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Wilier says, 'With Rave SLR we have set our sights on new horizons, creating a product with two separate souls, perfect for all-road, perfect for gravel, but the same incredible racing inclination. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about the bike? Tell us what the bike is for and who it's aimed at. On the other hand, if your focus is firmly on performance, you're going to spend most of your time on firm rather than gloopy tracks and trails, and you have a lot of money at your disposal, this bike will reward you with plenty of speed. If you're after a super-versatile gravel bike, the Wilier Rave SLR really isn't it. Granted, the Wilier is lighter than any of the other bikes mentioned here, but you'd still have to say that it offers less impressive value for money. Trek's Checkpoint SLR 7 eTap is priced at £7,900, the eTap in question being Force XPLR eTap AXS, the same as you'll find on the Wilier Rave SLR. It's equipped with a mix of SRAM Force and Eagle groupset components although, coming with both front and rear suspension, it is considerably heavier than the Wilier Rave SLR, our review bike weighing 9.92kg. The Cannondale Topstone Carbon Lefty 1 that we reviewed last year is now £7,500. > 19 of the best 2021 gravel bikes & adventure road bikes

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Specialized's SRAM Force-equipped Diverge Pro Carbon is £7,250, coming with the brand's Future Shock 2.0 suspension system which does a great job of damping handlebar vibration. It's now £10,850 equipped with SRAM's top-end Red components. We reviewed that bike a few years ago, though. The Wilier Rave SLR comes in as the most expensive gravel bike we've ever reviewed on, taking over from the £8,500 Specialized S-Works Diverge.

With a total weight of 1,445g, they're pretty lively and after six weeks of almost daily use – the vast majority of it on gravel – they're as round and true as they were out of the box. The hookless rims are 33mm deep with an internal width of 22mm, providing plenty of stability for the 700 x 38mm tyres. Speaking of the wheels, the Miche Graff Carbons fitted here have performed really well. Wheels and tyresĪs with any gravel bike, you could have a couple of sets of wheels fitted with different tyres that you could swap depending on the surface you wanted to ride. It's the sort of thing that would make sense if you wanted to make a permanent change to the bike's character, but you wouldn't want to switch back and forth regularly. and that's without even thinking about changes to the gearing.

If you wanted to change the handlebar you'd need to take off the controls and re-do the brake hoses, any cables, and the bar tape. The Rave SLR is a bit of a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde affair, then, so is it the answer to all your N+1 woes? Well, swapping personas isn't particularly easy. It flies across hardpacked gravel and anything similar – firm, earthy forest tracks, well-surfaced towpaths, that kind of thing.

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It'll doubtless see action in many gravel races, including the UCI's Gravel World Series that starts in 2022. The Rave SLR is the gravel bike equivalent. Think of a lightweight road bike that allows you to corner hard, accelerate fast, climb quickly, and get into an efficient riding position for the flat setons. If you're more into the adventure side of things – you want mounts for racks and bags, a relaxed riding position, and you're partial to cruising along and watching the clouds go by – there are more suitable options out there. If you want to go out and tear up the local tracks for two, three, four (or whatever) hours at a time and get home in time for tea, this is a helluva fast and fun bike to do it on. Let me sum up what the Wilier Rave SLR is about in a few words so that you can decide if it's the sort of bike that interests you. It's not purely a race bike but if you're after something that sits towards that end of the gravel spectrum then have a good look. The Wilier Rave SLR is a high-performance gravel bike that's light, speedy and a real blast over firm and firm-ish tracks and trails.

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