While gravel cycling is splintering into different racing niches, the discipline is fast-becoming more demanding for both riders and bikes, as I experienced firsthand at Gravel Burn last year. I’m sure many of our readers will recall my Gravel Burn recap, where I mentioned I’d have been better off on a Cannondale Topstone than the SuperX Lab71 I used for the event. The reason for this change of heart was the sheer brutality of the terrain, which, at times, I felt was better suited to a mountain bike.
Some of the Pinarello team, including owner Ivan Glasenberg, were at the Gravel Burn riding the event on Dogma GR and Grevil gravel bikes and would have seen firsthand the demands of modern gravel stage racing and where future events might be heading. Fast forward a few months, and in an interesting twist, Pinarello has lifted the lid on the Grevil MX, which claims to “combine the aerodynamic efficiency of a road bike with the stability and control of a mountain bike.” The Grevil MX will join the current Grevil range, offering riders a more capable machine for challenging events.
