Gravel bike comfort: How much sense do suspension forks and wide tyres make?

The gravel bike trend has long since grown into a real boom and is readily fuelled by the innovative spirit of the industry. There is almost no handlebar tape, no item of clothing, no bag that is not available specifically for gravel use. Manufacturers are also being inventive when it comes to the gravel bikes themselves and their components. Under the overriding theme of "comfort", a wealth of add-on parts are sprouting up to make off-road racing bikes even better equipped for off-road use. Special suspension forks, suspension stems, wide tyres, telescopic seat posts or flexible carbon rims are intended to close the ever-shrinking gap to the mountain bike hardtail. In addition to the retrofittable components for gravel use mentioned above, there are of course also complete bikes, such as the BMC Urs LT or the Niner MCR 9 RDO, which even rely on integrated suspension on the fork and rear triangle, thus extending the range of use.

Fabric softener: comfort components for gravel bikes

But back to the retrofittable parts that are supposed to breathe more comfort into the purist gravel bike. To test what has been working on mountain bikes for decades or has already disappeared into oblivion, we pitted four promising products against each other in a practical test. Our duels not only provide information about the function, but also the usefulness on a gravel bike. You can find an overview of other exciting parts below.

The first duel pits the Rockshox Rudy suspension fork, which was specially developed for gravel use, against the suspension stem from Vecnum in the Allgäu region. Both aftermarket parts have 30 millimetres of travel and, despite their different approaches, pursue the same goal: to minimise impacts on the front wheel and pass as little of them on to the rider as possible.

The second duel literally revolves around tyres and wheels. Following the introduction of the Moto rim for mountain bikes, the American manufacturer Zipp is rolling out its rim technology for gravel bikes too. The special feature of the Zipp 101 wheels is the specially shaped carbon rim, which has no hollow chamber. As a result, the very flat rim should be particularly flexible and able to filter out any vibrations that occur. The Zipp wheels with 40 millimetre wide tyres are opposed by the same tyre model with a width of 50 millimetres and adapted air pressure. Read this article to find out how the duelists fared and how they put a strain on your wallet.

This is how we tested

First duel: gravel suspension fork vs. suspension stem

At first glance, the result of this duel seems clear-cut: what can a suspension stem do against a real suspension fork? Even in the early years of mountain biking, the filigree suspension stems didn't stand a chance against the longer-travel suspension forks. With the parallel Vecnum Freeqence stem, however, the tinkerers from the Allgäu region are taking a completely new approach to the subject and even teasing out the same suspension travel as the gravel suspension fork from Rockshox. However, the Rockshox Rudy is also available with up to 40 millimetres of travel. In terms of compatibility, the point goes to the stem, which is available in three lengths (90, 105, 120 millimetres) with a 1-1/8 inch steerer clamp. This is because the longer installation length of 425 millimetres means that the suspension fork (stem size 1.5 to 1-1/8 inches) currently collides with the vast majority of frame geometries.

Gravel bike suspension fork Rockshox Rudy XPLR

• Weight: 1279 grammes
• Suspension travel: 30 millimetres
• Price: 917 Euro >> available here

Off-road, both concepts are convincing and provide an aha experience compared to the gravel bike without suspension. Unevenness and bumps are much better compensated and kept away from the rider's hands. This not only increases comfort, but also significantly improves bike control. As both systems have the same suspension travel and the air-sprung Rockshox fork also compresses an elastomer from half the travel, they feel very similar in direct comparison.

Suspension stem Vecnum Freeqence

• Weight: 291 gram
• Suspension travel: 30 millimetres
• Price: 299 Euro

Test summary of the gravel duel suspension fork vs. suspension stem

Both the Rockshox Rudy suspension fork and the Vecnum stem noticeably increase riding comfort and thus ensure more safety and less fatigue on rough tracks. However, price, weight and compatibility clearly speak in favour of the Vecnum stem, making it the smarter solution for gravel bikes.

Second duel: Wide tyres vs. comfort wheel

The American wheel and component manufacturer Zipp is an established name in the road bike sector. With the innovative Moto rims, Zipp has also expanded its commitment to the MTB market since 2019. In order to create a particularly flexible rim that can withstand impacts and absorb vibrations, Zipp has dispensed with a hollow chamber in the special carbon rim. This should not only make the single-walled rim more comfortable to ride, but also reduce the risk of punctures and thus tyre and rim defects. With the 101-XPLR wheels, Zipp is extending its new technology to the gravel sector. With an internal width of 28 millimetres, the wheels are very wide, cost 1839 euros as a set and weigh 1688 grams. For our comparison, we rode the wheels with Schwalbes G-One Bite in a width of 40 millimetres.

The competitor G-One Bite with a width of 50 millimetres on a Cadex AR 35 carbon impeller on. In order to do justice to the larger volume of the wide tyre, we reduced the tyre pressure by 0.4 to a total of 2.1 bar. In this setup, the difference between wide tyres and Zipp wheels was very small. Only when we pushed the minimum pressure to the limit (0.7 bar less) was the wide gravel bike tyre able to set itself apart from the Zipp wheels with narrow tyres and higher pressure. Traction and the damping of power peaks were better.

Conclusion of the gravel duel between wide tyres and comfort wheels

In a direct comparison, the ten millimetre wider tyre with correspondingly lower tyre pressure is more noticeable than the flexible rim of the Zipp wheels. The wide tyres on the gravel bike generate more traction and comfort. The optimum would certainly be a combination of both.

The most favourable comfort tuning on a gravel bike? Wide tyres!

During our test rides on gravel, trails and over the rumble boards, we tested different tyre widths and experimented with various air pressures. The overall picture was always the same: the wider tyres were almost always convincing and offer clear advantages. The rolling resistance is lower, they generate more grip and traction and offer more comfort than the narrower tyres. The additional weight is kept within limits. With a Schwalbe G-One Bite, for example, it is 150 grams for a set of tyres (40 vs. 50 millimetres). In terms of aerodynamics, the wide tyre performs slightly worse. For every ten millimetres more tyre width, the additional power is only 3.6 watts at 30 km/h, as determined by the Swiss running bike experts from Swiss Side in wind tunnel tests. With wider tyres, even stiff gravel bikes with little frame suspension comfort can be made a little more comfortable. However, the prerequisite is that you orientate yourself to the minimum air pressure specified by the manufacturer. A tubeless set-up is also suitable for more puncture protection at low air pressures. And in the end, the suspension fork and the rear triangle decide whether you can mount wider tyres than 40 millimetres on your gravel bike. However, 45 millimetre wide tyres should be sufficient for most modern gravel bikes. In return, you get a comfort boost for little money.

Even more comfort for gravel bikes

These parts also promise more comfort on gravel bikes and can all be retrofitted. The prices for more suspension travel range from just under 70 euros to 1259 euros for a new gravel suspension fork from Fox.

Fox 32 Tapercast gravel suspension fork

• Weight: 1281 gram
• Spring travel: 40/50 mm
• Price: 1259 Euro >> available here

As a counterpart to the Rockshox Rudy, the new Fox 32 Tapercast also brings the gravel bike even closer to the mountain bike. The Fox gravel bike suspension fork are even available with up to 50 millimetres of travel. Please note: At 435 millimetres, the installation length of Fox is also longer than that of a rigid fork.

Redshift Shockstop Pro Stem/Seatpost

• Weight: 220/380 grammes
• Spring travel: 20 millimetres each
• Price: 275/330 Euro

The American supplier Redshift has two comfort-enhancing components in its range. The suspension stem provides 20 millimetres of travel and can be mounted in both positive and negative orientations. The seat post also provides two centimetres of suspension travel.

Rockshox Reverb AXS XPLR

• Weight: 590 grammes
• Stroke: 50/75 mm
• Price: 633 Euro >> available here

The wirelessly controlled Reverb AXS dropper post from Rockshox kills two birds with one stone and fits almost any bike thanks to its 27.2 millimetre diameter. In addition to height adjustment, the dropper post also provides additional suspension when lowered.

Vittoria Airliner Gravel

• Weight: 47 grammes
• Price 34,50 Euro (for one insert) >> available here

The tyre insert is designed for a tyre width of 30 to 40 millimetres and is intended to prevent punctures even at low air pressure, which protects the tyre and rim. Can only be ridden in tubeless set-up.

Spank Vibrocore Flare/Wing

• Weight: 355 grammes
• Price: 130 Euro

The Vibrocore foam inside the aluminium handlebars is designed to filter out vibrations, which reduces fatigue when riding. There are two differently shaped handlebar models with the damping foam core.