We all seem to love finding a label to attach to things and cycling is no different. Gravel riding. Bike packing. Cross country. Down country. Enduro. The list goes on and on. But what if there’s a grey area and it’s actually a happier place to be? Erwin Sikkens from the Shimano Gravel Alliance headed for the Cairngorm Mountains in Scotland recently and he thinks he’s found the perfect middle ground.
Colouring in the grey area between gravel and mountain biking
It was only a couple of years ago that we wondered if gravel was just a trend or if it was here to stay. Nowadays, we’re looking at a way of riding that has not just claimed its rightful space, but is ever-changing. I noticed it most recently in Scotland, somewhere between the taped course of Grinduro and the loose edge of a technical trail deep in the Cairngorms. The kind of riding that used to ask for compromises now just asks for a bit of nerve and maybe some technical riding skills.
Somewhere along the way, these last couple of years, the bike’s limitations simply stopped getting in the way. Between the singletrack descents, the boggy crossings and the wide-open gravel roads, it just kept moving. That in-between space, between gravel and mountain biking, feels more rideable than ever.
Wildest of gravel parties
The Grinduro gravel event is a rightful highlight for many, but for Bas and me, it was a starter before the main course, waiting for us in the Scottish Highlands. Grinduro is many things at once. A race, a festival, a reunion of muddy smiles and purple caps. But above all, it’s one of the best gravel parties out there. One minute you're lining up for a timed stage with local bikers who’ve clearly done this before, the next you’re spinning past a loch with no one else in sight. The Scottish edition, tucked into the raw beauty of the Cairngorms, only amplifies that contrast.
There’s a rhythm to the weekend: loud, then quiet. Punchy segments with loose rocks and ruts followed by long liaison sections that let the silence back in. There’s something there for everyone. Another thing that’s there for everyone? All the different kinds of surfaces you could call gravel, or are well beyond that point. It set us up perfectly for what was to come: a gravel bikepacking adventure some would call mountain biking.
Back then versus now
Gravel riding, especially in rough places, used to mean uncertainty. What type of tyres to fit? Would you have enough gearing to ride up the climb? Would your 40mm tyres be wide enough to survive a rough descent? Half the charm or half the frustration, depending on who you ask, came from pushing your gravel bike past its clear limits. I fought many battles in my head when pushing my gravel bike in spaces more suitable for mountain bikes. Why was I doing this on a gravel bike again? Because I wanted to. Because underbiking makes it fun. But even still, I was secretly wishing for the day when more gearing and more tyre clearance would help me out just that little bit more, filling up the gap between gravel and mountain biking. Luckily, that day is finally here and I no longer have to cross my fingers at the foot of a trail, or in this case, glen.
On my bikepacking trip around the Cairngorms, I found myself pedalling toward remote bothies with none of the hesitation I’d have felt a few years ago. Rocky passes, washed-out stream crossings, steep heather-lined climbs, all of it felt within reach. Sure, this was partly because of experience, but a big part of it came from the bike underneath me. A couple of years ago, I was still riding an ordinary gravel bike, because that’s what we all rode. I’ve always been curious about what’s possible on gravel, even if it meant some (or a lot) of hike-a-bike. There’s a certain pride in underbiking. In showing up with drop bars and making it work. But this time it felt different. Not because the terrain had changed, but because I no longer had to muscle through it. While enjoying the tracks and beautiful landscapes around me, the bike moved the way I wanted it to. Climbing didn’t feel like surviving. Descending didn’t mean clutching onto the brakes. I could ride light and playful, still very much on a gravel bike, just one that could finally keep up. Rather than fighting with my bike, I was very much enjoying my bikepacking trip.
Wider tyres, mounts everywhere, and, since not too long ago, the ultimate Shimano GRX setup I was wishing for all those years. My 2025 Cannondale Topstone is fully up to date with the latest trends in adventure gravel biking. My wireless 1x12 GRX Di2 setup gave me the range and reliability to ride without second-guessing. Tight, instant shifts, even under load. Smooth gear steps on the way up and all the range I wished for (but never had before) when things got ugly.
Running two Di2 shifters and just the one derailleur meant I had buttons to spare. I came up with the smart idea to mirror both my shifters so I could shift with both hands at any given time. What might sound trivial to some proved extremely useful on a many number of occasions. One moment I’m taking a drink, holding my bottle in my right hand, the next I have to shift to keep on going past the big rock suddenly in front of me. The same goes for my 50mm tyres with lots of room to spare. They gave me the grip and comfort I needed on this trip. Nonetheless, not one moment during this trip was I loudly celebrating the place where technology has got us to. In fact, I didn’t even think of all the stuff that was working for me so wonderfully. It all just worked perfectly and that’s exactly the point.
Gravel gradient
The gap between gravel and mountain biking isn’t gone. It’s just less of a gap and more of a gradient now. The type of gravel riding I enjoy is way too technical for some, but that doesn’t mean that what I’ve been doing all of these years is wrong or that I should have been a mountain biker. I love what gravel was and the broad thing it is becoming. There’s more and more space for every type of gravel rider out there. Fast, slow, long, short, smooth, technical.
Events like Grinduro show us how much range gravel can have, from technical singletracks to hardpack wide gravel roads. Each finds its own fun moments during that weekender and nobody truly excels at everything. It’s what makes the wide variety of timed segments so frustratingly fun. I had fellow Dutch gravel rider Erik ride next to me on his GRX 2x12 setup, constantly finding the perfect in-between gear, speeding away at the first gravel climb he could find. The next moment, I’m overtaking him on a bumpy track next to a river with hardly any flow to it, rocking a big smile on my face.
In a way, the same contrast can now be found in gear. We now have drivetrains, tyres and frames that give riders room to choose their own line, even when it doesn’t follow the smoothest path. What excites me most is not the growing overlap between road, gravel and mountain biking, but the freedom and versatility it brings. People sometimes argue and try to put gravel, road and mountain biking into pre-shaped boxes, but I rather enjoy the exceedingly colourful grey space in between. Either when playing around at Grinduro, or when bikepacking the Cairngorms days on end. For me, the good stuff happens between the two worlds.