Published December 26, 2025 03:48AM
You’d think that with a title like the Velo Best Gravel Bike of 2025 this article would be straight forward. Instead, it was anything but straightforward. There’s just such a wide range of gravel bikes in 2025. One side of the category is 50mm plus tires or it’s irrelevant while the other side has settled around 45mm. Adding confusion is that often the 50mm plus crowd is also the race crowd but sometimes it’s the I want a drop bar mountain bike crowd. It was a little tough to thread that needle.
In making these selections I held onto a couple of ideas. Tire clearance is incredibly important no matter what your focus is. This is not so much because it is clear you need mountain bike tires but because when you talk to people about why they feel the need to upgrade an older gravel bike it’s always because of tire clearance. More space means more options down the road. I also looked for options, mostly, that feel a bit more accessible and affordable even if the specific bike we reviewed is a range topper.
Above all though, these are the bikes I felt represent the state of gravel bikes in 2025.
Cannondale Topstone Carbon
When I wrote the review of The Cannondale Topstone this year I said it was the grown up version of a bike that came to life in 2016. Back in 2016 it was called the Slate but the same basic concept was there. Take a bike that feels a bit like a road bike and add big tire clearance and suspension.
This year what changed was the bike grew up and stopped being weird. There’s still suspension with a pivot system called Kingpin, and the available Lefty build, but the rest of the innovation that was also annoying is gone. No weird dishing on the rear wheel, no pressfit BB, and there’s only one (updated) geometry no matter the build you choose.
What stayed the same was that beautiful balance of get up and go and capability. Without the Lefty you can fit a 52mm tire and there’s frame storage plus plenty of mounts. At the same time there’s still a short chainstay and a ton of capability as a race bike even if the SuperX is now considered the actual gravel race bike in the Cannondale lineup.
This bike makes this list because it’s both capable and fun to ride. You can read more details in the full Cannondale Topstone Lefty review.
Specialized Diverge 4
The updated Cannondale geometry does a lot to add stability to that bike but if you really want to lean into both stability and capability, then the Specialized Diverge 4 is the one to look at. The new Diverge 4 fits a 2.2” tire, there’s tons of space in the frame storage, a longer chainstay for more stability, and there’s still 20mm of suspension movement from the Future Shock.
Those specs mean you can absolutely handle just about anything you’d want to throw at a gravel bike but, as with the Aethos, what really stands out about the Diverge 4 is how accessible it is. I rode a middle range $6k bike in my Specialized Diverge 4 review but Specialized even made sure that there was in-frame storage in the aluminum frame version to fully flesh out the price range.
The latest Specialized Diverge 4 is certainly a volume leader in this class of bike but it’s not an accident. There’s a ton of prices for all kinds of builds and they all feel really good to ride. I spent time on fast rides and rides that really put the big tires to the test. It has the mounts you need for bikepacking and Specialized has data showing that Future Shock saves watts if you have an eye on gravel racing.
Just like the Aethos on the road bike nominees of the year, this bike is here because it’s well conceived, well executed, and accessible with a huge range of pricing options and tons of dealers.
3T Racemax² Italia
The third gravel bike in this list is a drastic departure from the other two. If you buy a Cannondale Topstone or a Specialized Diverge 4 you are buying a sensible bike that will do a lot of different things well. They both mix stability and capability and are easy to ride, easy to buy, and easy to own. Then there’s the 3T Racemax² Italia.
The 3T Racemax² Italia is expensive, difficult to buy in the US, and designed to go fast. This is a beautiful bike that goes all in on aero performance and takes a 50mm tire not for stability and capability but because it’s faster across rougher surfaces. I loved riding this bike because it feels like a road bike with big tires.
I also can’t ever talk about this bike without bringing up the unbelievably gorgeous 3T carbon cranks. I’m not going to say they make the bike faster but you should get them anyway.
This bike is on this list because it’s everything I want in a gravel bike. It’s beautiful and unusual and you can take it on the road, or off, without ever feeling like it’s holding you back. Check out more details in the full 3T Racemax² Italia review.
Giant Revolt
When the Giant Revolt saw an update in the middle of 2024, I wrote a small Giant Revolt update article explaining that a lot of things hadn’t really changed that much from the last update in 2021. Predictably that article was not the most interesting article I’ve ever written and I feel like a lot of people write of the Giant Revolt for similar reasons. This isn’t a flashy bike..
Look deeper though. Ignore the update that changed almost nothing and look at what you actually get with the Giant Revolt. This is a gravel bike that fits 53mm tires with a slacker geometry or lets you adjust a flip-chip and drop to a 45mm max tire with a racier geometry. Of course I doubt most people will do much with that capability but I still love that it’s there plus 53mm max tire clearance is actually among the best available. There’s also a D-shaped seatpost but you can swap it to round and put a dropper post in if you want. Again, few people will do this but bikes are expensive and it’s nice to be able to change your mind after a couple of years.
It’s not just the features that are well rounded. There’s a $2800 model and a $7000 model and you get the same carbon frame and the same features. I love celebrating that concept of starting with a lower price buy in but getting a frame that’s worth upgrading over the years.
The Giant Revolt might not be flashy but it’s incredibly well rounded and that’s why it makes this list. You can read more details in the Velo Gravel Bike Field Test coverage.
Devinci Hatchet
Early in 2025 I was a part of the Velo All-Road Field Test and we had a couple of outliers in the mix. The idea was to frame the all-road category with a pure road bike on one side and a gravel bike on the other. That gravel bike was the Devinci Hatchet and we were all incredibly impressed with the bike. That’s not even why I’m highlighting it though.
The reason I am highlighting the Devinci Hatchet is more philosophical than some of the others here. I’m not usually the one to put the old man hat on but every now and then I feel like it has to be said… maybe leave the mountain biking to mountain bikes? For a lot of people gravel biking is about going fast on roads that just happened to be unpaved and it’s worth including a good option for that.
The Devinci Hatchet is a gravel race bike that also happens to work incredibly well as an all-road bike. We found it responsive to rider inputs when cornering but also responsive to pedaling inputs. There’s a great balance of stiffness to off-road capability and there’s a lot of road-ish features throughout while also offering the typical gravel bike downtube storage and extra mounts.
If you are anything like me where you like to pedal a bike and don’t much care if the road is paved or not then you’ll find something to like about the Devinci Hatchet . It also helps that it’s on the more affordable side of modern gravel bikes. You can read more in the Devinci Hatchet Pro review.
Orbea Terra Race
In North America the Orbea brand has always been a bit less common but, in my experience, that’s a loss you might want to consider correcting. I remember absolutely loving my time on the Orbea Orca Aero with its wonky looking, and non-UCI compliant, frame storage below the downtube. I also love the level of personalization that’s possible in the MYO system. Bikes are expensive so you might as well get exactly what you want.
None of that is why this is here though. When Dave Everett reviewed this bike he said “as a rider who comes from a road racing background, this bike was a gravel bike that ticked all the boxes that I didn’t know I wanted out of a gravel bike.” He then goes on to talk about how he expected something that handled a little like that Orca I love. Instead it was best described as “light feeling, whippy and (a) rapid ride” while also being “understandably slightly slacker handling than an Orca” and really coming alive once the road turned to gravel.
That’s only part of it though. Everett rode the race version and there’s also a version that’s not so race focused. I go back and forth on the utility of a do-it-all vs the focus of a specific tool for a specific job but in this case it makes sense. There’s a Euro gravel race sensibility to the Orbea Terra and it’s nice to let that shine without making compromises. If you think a 45mm tire is plenty you can get a lot of bike for the money with the Orbea Terra Race and you can fully customize it. All details worth celebrating. For more information check out the Orbea Terra Race review.
Canyon Grizl
Somehow, out of nowhere in my estimation, the Canyon Grizl turned into one of the most common gravel bikes at any event anywhere in the world. Of course a big part of that is the Canyon Grizl CF 6 carrying a price point of only $2,799 but price point will only take a bike so far. Besides you see the bike under even people who are willing to spend more.
Given the bikes widespread adoption, it only made sense to include in the Velo Gravel Field Test but, as I said before, it needs more than just price point and people buying it. The Canyon Grizl is also incredibly capable. I mentioned the 53mm of clearance on the Giant as being among the best, this one has 54mm and there’s even options for a Dynamo included with lights. If you need to carry bags you’ll find three mounts on each fork, fender mounts, and a bunch of mounts inside the triangle plus the bento box mounts. There’s even an available full monty bar that gives tons of options for bikepacking or ultra endurance.
The bottom line here is that I don’t care about how many people buy these and the price points are only a piece of the conversation. I love the dream of possibility that the Canyon Grizl offers. As soon as I look at the features I start thinking about what crazy ultra endurance adventure I can do with it and that’s the mark of a great bike, maybe even the best of 2025. You can read more in the Canyon Grizl gravel bike review.