Guava Spot Force AXS review: the Catalan gravel bike that loves tarmac too

With 159 colour options available, Chris settled for grey. Still, the Spot does look very cool. (Image credit: Future)

I’m a late convert to gravel. I’ve moved on from thinking they’re just hybrid bikes with drop-down handlebars, repackaged in the name of marketing, but I am still sceptical. Surely they can’t be as fast on the road as, you know, road bikes, and surely they can’t be as good on trails as mountain bikes.

So when I got offered the opportunity to test a do-it-all gravel bike from Guava for a month, I knew this was the moment when I’d either make peace with the thriving discipline that isn’t so new anymore, or further position myself as a late-20-something dinosaur, resistant to advancement.