Best budget gravel bikes 2022

The best budget gravel bikes open up the opportunity for more of us to go on a different kind of riding adventure, without a massive outlay. 

Trying out a new discipline can be daunting, and buying a bike can be quite a gamble if it's something you haven't tried before. Thankfully, there are a number of great bikes on the market that offer cracking value, making the perfect starting point for rides with a little more spice!

Spanning the gap between road and mountain bikes, gravel and adventure bikes have surged in popularity over the last few years. Arguably the most versatile of bike categories, these steeds not only excel on bridleways, byways, dirt roads and singletrack, but can also make great commuters or winter road bikes too. 

Bike prices in general have gone up significantly over the last few years and it's now quite hard to find a bike other than a hybrid that comes in below $1,500/£1,000. So we've divided this guide up into budget gravel bikes that cost below $1,500/£1,000 and those costing between that and $2,000/£1,500, to help you find a gravel bike to suit your budget.

Of course, if your budget exceeds this, then check out our complete gravel and adventure bikes guide. Spend a bit more and if you get the gravel bug you'll not find yourself needing so many upgrades or hankering after a more performant model after a few months riding. 

Don't forget the extras you'll need either - we've run through these and other things to look out for in our buyer's guide to budget gravel bikes at the bottom of this page.

Best budget gravel bikes under $1,500/£1,000

Sub $1,500/£1,000 | Sub $2,000/£1,500

Below is our pick of the best budget adventure road bikes and gravel bikes. Read on for more tips on what to look for when shopping for a budget gravel bike to help you venture off the beaten track.

Based in Bellingham, Washington, Kona is no stranger to beefy touring bikes and now gravel bikes. It's got a reputation for no-nonsense, robust bikes with budget spec options that are durable and hassle-free.

This entry-level Rove is one of their aluminium alloy offerings, and available in either 700c or 650b builds at the same price. With beefy 47mm WTB Venture tyres fitted and mounts on the fork legs in addition to standard mudguard and rack eyelets, the Rove is a great choice for anyone wanting to dip their toe into the world of bikepacking.

Designed for mechanical simplicity, if you're just looking to dip a toe into gravel riding without spending too much cash, the Triban GRVL 120 Disc Brake might hit the mark. The ride position is upright and there's a fork with carbon legs and an alloy steerer. 

Despite the low price, you still get a 10-speed single chainring groupset with plenty of range and a clutched derailleur. The bike also comes specced with tubeless ready wheels with Hutchinson 38mm tubeless ready tyres. The 38mm max clearance is quite narrow, but at this price, the Triban RC 120 is hard to beat.

If you feel like you are more of an adventure touring or all-road rider the Trek Domane AL line of frames is a good fit. The endurance bike geometry works well both on and off road  and there's clearance for tyres up to 35mm. In today's world 35mm isn't big but it's more than enough to tackle well-groomed gravel roads.

For a lot of people this makes perfect sense as a first, or only, bike. Everything that makes it capable of heading off-road also makes it versatile. There are mounts for racks and fenders if you want to do some bike packing, or commuting, and weekend use just means changing tyres.

If your budget stretches a bit further, there are three alloy Domane models with higher spec finishing kit in the range.

One of the few steel gravel bikes that you'll find on a budget of less than £1000/$1500, the Marin Nicasio+ is a great choice for budding bikepackers. There are loads of water bottle cage mounts, and you'll have plenty of options for storage alongside traditional rack and guard mounts too.

It comes with a single ring groupset, making for a simpler mechanical set-up, with plenty of gear range and a clutched derailleur, although with only 9 speeds, there are quite large jumps between ratios. The Nicasio+ is fitted with 47mm WTB Horizon tyres, so there's lots of rubber between you and the trail for extra comfort and grip.

Best budget gravel bikes under $2,000/£1,500

Sub $1,500/£1,000 | Sub $2,000/£1,500

Cannondale has recently revamped the alloy Topstone, with a look with dropped seatstays that's a lot more like the Topstone Carbon. Its geometry has changed too, to increase trail stability and up tyre clearance to 45mm. Handily if you're contemplating bikepacking trips, its new all-carbon fork includes a set of bag mounts too, while you can still add mudguards, a rack and panniers if you want to use the Topstone for commuting and round-town duties.

The Topstone 4 spec comes with a Microshift Advent X derailleur and a single chainring configuration with plenty of range, mechanical disc brakes and WTB Riddler Comp 37mm tyres for an unflashy, rugged spec. What you don't get is Cannondale's integrated SmartSense radar and lights, powered by a single battery, although you can add it as an extra.

The lowest spec of the Specialized Diverge E5 gets a decent 8-speed Shimano groupset, although it's more aimed at road than off-road use, without the lowest gears to haul yourself up steep climbs seated.

You get a full-carbon fork with the alloy frame, which provide a stable geometry for off-road antics, paired with a shorter stem length for steerability - a typical gravel set-up. There's loads of tyre clearance at the rear thanks to the solid chainstay section behind the bottom bracket. Like the Cannondale Topstone, there are loads of luggage mounts, including those on the fork legs, so the Diverge E5 is good to go for bikepacking adventures as well as playing around off road.

One of the original gravel bikes and now in its second edition, the GT Grade comes with signature extra-long, slender seatstays to add compliance, along with a carbon fork. This alloy Grade comes in below our budget bike price cutoff, but there's also a carbon version if your budget stretched to it.

Kit-wise there's an FSA Tempo 48/32 chainset paired with a Sunrace 11-32 tooth cassette and Shimano Claris 8-speed shifting. The WTB wheel rims are tubeless ready, although the 37mm WTB Riddler wire bead tyres would need an upgrade if you did want to run tubeless. 

There's a lot more to the Vitus Substance V-2 than just a snazzy paint job to make it a great budget gravel bike. There are loads of mounting options for bags and TRP Spyre mechanical disc brakes which will help control your speed on testing off-road descents.

Vitus has opted for a good gravel gearing set up, with a sub-compact double (46/30T) paired with an 11-34T cassette for plenty of low speed gearing to get you up steep ascents while spinning in the saddle, while still giving an adequate on-tarmac turn of speed.

The finishing kit is Vitus' own, including Vitus' flared Adventure bars with a very subtle three-degree flare.

With an impressive 11 speed spec at just over a grand, Decathlon's in-house brand Triban has a couple of budget gravel bikes, and this one isn't even the cheapest! 

This RC 520 is kitted out with tubeless-ready Hutchinson Touareg 47mm tyres on 650b wheels, as well as flared bars with gel bar tape. There are also mounting points for mudguards and pannier racks, making it a versatile all-rounder for touring and commuting too. If you'd prefer a double chainring configuration, there's the 2x11-speed GRVL Subcompact available for the same price.

Coming in seven sizes, the Grail from German direct sales brand Canyon has a cracking spec. That includes a Shimano GRX 400 10-speed gravel groupset and DT Swiss wheels with Continental Terra Trail 40mm tyres. It's nice to get a full Shimano GRX groupset including its hydraulic disc brakes for assured stopping power. The two smallest sizes swap in 650b wheels for the 700c wheels on the larger bikes, for improved geometry and less toe overlap with the front wheel.

It's a bike designed for fast gravel riding and to take you back onto tarmac when you need to link up gravel sections; for more off-road riding, greater tyre clearance and extra load-lugging potential there's the Canyon Grizl 6 for the same price. 

The new Giant Revolt comes with a flip chip in its rear triangle that lets you keep the chainstay length short for a more lively ride on tyres up to 42mm or lengthen them for massive 53mm tyre clearance.

Giant uses its compact frame geometry and fits its D-Fuse D-shaped seatpost to help increase saddle comfort, while a carbon fork adds damping to the front end. If you have a bit more in your budget, the Giant Revolt 1 offers ten-speed Shimano GRX gearing and hydraulic braking while still coming in just below our upper price limit.

The women's equivalent of the Revolt is the Devote, from Giant's women's-specific Liv brand. As well as the Devote 1, featured here, there's a Devote 2 with a similar spec to the Revolt 2. 

The Devote 1 comes with smaller frame size options than the Revolt, but you don't get the flip chip variable geometry. There's still clearance for 45mm tyres and the bike is delivered with Giant's tubeless set-up. The higher spec of the Devote 1 gets you a 10-speed Shimano GRX RX400 gravel bike groupset, complete with hydraulic disc brakes.

Buyer's guide to budget gravel bikes

Although it sounds strange, better braking can actually help you go faster. With more powerful braking from hydraulic disc brakes, you can stop faster. With great braking performance at the end of your fingertips you'll have more confidence to let rip on the descents.

If you don't already have flared handlebars on your bike, consider this upgrade for confident descending and more room for bikepacking bags up front.

Your wheels can make a huge difference to the quality of the ride, and unfortunately, at lower price points the quality of these can suffer. Upgrading your original wheelset to a lighter and higher quality build can make the world of difference.

Don't feel stuck with the tyres that come on your bike. Your preferred terrain and conditions might need something different. Experiment with different volumes and tread types until you find some that work for you. You may need a different set of tyres for summer and winter riding to get the most out of your budget gravel bike, swapping between them to compensate for the changes in trail conditions.

Setting up your wheels tubeless can be one of the biggest (although not always the easiest) upgrades to your bike out of the box. With no tube to worry about you can run lower pressure for better traction and a more comfortable ride. Tubeless sealant can also seal small punctures before you even know something happened.