest in disc brakes is that they tolerate bigger tires.
5. Tubeless or inner tube: prefer tubeless tires to be able to drive at lower pressures.
6. Transmission: Most often it will be compact (two trays) with cassette 11/32 or 11/34 so that the bike is versatile both horizontally and vertically.
On competition models to lighten the bike, you can also find mono plateau but with a large cassette in the back to offer the same versatility.
A single-deck transmission is the top of the gravel bike! Less maintenance, less time spent fiddling with its levers on a technical course, less weight, a simplified transmission therefore more reliable, anti-derailment, in short, it’s a real plus!
10 Best Gravel Bikes Under 1500
10. Tommaso Sentiero Shimano Claris Gravel Bike
For those who are looking for an efficient gravel bike, very light and perfect to spend long hours in it giving confidence in all surfaces.For the transmission of this gravel bike we opted for the reliability of the Shimano 105 group in 2×11, which provides the same precision as its older brothers and a very careful design.
This gravel bike is assembled completely with the Shimano 105 group, brakes also in 105 with double pivot with its latest Shimano SLR-EV technology that provides precise braking. For the wheels of this gravel bike we have opted for Mavic Aksium with excellent rigidity and robustness so that nothing fails in daily workouts
If you are looking for a cheap carbon gravel bike with great performance in all terrains this is your gravel bike.
9. Pure Cycles Adventure Gravel Pro
The Pure Cycles Adventure gravel bikes are ideal to start in the world of the road with guarantees, with a change of 21 speeds so that no steep slope and with a very comfortable driving geometry for the first exits on the off-road are pleasant.
The frame is in aluminum of 700 which is accompanied by a fork also integrated in aluminum together with a Neco H50 1-1 / 8 “x360 mm address give great comfort, light and solidity to the whole.
For the transmission has opted for a Shimano change of 21 speeds, for the change of 7 speeds with a Shimano A70 along with a cassette in Shimano Acera Cs-HG20 in 12/28T and a derailleur in Shimano FD-A073 speeds with some Shimano cranks FC-A073 in 50x39x30T that give the set a reliable change to start on gravel bikes.
8. Populo Quest 16-Speed Gravel Bike
Its high quality can be felt in all its components from the box carbon fiber to its brake system and changes Shimano 10 speed to give you all the power and comfort that you need on the road.
In turn, its design includes aluminum parts, so it is an ultralight and aerodynamic bike of just 8.34 kg that will allow you to cross any route with little resistance to wind.
Thanks to its special design, it has an optimal seat and front angle for a comfortable and aerodynamic position perfect for cyclists who are starting in the world of gravel bikes.
Its box in aluminum hydroformed Tripple Butted and aluminum fork lightened gives great lightness and solidity making a gravel bike very reliable.
It is equipped with the best components such as their MACH1 CFX wheels, Shimano Claris bushings, Shimano BB-Es300 bottom bracket and its complete transmission in Shimano Claris 24 speeds from the brakes to the pinions that provides a smooth, precise and very reliable change.
7. Retrospec Bicycles AMOK-16
This comes with both straight handlebars, wheels, forks and frame made of aluminum, which gives you a bike of excellent strength, low weight and easy riding.
Its system of changes and brakes is Shimano, which also assure you a high quality and durability.
Despite being a mid-range model, it is still a perfect bike to use at all times and that will overcome the difficulties of the terrain easily.
It has lightened aluminum frame designed for the most intensive training and competition. This gravel bike is designed to look for the best performance with the greatest comfort, providing a new level of comfort thanks to its pronounced 5 cm slooping.
The model of gravel bike is designed for cyclists who want to start on gravel bike with total guarantees and with an excellent price-performance ratio.
For the transmission of this gravel bike they have opted for the new Shimano Claris R2000 group suitable for beginners cyclists, who do not seek competition but do not want to give up performance.
6. Takara Shiro Adventure Bike
If you are looking for a gravel bike, the Takara Shiro Adventure Bike model might be of interest to you. The 27-speed gravel bike is made in Italy and convinces with a very good price-performance ratio in connection with a solid workmanship.
Especially for beginners, the bike should be interesting with high quality Gipiemme wheels and rims with white spokes.
The carbon fork in combination with the lightweight aluminum frame weighs only 9.9 kilograms and is therefore very light.
Available in four different frame sizes for body sizes from 1.55m to 1.95m, you can choose exactly the model that fits your height. As a saddle, an Aventis saddle in black is used, which provides the necessary comfort even on longer trips and also supports optimal posture.
5. GMC Denali
If you are looking for a professional gravel bike, we highly recommend the GMC Denali. The bike is available in different sizes between 47 to 59 frame size and can therefore be adapted exactly to your own body size.
Basically, not much has to be said about the bike, because anyone who plays with the idea of buying a GMC Denali gravel bike knows what he has.
The workmanship of all components is excellent, the GMC Denali delivers a first-class performance and also the rest of the equipment of the wheel convinces all along the line. Anyone who has greater ambitions in cycling, for sure worth the purchase of such a high-priced bike.
Beginners benefit from the professional workmanship and equipment but not so strong, so it’s worth a cheaper model.
If you want a lot, you have to dig a little deeper in the gravel bike area. Weakness does not afford the bike up to the high price, because everything is perfectly matched.
4. Mongoose Selous Sport
This bike is very cool for those who start to train in this road cycling or who are preparing for some amateur or intermediate level competition.
As I said, it is cool because it is made of aluminum almost entirely, which translates into less weight, easier to pedal on difficult slopes, greater speed and better stability. On its components, you will love that it comes with Shimano changes.
The rigid fork in conjunction with the dual pivot brakes offer good performance for little money and with a total weight of 11 kilograms, the bike is still pleasantly light.
The frame has a size of 56 cm, making it suitable for people with a height between 1.70 and 1.85 m. In addition, the wheel is too small, especially because the handlebar can not be adjusted, which is certainly a disadvantage.
3. Raleigh Bikes Willard 2
One of the things that stands out most about this bike is its beautiful white color with golden details and its vintage style .
Beyond that, it is a 28- inch model , which also comes with high-quality Shimano components such as the changes and the 14 pinions. It is also available in sizes 53 and 56 that can be used for people up to 1.90 m in height, approximately. Its weight is about 12 kg.
The frame of this model is made of steel is robust to accompany you for a long time. Its handlebars and pedals are made of aluminum which is also a solid material.
The product is extremely durable, which is influenced by the construction made of high quality aluminum alloy.
This material is rigid, resistant to mechanical damage and corrosion. The model weighs 13.3 kg, so we should not have a problem transporting it and bringing it, for example, down the stairs.
The presser foot holder is mounted from the bottom and secured to the handle in the frame with a screw. This means that the foot is properly stiff and solid, so the vehicle will not fall over, regardless of the ground on which it stands.
The shock absorber reduces the feeling of vibrations and vibrations while driving, which means that your hands do not get tired too quickly.
An additional advantage of the product is the ability to choose the size of the frame, as a result of which we find a vehicle adapted to our growth.
2. Diamondback Bicycles Haanjo Tero
This bike features a comfortable saddle and an adjustable steering wheel bracket, so that the vehicle can be easily adjusted to its height, and you can keep your silhouette straight while driving.
In addition, there are full fenders here that eliminate the problem of splashed clothes while driving on a muddy road.
This model has been appreciated by the consumer for a stylish, classic look, not too much weight (17 kg) and good equipment, i.e. pedals, brake and drive assembly.
For many, the advantage is also extremely good cushioning and the ability to choose the size of the frame. The frame is made of aluminum, which is why the product is light and yet durable. The vehicle is perfect both in the city and outside it.
The presented model was equipped with tires with an anti-puncture insert. The design of the bike allows us to mount fenders and boot, as a result of which we will be able to better adapt the vehicle to your preferences.
The product is relatively light, so we will not have a problem with bringing it up the stairs or mounting it on the trunk of the car.
1. Tommaso Illimitate Adventure
This gravel bike model is equipped with a solid steel frame that cushions the ride on uneven paths. It has 21 Shimano gears and shafts, guaranteeing reliability and precision, as well as different frame sizes.
This bike has a soft and comfortable saddle, as well as an adjustable bridge, so you can easily adjust it, even to your height.
Specially selected, 28-inch Ruben V84 Gripper tires guarantee a good grip on every ground and a light, pleasant ride.
In addition, this model has been equipped with a cushioned seatpost, which allows you to keep straight and at the same time comfortable position while riding – so riding a bike does not have to be tiring for your back.
Wrap Up
This model has not only good quality equipment, but also additional equipment, which is often necessary during long trips.
These include fenders, trunk and good lighting, without which it would be difficult and dangerous to drive around after dark. In this case, both the steering wheel and its bracket are made of steel — this guarantees durability.
