Get More From Your Gravel Bike | Upgrades For Your Ride

Modern gravel bikes are incredibly capable of riding on all terrains and surfaces, but there are some ultimate upgrades that you might consider making to take your cycling to the next level. Ever considered a dropper post-off-road? How about wider bars or tyres? Chris shows you how you can make your gravel bike into the ultimate tricked out and capable machine.

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What do you think is the best way to upgrade your gravel bike?

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[Calum_S]

Chris and Hank have really grown into their presenting jobs. I was a bit unsure to start with - new faces in my favourite gang and all that, but now I can't really imagine GCN without them. Keep up the good work lads.

[danlancaster]

Whatever upgrade we do to our bikes is good as long as it encourages us to ride more. Don't mind what other people think. Do it and ride.

[VinnyVidiVicci]

The upgrade I really want to do on my gravel bike is buying a gravel bike.

[kevinbowe]

The only upgrade I've added to my Fuji Jari Gravel bike is stronger legs and less weight! -- Yea GCN!

[chrispyy]

My upgrades for my do it all Cervelo Aspero RX:
- Cervelo AB06 aero road bars (42cm)
- Zipp 303 with 28 GP5000 for road
- DA 11-30 cassette
- Carbon seat post
- Speci Power saddle
- 52/36 chainrings
I can race cat 2 road on this setup and then swap tires for gravel/CX or throw on the Easton’s with the 40mm X’plors tubeless.

[eliadesol]

Upgrades for my Canyon Gravel: two sets of wheels: road with 28 mm slick tubeless and 650B rims with WTB 47 mm all terrain tires, 11-40 MTB cassette on 650B wheels, absolute black oval chainrings. These different set ups let me enjoying both road and off road adventures.

[navsvarigi]

Gravel bikes are my jam, so another friday, another gravel bike video from GCN and another smile on my face!

[frazergoodwin]

My new road bike is a dedicated gravel bike (Specialized Diverge Sport) and I Keep it set up as a "do it all bike" as I can't afford a road bike AND a gravel bike. So this means I must run X2 and stay away from MTB cassettes. The only upgrade I made was to swap the 105 rear mech for a GRX one - my LBS did it for free when I bought the bike.
But this does give me a bike ideal for all the trails in the woods around Brussels - and if I want to do something more "rad" on single tracks I have my old MTB (so old it has a triple).
But this set up also means I can ride on the road with my club and plan a multi-day long distance bikepacking trip next summer. Happy days!

[stevesnailfish]

This cross over road/MTB stuff is great on this channel....I've been riding off-road on drop bars for over 4 years but still use my 26 and 29ers along with my CX and gravel my area (radius 20 miles), I've only ever seem one bloke on a CX bike doing the same stuff as me as it's all roadies and the odd MTBer

Saying that, I've upgraded my CX bike with a shorter stem. flared gravel bars, MTB saddle, straighter seatpost (non dropper) and 42mm tyres and it works way better than the original spec and still runs a compact crank 34t inner ring and a 32t cassette at the rear and it's fine apart from uphill grassy bridleways into a stiff headwind. My gravel bike (more relaxed geometry), however, is lower gearing with a 32t inner ring and 32t cassette and it feels way more like an old rigid MTB and that small difference in inner chainring is noticeable compared to the CX bike. I am though, considering going 1x on the gravel bike with a 36 or 38 up front and an 11-36 or 40 at the rear (10 speed) as I'm used to riding 1x on both my the joy of biking little changes that can improve a bike....Going 1x on the gravel bike might mean a new rear clutch mech but I haven't had a dropped chain yet on my 26er of those things.

Best upgrades for a drop bar off-road bike is, as stated above, wide bars, short stem and the fattest tyres you can for a dropper post....I haven't even got one on my MTB's but would add that on a secondary list even for the gravel

[acem]

28mm knobby tires, 38cm drop bars, aero bars, slammed stem. Then again, my "gravel bike" is a carbon fiber climbing bike (from 2011), and was the only bike I had that could actually fit the 28mm tires.


It worked great. My gravel race was on typical American gravel roads, and the 28s were perfect. I showed up in a skinsuit and a TT helmet, and I looked like I was crazy. But I had all kinds of speed over everyone else!

[Bigkidbird]

Installed a small dropper on my gravel bike a year ago. Use it just about every ride. Confidence when the going gets chunky.

[hansschotterradler]

I occasionally use clip-on aero bars on rides over 70 miles. They give me an additional position, give my hands a break and a faster ride into head winds.

[gregholbut]

Yup, replaced my Tiagra with GRX 400 rear and 600 front 46/30 and 11-36 rear .Huge improvement, even doing some single track as well as long road rides, so versatile and fun!

[cjharrer]

The first thing I upgraded was my tires to tubeless and a minimal tread as I tend to do gravel with single track. Second was a carbon seatpost to take a little bumpiness out that the Aluminum one had. I like the bar tape idea and think I'll give that a shot as well, my tape is cushioned now, but I can imagine doubled it would be that much nicer! Thanks for the video Chris, great ideas!

[daz_the_cyclist]

I have a dropper on my Cannondale Slate and its awesome fun, a real do everything bike. Highly recommended

[blipsnchips]

My bike upgrades are always how to maintain my weight on the bike without breaking the bike or having a catastrophic failure. So first things first is the tires. Then The saddle if its too small for me. Then Ill upgrade my pedals as well to a nice metal pair with a wide flat platform and some grips sticking up out of them. Then I look to upgrade the brakes. I have only had to do this once so far because when youre a large ride u will need to spend a good amount on the bike in the first place and they usually come with really nice parts for entry level bikes even though the entry cost is more than other bikes. and thats just what helps get me out on the trails! I might look into these kind of bars and extra brake levers that is really cool!

[amorfu]

Flat bars for me. I know most people will say that is not the point of a gravel bike, but it works for me. It doubles as a commute bike in winter and flat bars are much more comfortable in traffic.

[ohiomoto]

Wide Range I ended up with a 36t front ring, GRX rear mech, and a 9-46 e*thirteen 11-speed cassette with a 511% range. Now I can take my time, spin up those steep hills, ride longer and still have enough top end for road riding with slicks. LOVE IT!!!!

[catherinespark]

Very relevant. I'm getting an Orbea Terra in January so good to have this knowledge :D

[hizzoner]

Definitely consider an upgraded saddle for gravel riding as increased vibrations over time and distance can impactful on your perineal tissue.