Best electric gravel bikes: dirt loving drop bar e-bikes with added oomph

Here’s our pick of the best electric gravel bikes on the market right now. We've tested them across a range of riding conditions, assessing their performance for both ride quality and factors specific to electric bikes such as range and charging time.

Gravel bikes are constantly being touted as the best 'do-it-all' bikes, so it's no surprise that they feature among our list of the best electric bikes. 

For those aiming to compete, a growing number of events such as the Dirty Reiver and the Belgian Waffle Ride now have an e-gravel bike category, adding to the appeal of this burgeoning market.

The mix of all-terrain capability, confidence-inspiring stability, and additional assistance make electric gravel bikes an interesting proposition, not only for off-road riding, but also as urban commuter bikes.

Our pick of the best electric gravel bikes

At the bottom of the page we've got more tips on what to look for when you're choosing the best electric gravel bike for you.

Alternatively, if you're not planing to head off tarmac you can check out our pick of  road-specific models in our guide to the best electric bikes here or if you're after something a little more affordable, you can find our guide to the best budget gravel bikes (without a motor) here.

The Cannondale Topstone is the brand's gravel bike. Add the Neo to it and it designates a Cannondale electric bike, while the Lefty bit refers to its single legged suspension fork, plus, as you'd expect, the Carbon bit refers to its frame material. 

Cannondale calls this a full suspension gravel bike, with the 30mm travel Lefty Oliver fork upfront and the bike's 'Kingpin Softail suspension' giving another 30mm travel at the rear.

With the same drive system as the Canyon Grail:ON, Bosch’s Performance Line CX motor delivers up to 75Nm of torque, making this bike really capable of powering up rocky inclines or techy trails. The large 500Wh Bosch internal battery delivers up to a claimed 125km / 78mi range. On test, 40+ mile rides mixing the power modes barely used half the battery, so we could see how this range is certainly achievable.

The carbon fibre frame and suspension features put the Topstone Neo Carbon 3 Lefty well above the price point of other e gravel bikes, but we felt it was "unrivalled in its class in terms of motor performance and the grin-inducing ride." It also blurs the lines between gravel and mountain bikes even more, and will probably be more bike than most will need. But hey, what fun!

Read more: Cannondale Topstone Neo Carbon 3 Lefty full review

With the same motor and battery as its pavement oriented brand mate, the Specialized Turbo Creo SL Carbon Comp EVO is ready to tackle wild and woolly conditions.

The frame is made from Spesh's' top-of-the line Fact 11r carbon fibre, and sees a Future Shock 2.0 suspension stem at the front, complete with adjustable damping. At the back is 1x Shimano GRX shifting, though the left shifter isn't a dummy, it actuates an X-Fusion Manic Dropper Post. 

When your legs run out of steam, Specialized's own SL 2.1 motor has got you covered with 240W of assistance. Integrated into the downtube is a 320Wh battery pack, claimed to be good for up to 128km / 80mi, Specialized offers a bottle cage sized ranger extender that adds an extra 64km / 40mi.

Rolling stock comes in the form DT Swiss R407 hoops with Boost hub spacing, finished in 38mm Spesh Pathfinder Pro tyres.

With the Mission Control app, not only can you adjust just how much power each of the assistance modes kicks out, but you can also set a distance you want to ride and the battery level you’d like to see remaining at the end and the bike will manage its battery usage automatically to hit these targets. 

You can even pair up a Bluetooth heart rate monitor and have the motor adjust its assistance to keep you within a certain range – perfect for recovery days.

But even before you start tinkering with these elements, the way the motor applies its power is markedly different to most other e-bike systems. There’s no whiplash-inducing jerkiness as you can get with some designs – the power comes on in a much more controlled fashion that feels much more natural.

Read more: Specialized Turbo Creo SL Carbon Comp EVO full review

On first look at the Ribble CGR AL e, you'd have no idea this machine is actually an electric gravel bike. Seriously, look at it! Where's the motor?

Building on Ribble's non-motorized CGR (Cross, Gravel and Road) which we rated highly, the electric version features a MAHLE Ebikemotion 250W rear hub-based motor and Panasonic 250Wh battery hidden away in the downtube. This is controlled from a single button on the top tube, designed to look as sleek as possible.

Ribble claims a range of up to 96 km / 60mi over mixed surfaces, and although this motor may not be as powerful as some MTB orientated setups, it does give a significantly more lightweight total build that can be totally recharged in three and a half hours.

Ribble's Hybrid AL e utilises a similar setup, and we found the power delivery to be a pretty good balance. Sure, you don't get the same instant acceleration with this as you do a more powerful system, but if all you're looking for is a bit of a helping hand a high powered motor can be rather overkill. With this, you can greatly increase the distances you're able to cover, but still feel like you've worked.  

The range starts with a Shimano Tiagra build. Shimano 105, SRAM Rival and Shimano Ultegra builds are also available and you can use Ribble's Bike Builders to customise your spec. There's even a step-through frame available.

Read more: Ribble CGR AL 105 full review

Read more: Ribble Hybrid AL e full review

Look released its all-new gravel bikes and gravel e-bikes at the same time in 2019, a range of high-end carbon fibre bikes that leans toward the racier end of gravel. These lightweight builds are stripped back for speed, so you won't find any bosses for mounting racks, mudguards or other luggage.

Just like Pinarello and Cairn (see below), Look has used the Fazua 250W motor and battery system, helping to reduce overall weight. There's a claimed range of up to 86km / 53mi in urban conditions, or 53km / 33mi over mixed surfaces.

There's space for most gravel tyres, although geared towards smaller 650b wheels with wider tyres – clearance for 700c wheels is 40mm or 55mm for a 650b. The electric E-765 Gravel version comes with Hutchinson Touareg 700x40c.

Read more: New Look gravel bike and E-gravel bike launched

Canyon's offering is specifically targeted at those wanting an electric gravel bike that can tackle more adventurous riding with ease.

Opting for Bosch's Performance Line CX system — more routinely seen on electric mountain bikes — the motor provides up to 340% support in turbo mode and a generous 85Nm of Torque, designed for scrambling up steep climbs and smashing singletrack.

The disadvantage of this powerful 2.9kg / 6.4lbs motor is that this kind of riding is heavy on the battery. Canyon has used a larger 500Wh battery to tackle this, which gives an average 120km / 75mi range, depending on power settings, terrain, rider weight etc. You can predict your range on any given ride using the Bosch eBike range calculator here.

The Grail:ON features great clearance for up to 50mm tyres and its relaxed, upright riding position compared to the non-motorized Grail is welcome.  The unique handlebar design may not appeal to all riders, but it gives a little moe compliance when riding on the tops.

Read more: Canyon Grail: ON full review

The E-Adventure 1.0 electric gravel bike from Cairn Cycles really impressed us in our review, landing a 9/10 score. The alloy frame has helped to keep the price down too, which for a bike of this calibre is really respectable.

As the name might suggest, the E-Adventure certainly isn't lagging behind when it comes to the latest gravel-friendly features, including full mounting points for racks and three pack mounts on each fork leg, as well as internal dynamo routing for long-distance riding or commuting.

You can fit up to 700c x 45c or 650b x 2.25" (57c) tyres with the generous clearance. Meanwhile, the Fazua Evation 1.0 delivers a range of up to 80km /50mi and assistance up to 25kph / 15mph.

On test, we found the geometry to be really confidence-inspiring over technical terrain. To us, it's obvious that this could be a popular choice with riders seeking a little extra assistance to keep up with their riding buddies or for those heading out on bikepacking weekend adventures. Just remember you may need to recharge.

Read more: Cairn Cycles E-Adventure 1.0 full review

The Pinarello Nytro Gravel takes the features of the road-going Nytro electric bike but adds a gravel twist. Those features, like the curvy Onda fork, are themselves inherited from the legendary Dogma, the race bike choice of the Ineos Grenadiers pro team.

The frame is made from Toray T700 unidirectional carbon, with Pinarello's trademark asymmetric design which Pinarello says shapes the frame around the specific forces acting on the drive side and non-drive side of the bike. The frame also sees FlatBack tubing and Pinarello's Fork Flaps to slice through the air, as well as an FSC integrated seat clamp and aero seatpost.

There's added clearance for gravel tyres, with 40mm Maxxis Rambler rubber fitted. The frame will handle 42mm 700c or 2.1" 650b tyres.

The Jena Hybrid takes Wilier's Jena gravel bike and adds a motor and battery from Mahle ebikemotion for extra grunt without too much extra weight. Wilier has mounted the motor controller on the bars, rather than on the frame as is normal with this system, so it's easier to change assistance levels and check battery status.

There's room for 44mm 700c tyres or up to 48mm 650b and Wilier has a range of its own brand wheels available including aero carbon options. There are loads of mounting points on the carbon frame and fork.

Wilier offers a range of spec levels for the Jena Hybrid and there's a flat bar option available too.

Everything you need to know about e gravel bikes

How we test

We have a dedicated team of testers here at Cycling Weekly, whose job is to review a whole range of cycling products and to write objective reviews of their experience of using them day in day out in a whole range of conditions.

With huge experience, they're really well placed to compare products, identify their strengths and weaknesses and bring you an honest, unbiased assessment of how they perform.

In many way testing electric gravel bikes is the same as reviewing their acoustic counterparts. Depending on the bike, our testers ride a range of routes from forest roads to technical single track, as well as logging up plenty of miles on the road as well. Across this range of terrain we asses a number of factors, including comfort, handling, suitability for bikepacking and durability.

However, being e-bikes we also look at the motor and battery and consider ease-of-use and battery life and range amongst other factors.