Gravel cycling is only growing as we start 2024. It's a discipline of cycling which is now so far reaching it encompasses so many different styles of riding.
In this video Cycling Weekly looks to the rest of 2024 and make our predictions as to what we think the big tech trends in gravel cycling will be. These predictions range from brand new groupsets, new suspension and also new ways for bike manufacturers to start building their frames.
In this video Cycling Weekly looks to the rest of 2024 and make our predictions as to what we think the big tech trends in gravel cycling will be. These predictions range from brand new groupsets, new suspension and also new ways for bike manufacturers to start building their frames.
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00:00As the gravel bike realm continues to evolve, the echoes of 2023 resonate with a surge in
00:08gravel racing and the continued expansion of gravel exploration. In the world of racing,
00:14the UCI Gravel World Series went from strength to strength with 16 events globally and the
00:20second world championships in Italy, while the world of bikepacking has continued to
00:25gain traction worldwide. Unsurprisingly, all of this has led to more and more gravel-specific
00:31tech hitting the shelves in the last 12 months. Brands such as Canyon and Bianchi both brought
00:37gravel-specific carbon cockpits to their 2023 gravel bikes, while Vetus further blended the
00:42road gravel bike line with the release of the Venom. Suspension has started to slowly enter the
00:49market too, with the gravel bike genre finding its feet between the two subcategories of all road
00:54riding and exploration gravel riding. While seemingly expanding in all directions,
01:00we're taking a look at what we think is coming to the world of gravel in 2024.
01:10In late 2023, Shimano finally updated its GRX lineup to feature 12-speed shifting. The big news,
01:18though, is that it was mechanical only. Shimano's justification for this was that, apparently,
01:24more than 50% of its customers bought mechanical GRX over electronic DI2, so Shimano made mechanical
01:31shifting a priority. We think, though, that Shimano GRX DI2 will receive an update in 2024,
01:39and we expect we could see 12-speed electronic gravel shifting as early as spring this year.
01:46It's fair to say that Shimano left us slightly bamboozled by the lack of it in 2023, with clear
01:52pressure on the Japanese component giant to catch up to the ever more wallet-friendly 12-speed
01:57electronic offerings from rival SRAM. The 12-speed DI2 shifting technology already exists in both
02:04Shimano's road and mountain bike ranges, so it seems almost inevitable that GRX DI2 is on the horizon.
02:12The big question remains, though, and that being whether or not Shimano will be able to bring a
02:17combination of cost and quality that can rival the competitively priced competition.
02:26It's always worth remembering that the gravel bike genre is still relatively new. Even the big brands
02:32are still pretty early on in product development cycles, which means we are still years off the
02:37much smaller refinements often associated with road bikes today. With most gravel riders starting to set
02:44up in either the speed or adventure camp, bike manufacturers are getting a better understanding
02:49of the demands that the different subcategories face, most notably frame geometry.
02:55Matej Mohoric's recent victory at the Gravel World Championships in Italy showed us that aerodynamics
03:01might just be overrated, on gravel at least, after he won on a new Merida Silex,
03:06the brands, Gravel Explore Bike. Something we think the industry will certainly pick up on.
03:132024 will almost certainly follow a similar trend to the last few years, with bikes becoming even more
03:19progressive. This means slacker head tube angles, longer reaches, and shorter stems, all in the name
03:25of stability. The difference here, though, is that we expect to see this across race bikes as well as
03:31adventure bikes, so expect to see a lot more mountain bike-inspired geometry over the next 12 months.
03:42We mentioned at the start of this video that both Canyon and Bianchi have recently released
03:47gravel-specific carbon cockpits to the cycling world, and we think they are just the beginning.
03:53Gravel riding brings a totally different set of demands to what we commonly see on the road,
03:57with vibration dampening and comfort being more of a priority. Off-road handlebars are often flared too,
04:04to allow for a wider, more stable base when descending or traversing technical terrain.
04:10The magic of carbon fibre allows it to be engineered in such a way that it can provide
04:15stiffness in one direction while remaining flexible in another plane. With gravel riding entailing such a
04:20broad range of terrain, it seems obvious that bike brands will be battling to build strong,
04:25comfortable and controllable cockpits as gravel bikes become both faster and more capable.
04:31All of this development comes at a cost, which is probably why we're only at the very beginning
04:36of high-level gravel-specific kits, but we think as gravel riding continues to grow,
04:42so will development budgets, leaving plenty of innovation to come at the front end of gravel bikes
04:47in 2024. Adaptive dampers are most commonly associated with range-topping sports cars and
04:58avid off-roaders, but a recent patent from SRAM tells us they could be coming to the world of gravel
05:04bike riding in the very near future. Back in 2016, SRAM released Shockwiz, a suspension sensor capable
05:11of analysing your setup and then communicating data to your smartphone, theoretically enabling you to
05:18make smarter setup decisions for your weight and riding. It's fair to say that it hasn't really
05:24become mainstream, perhaps due to the £379 price tag, but the patent published in November 2023
05:31indicates that Shockwiz might be about to receive an overhaul. The idea seems to be integrating Shockwiz
05:382 suspension technology, which alongside a remote lockout system, could allow for adaptive suspension
05:44on gravel and mountain bikes. We think suspension systems from SRAM will likely come out in the next
05:5012 months. Whether or not we'll see them on gravel bikes first, though, is another matter.
05:59Over the last few years, the bike industry has seemingly embarked on a mission to hide every nuts,
06:05bolt and cable from our view, in a bid for both aerodynamic efficiency and aesthetic perfection.
06:12And the obsession for neatness is no doubt coming to the gravel bike sphere, but we're not talking
06:17about brake hoses and gear cables. In 2023, Canyon made a bid to add functionality to its gravel bikes
06:24through integrating storage into its endurance road and gravel bikes, and we think many more brands will
06:30be hopping on the bandwagon this year. Bikepacking has continued to grow in popularity over the last year,
06:36and it seems like a no-brainer for more bikepacking integration to hit the market in 2024.
06:42We expect the untidy sights of velcro straps to decline this year, making room for neater bag mounting,
06:48like Canyon's magnetic system, on the latest grail.
06:51It's not just the bags, though. Trek first showed off in-frame storage in the checkpoint two years ago,
06:58and since then, frame storage has continued its refinement. We expect that this year,
07:03we will see a continuation of the bike brands shamelessly cutting holes in their frames,
07:08making room for more inventive toolkits, and freeing up more pocket real estate.
07:132023 saw a whole host of gravel race bike and all-road bike releases. The Specialized Roubaix SL8,
07:26the Vetus Venon, Canyon Grail, and the Merida Endurance GR, just to name a few. But with so many
07:33UCI-focused releases over the last couple of years, 2024 will likely see the pendulum shift back towards
07:40adventure gravel bikes, which we think will increasingly be offered with suspension.
07:45As riders push the limits of what gravel riding entails, bikes are becoming more capable,
07:50which has led to many bikes in 2023 coming suspension fork ready. The main drawback of a suspension fork,
07:57for most though, is the cost. For example, SRAM's Rudy Explore fork retails for £779 here in the UK,
08:06which is enough to drastically increase an off-the-shelf bike price tags, perhaps dissuading
08:12some brands from selling suspension fork builds. Back in September, however, State Bicycle Co. released
08:18an all-road suspension fork, which offers the same 40mm as the Rudy Explore for just $450. We expect
08:26that this is just the beginning, and as the cost of suspension falls, it will become much more commonplace
08:33on the most progressive gravel bikes, which will no doubt reignite the age-old question,
08:38isn't a gravel bike just an old mountain bike with drop bars? Let us know down in the comments below
08:44which piece of gravel bike tech you are most excited for, and tell us, how would you define a gravel bike?
08:50If you enjoyed the video, then please do drop it a like, subscribe to the channel for more content,
08:55and we will see you again very soon.
09:00you