00:00 As the gravel bike realm continues to evolve, the echoes of 2023 resonate with a surge in
00:08 gravel racing and the continued expansion of gravel exploration.
00:13 In the world of racing, the UCI Gravel World Series went from strength to strength, with
00:18 16 events globally and the second world championships in Italy, while the world of bikepacking has
00:24 continued to gain traction worldwide.
00:27 Unsurprisingly, all of this has led to more and more gravel-specific tech hitting the
00:32 shelves in the last 12 months.
00:34 Brands such as Canyon and Bianchi both brought gravel-specific carbon cockpits to their 2023
00:40 gravel bikes, while Vitus further blended the road/gravel bike line with the release
00:45 of the Venon.
00:47 Suspension has started to slowly enter the market too, with the gravel bike genre finding
00:51 its feet between the two subcategories of all-road riding and exploration gravel riding.
00:57 While seemingly expanding in all directions, we're taking a look at what we think is
01:02 coming to the world of gravel in 2024.
01:10 In late 2023, Shimano finally updated its GRX lineup to feature 12-speed shifting.
01:17 The big news though is that it was mechanical only.
01:21 Shimano's justification for this was that, apparently, more than 50% of its customers
01:26 bought mechanical GRX over electronic Di2, so Shimano made mechanical shifting a priority.
01:34 We think though that Shimano GRX Di2 will receive an update in 2024, and we expect we
01:40 could see 12-speed electronic gravel shifting as early as spring this year.
01:46 It's fair to say that Shimano left us slightly bamboozled by the lack of it in 2023, with
01:51 clear pressure on the Japanese component giant to catch up to the ever more wallet-friendly
01:56 12-speed electronic offerings from rival, SRAM.
02:00 The 12-speed Di2 shifting technology already exists in both Shimano's road and mountain
02:06 bike ranges, so it seems almost inevitable that GRX Di2 is on the horizon.
02:12 The big question remains though, and that being whether or not Shimano will be able
02:16 to bring a combination of cost and quality that can rival the competitively priced competition.
02:24 It's always worth remembering that the gravel bike genre is still relatively new.
02:31 Even the big brands are still pretty early on in product development cycles, which means
02:36 we are still years off the much smaller refinements often associated with road bikes today.
02:42 With most gravel riders starting to set up in either the Speed or Adventure camp, bike
02:47 manufacturers are getting a better understanding of the demands that the different subcategories
02:51 face, most notably frame geometry.
02:55 Matej Mohoric's recent victory at the Gravel World Championships in Italy showed us that
03:00 aerodynamics might just be overrated, on gravel at least, after he won on a new Merida
03:06 Silex, the brand's gravel explore bike.
03:10 Something we think the industry will certainly pick up on.
03:13 2024 will almost certainly follow a similar trend to the last few years, with bikes becoming
03:18 even more progressive.
03:20 This means slacker headtube angles, longer reaches and shorter stems, all in the name
03:25 of stability.
03:27 The difference here though is that we expect to see this across race bikes as well as adventure
03:31 bikes, so expect to see a lot more mountain bike inspired geometry over the next 12 months.
03:42 We mentioned at the start of this video that both Canyon and Bianchi have recently released
03:47 gravel specific carbon cockpits to the cycling world, and we think they are just the beginning.
03:53 Gravel riding brings a totally different set of demands to what we commonly see on the
03:57 road, with vibration dampening and comfort being more of a priority.
04:02 Off-road handlebars are often flared too, to allow for a wider, more stable base when
04:07 descending or traversing technical terrain.
04:10 The magic of carbon fibre allows it to be engineered in such a way that it can provide
04:15 stiffness in one direction while remaining flexible in another plane.
04:19 With gravel riding entailing such a broad range of terrain, it seems obvious that bike
04:23 brands will be battling to build strong, comfortable and controllable cockpits as gravel bikes
04:29 become both faster and more capable.
04:32 All of this development comes at a cost, which is probably why we're only at the very beginning
04:37 of high level gravel specific kits, but we think as gravel riding continues to grow,
04:42 so will development budgets, leaving plenty of innovation to come at the front end of
04:47 gravel bikes in 2024.
04:54 Adaptive dampers are most commonly associated with range-topping sports cars and avid off-roaders,
05:00 but a recent patent from SRAM tells us they could be coming to the world of gravel bike
05:04 riding in the very near future.
05:07 Back in 2016, SRAM released ShockWiz, a suspension sensor capable of analysing your setup and
05:13 then communicating data to your smartphone.
05:16 Theoretically enabling you to make smarter setup decisions for your weight and riding.
05:22 It's fair to say that it hasn't really become mainstream, perhaps due to the £379 price
05:28 tag, but the patent published in November 2023 indicates that ShockWiz might be about
05:34 to receive an overhaul.
05:36 The idea seems to be integrating ShockWiz to suspension technology, which alongside
05:41 a remote lockout system, could allow for adaptive suspension on gravel and mountain bikes.
05:46 We think suspension systems from SRAM will likely come out in the next 12 months.
05:51 Whether or not we'll see them on gravel bikes first though, is another matter.
06:00 Over the last few years, the bike industry has seemingly embarked on a mission to hide
06:04 every nuts, bolt and cable from our view, in a bid for both aerodynamic efficiency and
06:10 aesthetic perfection.
06:12 And the obsession for neatness is no doubt coming to the gravel bike sphere, but we're
06:16 not talking about brake hoses and gear cables.
06:20 In 2023, Canyon made a bid to add functionality to its gravel bikes through integrating storage
06:25 into its Endurance Road and gravel bikes, and we think many more brands will be hopping
06:30 on the bandwagon this year.
06:32 Bikepacking has continued to grow in popularity over the last year, and it seems like a no-brainer
06:37 for more bikepacking integration to hit the market in 2024.
06:42 We expect the untidy sights of Velcro straps to decline this year, making room for neater
06:47 bag mounting like Canyon's magnetic system on the latest Grail.
06:52 It's not just the bags though.
06:54 Trek first showed off in-frame storage in the checkpoint two years ago, and since then,
06:59 frame storage has continued its refinement.
07:02 We expect that this year, we will see a continuation of the bike brands shamelessly cutting holes
07:07 in their frames, making room for more inventive toolkits, and freeing up more pocket real
07:12 estate.
07:15 2023 saw a whole host of gravel race bike and all-road bike releases.
07:24 The Specialized Roubaix SL8, the Vitus Venon, Canyon Grail, and the Merida Endurance GR
07:31 just to name a few.
07:32 But with so many UCI-focused releases over the last couple of years, 2024 will likely
07:38 see the pendulum shift back towards adventure gravel bikes, which we think will increasingly
07:43 be offered with suspension.
07:45 As riders push the limits of what gravel riding entails, bikes are becoming more capable,
07:50 which has led to many bikes in 2023 coming suspension fork ready.
07:55 The main drawback of a suspension fork for most though, is the cost.
08:00 For example, SRAM's Rudy Explore fork retails for £779 here in the UK, which is enough
08:07 to drastically increase an off-the-shelf bike price tags, perhaps dissuading some brands
08:13 from selling suspension fork builds.
08:15 Back in September however, State Bicycle Co released an all-road suspension fork, which
08:20 offers the same 40mm as the Rudy Explore for just $450.
08:26 We expect that this is just the beginning, and as the cost of suspension falls, it will
08:31 become much more commonplace on the most progressive gravel bikes, which will no doubt reignite
08:36 the age-old question, "Isn't a gravel bike just an old mountain bike with drop bars?"
08:42 Let us know down in the comments below which piece of gravel bike tech you are most excited
08:46 for and tell us, how would you define a gravel bike?
08:50 If you enjoyed the video, then please do drop it a like, subscribe to the channel for more
08:54 content and we will see you again very soon.
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