Is Gravel Bike Suspension the Future? (Or a Gimmick?) 

I just rode the giant revolt x for 4 days and 650km in the Masai Mara in Kenya ….. no way I would have finished or enjoyed that race on a hard fork …. For pro’s looking to win yes of course a hard fork is faster …. But for mere mortals it’s a game changer

Depends on what gravel you have. Where i am the gravel roads have about 3" rocks and potholes, and dual suspension is by far the fastest method. But if you were in an area where smoother gravel roads are available then maybe a rigid bike works better. "Horses for courses"

I tried gravel with a rigid bike borrowed from a friend and it was horrible. The vibrations for 40 miles were enough to keep me sore for several days. After that, I converted my old MTB into a gravel bike and I ended up with a bike with a front suspension. Yes it is a little heavier; but it is well worth it. Super comfortable and my speed increased substantially. I am not as tired and have much better control of the bike.

I just completed a 1 week gravel ride on a 2019 Aluminum Diverge w, future shock, cane creek eesilk, and 650b x 47 tires. I had zero pain or numbness on the ride. Was great. Also, with the bike weighted w/ bags, I was able to run higher pressure for more speed…the suspension absorbed most of the small bumps and buzz that would have transmitted into my body. It was a great ride, and I was very happy with the durability and comfort of my bike.

The elephant in the room that may not be that obvious unless the rider has come from mtb, is service intervals. Most mtb'ers who have ridden for long enough will be familiar with service interval as short as 50hrs of riding, and expensive premature wear if not adhered to. The gravel bike is more likely to see extended usage, and those kind of short intervals could be met every few months for some riders... so the cost and faffage of strip downs and sending off, if not self serviced, needs to be considered too. I have enough to keep on top of on 3 mtb's, so want my gravel bike to be as maintenance free as possible, so suspension if needed would be a Lauf or big tyre... but anyway, my 19lb race 29er hardtail with 90mm Lefty would be faster and more capable then that Revolt offroad, and not much slower anywhere else. That is the future...front suspended Norba 90's style geometry flatbar or drop mtb, the new gravel.

This is why the guys at Bicycle Quarterly advocate their fat tires at lower pressure. It's a way to get some of the benefits and comfort of suspension, whether on or off road, without mechanics. "Fat tires aren't slow" is their motto.

Another entertaining and useful video; this has become one of my favorite RU-vid channels. Agree that using or not using suspension comes down to the type of terrain that is being ridden. I personally do not like suspension on any kind of bike; I think it makes bikes unnecessarily heavy and sluggish, and virtually all of my riding is on paved roads or non-technical dirt (logging roads and smoother singletrack), so suspension is not something I would ever consider. Many other riders, though, obviously have rougher roads/trails to ride, and for them full-on suspension would make a lot more sense. As you've said, it's nice to have a choice; I hope that bike manufacturers continue to make this choice available.

I would like to see how a redshift suspension stem and seat post would affect the times of the Crux on the same course? A sort of compromise between the two bikes.

Over a long route, something like the Badger Divide, the extra comfort from the suspension would lead to less fatigue, which in turn would probably lead to a faster ride. The FKT's for the Badger in both directions are now set on hardtail mtb's.

I’ve got a Grail SLX red Xplr for the fast smoother gravel and a Topstone Lefty for the rougher stuff , works well for me ,got rid of the road bike a long time ago , great video Dave as always !

No. You pay way too much for a narrow choice of suspension gravel bikes when compared with the options for XC mountain bikes. If your gravel bike rides require suspension then you'd ride them with better comfort and control on an XC bike. You'll also have more spares, repairs and upgrade choices.

My Revolt does double duty, but far more road. Gravel rides for me go from simple gravel paths to lighly techy singe track. Gravel wheelset is 650B with 47+ tires for suspension. In my case, the addition of an MTB makes best sense. If I were racing, the choice would be a little more complcated! Cool to see the difference between these two very different bikes! Thanks David!

Gravel suspension is much more about comfort and allowing non 20 year olds to do long days in the saddle without blowing the rest of your week. I can rebuild my own suspension forks, but the Lauf fork plus the Ergon seatpost is good enough from the long day comfort perspective.

For majoriy of the people, the issue is not really speed. Most are not racing. Comfort, however, is BIG factor in enjoying a ride. If suspension forks help in that, then that is the future for most amateur, recreational or even serious riders, simply because they are not after a faster bike. As to whether it will be adopted in gravel races, that remains to be seen. I suppose that is a case-to-case basis, depending on the terrain, and the rider himself. Though in racing, you need more speed, that can be negated if you are talking of 100-200km gravel races where that repetitive jarring can take a toll on the rider. A short jaunt is not going to make a big impact. But a longer race will. As fatigue sets in, a faster bike will slow down because the rider slows down due to tiredness. If shocks can help lessen this, then raw potential of non suspension of current gravel bikes is nullified. If history is any indication, in the past MTBs had no front suspension. Then it had one. Then there are models that even had back suspension. Gravel bikes with suspension is just new. I am sure, they will be able to tweak this further in 2nd or 3rd generation to make it faster as well as confortable.

MTB'er who bought a gravel bike. Santa Cruz Stigmata. Nice bike, unrideable on trails with a rigid fork. I put a gravel shock on it and it changed the ride completely. Can basically ride it over anything. And no, it's not a mtb, just another way to liven up the trail. If you want to wear spandex, and ride a fine gravel trail, keep the rigid fork. Otherwise, put a gravel shock on and go have fun.

Please tell me what size these two bikes, and what is your height and foot size?

Thanks David I have a Crux.. how are you getting on with the suspension seat post you had on your Cruz in California??? Worth it ??

GT Carbon Grade with 25mm of travel at the back, Bontrager Carbon bars with gel inserts at the back, Maxxis 120TPI tubeless tyres is fine for our local tow paths. Also we share are paths with walkers.

Great video? Have you tested the ROCKSHOX REVERB AXS XPLR SEATPOST? I am wondering about the suspension. Or have you tested other droppers with suspension

If you want to add a suspension fork to a gravel bike, go get a 27.5" cross country fork. You can run up to a 700x45-47c tire, and you actually get a usable amount of travel (80-100mm) to make the extra weight worthwhile. I got a 12mm thruaxle adapter so you can keep your nice gravel wheels even if you want.

I love gravel riding but i draw the line at gravel bikes with suspension. If you are going to ride on terrain rough enough to need a suspension fork then you’re better off getting a mountain bike

Its difficult to attribute any one area of performance to one thing. A bike may be better or worse over rough terrain because of frame flex, wheelbase, tire size, pressure, or the fact it has suspension. I think that the type of bump makes a difference too; a telescopic fork can't possibly react quick enough to a series of small bumps/rocks, but will deal well with big, spaced out hits such as depressions and hollows. I do think a lot of the advantages shown here by the Giant are actually down to the geometry and frame characteristics (the normal revolt is a bit of a limo anyway and has a lovely ride as stock). Good video and great talking point.

Nice test but you really need to compare like to like with both bikes within the weight difference of only the suspension fork and seatpost difference which i would presume is far less than the overall measured 2.2kg difference. The Crux was even on Zipp CF wheels! I would also like to see how a similar trim level Diverge compared to both of these and could really be the sweet spot between them.

GOOD ONE! Enjoyed it. That crux is a stunner 😍

I put the Rudy shock on my crux. And it’s amazing. For serious rough corrugated gravel I use 650b

I was in a race that had extremely chunky gravel, very steep climbs and descents. A woman on a mtb caught us at a rest stop before a long, nasty climb. We could out climb her but she would quickly catch back up and leave us behind on the very chunky downhill. One part was so rutted out and bad, she was able to ride though it without any problems. We had to pick our way through.

Hey David thanks so much for your insight! I unfortunately don't have the luxury of testing multiple bikes but I figured you'd be a great resource. So here's my question, have you ever done a comparison of suspension gravel bikes? I'm in the market for one and I'm specifically thinking or the Giant Revolt X vs the Santa Cruz Stigmata (with suspension). Obviously there are other options but the ability of running wider tires is a consideration for me. Any insight or a comparison that you might have (including other bikes like the YT etc) would be extremely helpful and appreciated! Thanks so much and help up with the great content!

I definitely see the usage case for a full suspension gravel bike for riders who mostly ride rough offroad and don’t use the bike on roads much. However I think there is a middle ground that gives you a more versatile bike. Personally I would choose the lighter rigid bike, and ride it like you have it setup for general mixed road and reasonable surface off road. However if you know you are heading somewhere much rougher then have another set of shallower wheels with bigger tyres and a suspension stem and seatpost you can swap in. Yes it won’t quite give you the suspension effect of a fork but it will still give you a decent benefit on the rough stuff. With gravel riding being as varied as it is I think it is better for most people to have a versatile setup that can be adjusted to suit the riding when needed.

I’d be interested in Crux vs Diverge (same price point, wheels and tyres) - which would you pick for say a 100km or 200km gravel ride?

The S-Works Crux tested is around twice the price of the Giant. Not sure this invalidates the pros/cons of each option, but it's not really a head to head comparison either.

What were the avg w and NP numbers? By sector and whole segment.

Thanks for another great, informative video. I was about to buy a Canyon Grizl alloy 1 by with suspension until I watched this video. I ride a hard tail xc with my friends on our weekly gravel bike group rides. They all ride very nice gravel bikes. Most of the time I can stay up with them unless we’re on fast downhills or on the pavement. Now I am not sure if I’ll buy a gravel bike. Colorado Springs, Colorado. Any opinions or feedback appreciated.

Hi David thanks for the video! Quick question for you. How did you get rid of the creaky bottom bracket on your TCR? I bought mine a year ago in large part thanks to your great review on it. I still love the bike btw

The Cannondale had suspension gravel bikes for a while with the rear pivot system and the front lefty

That Crux is stunning but about twice the price of the Giant. What would be nice to see is the Crux mounted with the same suspension fork and how much of a penalty it would then take. But I suppose it's not technically feasible so we'll never know.

Great vídeo, congrats. I believe these are wonderful times we are living. Bikes are becoming great machines, with all shapes and sizes, and capable of meeeting any one´s desires. There are so many options now, and that is great. Whatever works for you, suspensio fork, rigid fork, just pedal and go.

I have to say back in 2019 before I had a gravel bike even though I rode gravel since 2013 anyway on hard tail MTBs , I put Maxis ramblers on my giant Carbon XTC advanced hard tail that I still enjoy and ride XC to this day, but with 2.20 size tires. But when I did a gravel race years ago with the Maxxis ramblers on STANS carbon Valor wheels and a mid level Rock Shock front fork , stiff carbon flat bars , I still got beat up on wash board and imbedded rocky South Florida Levees roads any way , yes it was about 40 miles into a race. Point is the frame was not built as a gravel bike , the forks where never designed always absorb wash board sections , and smaller 40 c gravel tires mounted to carbon XC wheels felt like riding on wood at the 40 mile mark. Tires , seems to make the most difference in comfort …………….. the fork even flexed and vibration from the wash board or rough sections did not help ……….I now have for dedicated gravel bike a 2021 Diverge carbon expert …….

Unless your racing, how the person feels after the ride matters. If the Revolt allows the rider to feel less beat up and wore out then would be my choice. The Revolt could also be a good bikepacking or trekking bike IMHO.

Well, the Crux is a racing bike. The Giant would excel in the endurance category or a longer cross country race but at some point a cross country mtb bike will better the Giant and the Giant is then the more lively, underbiked option, but still not a faster choice.

What is the seat posts brand? Thanx

The question is you can save seconds on a revolt going down in the ruff but save minutes with the Crux going uphill or smooth gravel but the crux can also be a fast road bike which I believe is incredibly more versatile and valuable with a tire change its 2 fast bike in one ??? Can the revolt ever be a fast road bike

Great video as always (a bit late watching it)! It would be interesting to see you do another comparison, but this time, same bikes though ... 1 with the sus. for, 1 without. The difference in weight with these is quite a lot ...

I think the engineering is going to eventually get to a point where there is adjustable suspension- which will be a game changer for professional gravel racing. Think about how some teams are able to adjust tire pressure on cobbles on the bike - adjustable suspension is coming.

Hi David, can I ask what size your Crux is and what your saddle height it? I seem to be between 54 and 56... the 56 seems to have very long reach, but I have long legs and don't like the long reach. Thanks!

I bought very lightly used Revolt SL with a Lauf fork (during early lockdown)....think i adds about 400gram to the bike, no bob out of the saddle, very stiff and it gets more use than any other bike just takes the buzz out on the dreadful state of the roads as well of off roads. Use two pairs of wheels ....sadly mean i really ought to sell off a few others

I disagree with some of these comments. I want to see comparisons between bikes (full build as they sell them). Plenty of videos about frame comparisons. I want to see more videos about off the shelf bike for bike. Thanks Dave! This is interesting to me!

Great video, but, I would trust this comparison more if the tires on the bikes were the same. The test was of the suspensions and weights of the bikes, not tire selection. So, the tires could be the same so they could be ruled out.

I did three rides last week, each about 60 kms on abandoned rail line with smooth sections and some very rough sections with sand and large rocks and washouts. I didn’t have my own gravel bike but I borrowed my friends cross bike. I rode it all and was relatively fast, but it beat the crap out of me. I started to believe a slightly suspended gravel bike would be a good idea. I’ve always thought that was silly and why not just use a mtn bike. I also started to think about my own gravel bike with wide 650 wheels and tires. The real issue for me is that I find my mtn bike to be uncomfortable for longer rides. I like the drop bar hand position options. So setting up a mtn bike with drop bars is also an option and I see some gravel racers like Dylan J are doing that. Kind of at the point now where it’s just fun thinking through and then trying all the options. If you are not racing I still think one bike with different wheels can do it all, but what might that bike look like? Maybe full suspension gravel bike with lockouts?

Suspension no Suspension doesn’t matter just ride the Bike 😁😎

Been torn between this exact dilemma and both bikes are on the shopping list. Great content Dave, as always. I still don't know what I'm buying lol. Think TopStone with Kingping could be the winner (without the light package)

I expect to solve for geometry and tires, do this with a full rigid Cannondale Topstone and the one with the lefty should be the v2.0 test.

David, you mention the Giant Revolt X as being a bike "built around suspension"; how is it different in the frame/ fork built compared to a "plain" gravel bike? Any thoughts/ experience/ opinion in retrofitting a suspension fork to a gravel bike as an upgrade?

I guess as well that this test is best seen through the metric of time. I.e that crux is faster across a 1hour big effort ride. I bet the revolt is quicker for a day ride though.

I will say it again. I have a hard tail (GT floating stays adding rear suspension) fitted with gravel tyres (or MTB tyres). Quicker on long gravel rides when I need it. I have a proper gravel bike with redshift stem for times when I dont.

Excellent comparison. Would be interesting how a redshift front and rear suspension would compare. Seems like the ideal middle ground with almost nothing lost on pavement.

I know two types of suspension, soft big tyres and suspension. I guess that we can manage without suspensionfork if the tyres are big and soft enough. But i use suspended bike, I like it, but its heavier than the light stiff bikes.

Lauf fork or wide tires always over telescoping suspension on gravel bikes. If those are not enough you are most likely better off swapping to a mtb with proper suspension. 30mm of telescoping suspension on gravel bikes is just a faff in uselessness when you consider sag and seal/dust wiper friction.

That Crux is just GORGEOUS.

I like your videos in general but this one has a few problems in my view. The tires and wheels should be the same and it is not clear if your power output was the same during the 2 rides. Then there's also the price to consider for most people... I could see myself using the crux for road and lighter gravel and the revolt x instead of a mountainbike, at least in the region I live...

It should be choose your route then choose your weapon. If you don’t have the right bike for that ride then choose the route again. Really depends firstly on your mood, then your pocket, then your mood. Whatever you do just enjoy it

Love the look of the Giant Revolt X!

tbf I didnt buy a gravel bike to go as fast as possible downhill over bumps, I got it for the excitement of carefully thinking about which path to take while driving :)

Next year people will realise drop bars are idiotic on a gravel bike and TA-DAHHHH we'll have re-invented the mountain bike. Congrats.

I have a titanium gravel bike. carbon fork, wheels and seatpost - nice cushy tires, tubeless and lower pressures provide all the "compliance" I need. Suspension would jus tbe added and un-needed weight imo.

I think these traditional suspension fork designs don't work too well on gravel because on gravel you need small bump sensitivity instead of softening drops or bigger impacts like you would need on a MTB. The only suspension fork capable of this to my knowledge is the Lauf fork. Anywho, to each their own. Nothing against it, if anything I'd definitely grab a suspension fork if they could do what I need them to.

Stick some 50mm tyres on the Crux and I reckon you have the winner. 40mm is faster and lighter but 50mm would give you much greater confidence in the rough stuff without the huge weight penalty of suspension. Thinking of my own local trails the Giant has limited advantages but I can imagine there are plenty of areas where it would be the bike you'd grab over your xc bike

I wishbu did the same bike with and without suspension as a waayyyy more fair test!

Good review (and you are getting better every time!) but 7km is not enough to bring out the benfits of sus'n which is about comfort and fatigue !? If you'd don 3-4 laps on each, I think your view may have changed.

Crux. You can use it for CX racing as well.

That comparison was rather obvious. I'm considering Revolt and Topstone (without Lefty) and that would be more interesting comparison- similar weight, Kingpin. You have tested Topstone before, how much less comfort you have expirienced on rough roads with Topstone comparing to Revolt? And the final question: is it possible to mount Rudy suspension on Topstone without any modification/changing more parts?

On GCN they tested gravelbikes vs. MTBs on the several Paris-Roubaix sections. The MTB was by far the fastest on those nasty cobblestone sections, but overall the regular road bikes were fastest because the major part of the race is on the tarmac road. So... same result as yours. Recommended bike: it depends! 😏

Love my Canyon Grizl 7 suspension. 😁

Was thinking that I'd like suspension on my gravel bike but changed my mind because of the maintenance. So am thinking bigger tyres and a dropper post. That's all.

Thst crux frame is very light I'd hope its not flexy as many lighter frame seem to be.

Horses for courses, of course.... pardon the pun. I prefer suspension (my gravel bike is Cannondale Slate with dropper seat post and 30mm of Oliver Lefty fork travel) b/c I want a versatile gravel bike that can handle moderately techy stuff and also ride the pavement reasonably well. The Specialized Crux would be too similar to my road bike (Cannondale EVO); the Slate is like a drop bar hardtail MTB which is the right one for me.

I’m hoping they realise a full suspension gravel bike 😁 I love my xc bike off road but I much prefer the riding position on a road/gravel bike.

I think that comparing two times straight out is not a completely fair comparison. Power data would give insight on the effort if the two measured times are comparable. Still good and informative video.

So are we going back to hardtails?

While a good comparison. I think you need to do these tests with same wheels to make it more equal.

2 kg of weight between bikes is a lot! The Giant Revolt X is too heavy, I sugest to put the Rockshox Rudy on the Crux, I have a Crux comp with a RS Rudy and it rides like charm, is excellent on the climbs and a great descender! By the way it weights 8.6 kg

Drop bars ar just easier on the hand placement. I guess dampening is just natural progression.

It's like back when when roadies swore nothing more than 23mm wide tires, now we've all been sucked into an era of gravel or all-terrain riding, it is inevitable that what we roadies disliked about mtb's is now what we've become because gravel would not be possible without the mtb disc brakes, big tires, and yes front suspension - but we'll still keep the drop bars .. yt scepter is my gravel steed, amazingly fast on tarmac n very doable on chunky terrain-

I think that a gravel bike with suspension also loses some of the very adaptability which makes them so attractive; all of a sudden it isn't as good at road any more which is half the attraction for a lot of people. Prb too niche.

Yeesh. This is basically following exactly the direction that I knew gravel bikes would be since the day they were introduced as a category. They're basically just drop-bar hybrids. Oh, sure, you can prattle on about geometry differences, but the only reason those differences even appear to exist is because it's a case of hybridizing starting from the road bike end of the spectrum. Gravel suspension? Little more than dual sport hybrids with drop bars. Amd the thing is that because we know it's being marketed to gravel riders, we can tack on a few hundred dollars more ti the cost and people will pay it. I'm already awaiting the day we have a drop bar fat tire bike category and there'll be 500 videos on RU-vid from creators such as yourself (plus another 100 or so just from GCN) all covering the "Is it worth it?" or "what's _really_ the difference?" kind of questions.

Suspension will make the ride faster as it soaks the bumps. Just take a hardtail and try To keep up with someone on a full suspension. I have first hand experience.

But you didn't wear mountainbike gloves, which are way lighter then a suspension and give lots of comfort. I recommend to always wear some bike-gloves

Have you considered repeating the test using the suspension bike first ? Perhaps your legs sore some minor tiredness.

Awesome comparison video,I think the Revolt X is the future of gravel riding and people won't mind the weight.

Why no gloves?

I love gravel, but if you need suspension a hardtail mtb will always be better.

Ride 75 miles of washboard gravel (Salty 100 as an example) - and you'll beg for any suspension, imho.

on 9

Seatpost suspension is useless on off road descents, since you're not sitting on the saddle.

Suspension forks, dropper post..... Mmm I would call that a mtb and with that frame an XC mtb with rubbish forks🤷‍♂️

The future of gravel bikes is a XC hardtail with 100 mm of front suspension and a drop bar.

There is no actually wrong or right about this. Except you are racing with rules. This all boils down to personal preferences. If you want to use 23c roadbike on a downhill why not? Its up to you lol

If you’re not running the same tires at the same psi, why even bother?

That external cable needs to go..

we are comparing apples and bananas here

Specialized S Works Crux 7.5kg £11500!!!! just what the everyday punter can afford😏