Gravel is the hot cycling genre right now, yet it encompasses everything from laid-back touring to full-throttle racing.
When it came to building my own gravel bike, then, the key question I felt I needed to answer was “what kind of riding do I want to do?”.
For a start, I was sure I didn’t want a mountain bike, or anything that took too much inspiration from that genre.
Mountain bikes are incredibly fun on the right terrain, of course, but coming from a road cycling background, with a particular focus on speed and performance, the answer was obvious – I wanted a road bike with bigger tyres.
So that’s what I built.
Why aluminium?
Once I’d decided what kind of bike I wanted, the next thing to do was find the right one.
For a start, I knew I wanted a frameset, because I had spare parts available to build it with that would also help keep the overall cost down – another key theme of this bike.
Unfortunately, not many brands sell framesets anymore – and if they do, they’re normally not cheap. My options, therefore, were fairly limited.
In the end, the choice to go for an aluminium frameset was easy. Carbon fibre is fantastic, but it’s still relatively expensive.
Aluminium, on the other hand, is plenty light, stiff and strong enough, yet still makes for fairly cheap bikes.
The Kinesis GX Race frameset has an RRP of £925, but I got it on sale for £674.10.
Given I’m relatively new to gravel riding, I also wanted a bike I didn’t need to treat too carefully.
The GX Race’s round tubes clearly aren’t very aerodynamic, but aero gravel bikes such as the 3T Exploro and BMC Kaius were well out of my price range.
Those mostly round tubes also look fantastic – especially with the ‘metallic aubergine’ paintjob and classic bend handlebar I’ve specced.
Without wanting to be parochial, it’s also nice to support a smaller, UK-based brand.
Despite its traditional looks, though, the Kinesis GX Race is a thoughtfully put-together gravel race bike.
Most importantly, it has clearance for big gravel tyres – up to 45mm wide on 700c rims or 50mm on 650b rims.
It has a full-carbon fork, semi-internal cable routing and a whole suite of mounting points for mudguards and accessories.
Though it has caused me something of a sizing headache (more on that in a moment), the geometry is fairly progressive. The fork even includes a flip chip to adjust the bike’s trail.
After some stressing about what size to get, I settled on a 54cm frame. That might sound small, but the bike is big for its nominal frame size and I also run a relatively low saddle height.
Going long (and narrow)
One of the joys of a custom build is being able to spec a bike exactly to your tastes – and I don’t mean simply having all the ‘best’ stuff.
In our age of mass-produced bikes with integrated cockpits and proprietary parts, simple things such as having a choice of stem and handlebar are too often overlooked and underappreciated.
Most notably, I’ve opted for a long and narrow cockpit.
The stem is a 120mm, 10-degree, Pro Vibe 7S I picked up cheap on eBay. The search for the right handlebar took longer, though.
I love classic bend handlebars, but they’ve gone out of fashion in recent years. It’s become almost impossible to get anything with that drop shape narrower than 40cm.
Most brands spec wider handlebars on their gravel bikes, touting improved off-road control. But to me, bikes with short stems and wide handlebars usually feel terrible – like I’m pushing a wheelbarrow.
After much searching, I eventually found a 385mm DixNa Agree R60 handlebar sold through Amazon Japan and jumped on it immediately.
For me, the long, straight drop bars feel fantastic when cruising, and I also think classic bend bars are the most beautiful shape available, especially when paired with a more traditional-looking bike such as this.
I also took confidence from the fact my good friend and colleague, Jack Luke, runs narrow bars on his gravel bike without issue (though it’s fair to say his shredder credentials vastly outstrip mine).
The wheelset is the Giant SLR 1 42 Wheelsystem that came with my Giant TCR Advanced Pro Disc. I’ve since acquired other wheels through testing, so these were surplus to requirements on that bike.
With a relatively narrow, 19mm internal rim width and a 23mm external width, they’re much narrower than most of the best gravel wheels. They work just fine, though.
Of course, they weren’t designed for the rough and tumble of riding off-road, but the chunky tyres help protect the rims and I’m fairly lightweight, so I’m not too harsh on my kit.
I also have a set of Tubolight EVO gravel inserts that I’ll add at some point, just for a little more rim protection.
Those are fitted with 700x38c Vittoria Terreno Dry TLR tyres set up tubeless. They’re not the fastest or grippiest gravel tyres available, but they were going spare in the BikeRadar workshop and for that reason alone they were perfect.
I also think the grey sidewalls contrast nicely with the black carbon rims, though I’ll probably look to get a set of tanwall tyres in the future, because those will look even better.
Groupset mash-up
The groupset is a true hodge-podge, with parts from at least three different Shimano groupsets, plus some third-party components.
The bike needed a power meter (how else would I know if I was having fun?) and I wanted to use the Stages Power LR Shimano Ultegra R8000 crankset I already had from testing.
Because it’s a road crankset with a relatively narrow 146mm Q-Factor, the clearance between the driveside chainstay and crank arm was worryingly tight.
It was rideable, but Jack Luke helpfully suggested adding a cassette spacer between the frame and bottom bracket, which brought me an extra millimetre or so of clearance, and some peace of mind.
I had a set of matching 50x34t chainrings for this crankset, but I wanted a bigger-than-recommended cassette out back and decided not to push the capacity of the rear derailleur at both ends.
Fortunately, Shimano makes a 46t Ultegra-level cyclocross chainring – as with the stem, I was able to pick up a lightly used one on eBay for relatively little money.
This is designed to be paired with a 36t inner chainring, but I opted for a 34t instead because I knew I’d want easier gears. As with the out-of-spec cassette, it nevertheless works great.
To tidy things up, I also bought a set of ZRace chainring bolt covers for a few pounds from Aliexpress.
Front shifting is taken care of by a 105 R7000 front derailleur, which never fails to impress with its quick and reliable performance.
Out back, I have a Shimano GRX RX810 rear derailleur paired with an 11-36t SunRace MS8 cassette.
I had a 105 R7000 GS rear derailleur going spare, but splashing out for a GRX derailleur felt worthwhile because they come with a clutch.
Technically, the derailleur is only rated for a maximum cassette sprocket of 34t, but thanks to former colleague Matthew Loveridge, I knew it was possible to push this. I’m happy to report the combination works flawlessly.
The chain is an 11-speed, SRAM PC-110 model, that is, of course, waxed.
The shifters and brakes are from the 105 R7020 that originally came with my Giant TCR Advanced Pro Disc, plus a set of Shimano RT-MT900 rotors I already had.
Finishing things off, I got a Prime Primavera Carbon seatpost and Prime Primavera Shorty Carbon saddle from Wiggle before it sadly went bust, plus a set of Tacx Ciro bottle cages – which have a very strong grip.
The pedals are Shimano’s excellent Deore XT M8100 model.
In terms of weight, Kinesis claims the size-54cm frame weighs 1.69kg. I don’t know how much the complete bike weighs, though, because I’ve never put it on the scales.
So, take a guess and let me know how much you think it weighs in the comments below – one million BikeRadar gold stars to anyone who can get it right.
What next?
Given this is a new bike, it’s likely things will change in the future (I definitely want some wider, grippier tyres, for example), but this feels like a great starting point.
I have admittedly only limited experience with gravel bikes, so it’s difficult to say how this compares to more mainstream options.
However, I’ve been loving it so far. The position feels great, especially when linking off-road sections together with extended road bits.
Likewise, the pick-and-mix drivetrain has performed fantastically – the flexibility and performance of Shimano’s mechanical stuff never fails to impress.
If there’s one clear low point, it’s that the semi-slick Vittoria tyres are almost instantly overwhelmed in wet or muddy conditions, leading to some sketchy descending off-road and a fair few instances of tyre slip on steep pitches.
It’s fair to say that’s beyond the scope of what they’re designed for (namely dry, hard-packed gravel), but I’ve quickly come to appreciate why gravel riders are always searching for the perfect gravel bike tyres.
As it so often is, building up a new bike – especially one with different capabilities – has been a great impetus for getting out, doing something new and recapturing my love for the sport.
I’ve already enjoyed a load of fun rides exploring the muddy and rocky bylines around South Bristol, as well as some of the incredible gravel roads in the Lake District. I’ll also be studying next year’s UK gravel calendar to see if anything catches the eye.
Am I ready to pin on a number and complete the cliché of the ex-road racer getting too old and turning to gravel racing? You never know…
Simon’s Kinesis GX Race specification
- Frameset: Kinesis GX Race, 54cm
- Rear derailleur: Shimano GRX RD-RX810
- Front derailleur: Shimano 105 FD-R7000-F
- Crankset: Stages Power LR Shimano Ultegra R8000 power meter, with 46/34t chainrings and ZRace CNC chainring bolt covers
- Cassette: SunRace MS8, 11-36T
- Chain: SRAM PC-110
- Shifters: Shimano 105 ST-R7020
- Pedals: Shimano Deore XT M8100 PD-M8100
- Brakes: Shimano 105 BR-R7020 with RT-MT900 rotors (160mm front, 140mm rear)
- Handlebar: DixNa Agree R60, 385mm, with K-Edge out-front mount
- Stem: Pro Vibe 7S, 10 degrees, 120mm
- Saddle: Prime Primavera Shorty Carbon
- Seatpost: Prime Primavera Carbon
- Wheelset: Giant SLR 1 42 Wheelsystem
- Tyres: Vittoria Terreno Dry TLR, 700x38c
- Weight: Unknown
