Desiknio X20 Gravel

It’s easy to see where the money goes on this lightweight and welloutfitted gravel bike

Gravel bikes are now firmly established as a genre in their own right. No longer viewed as a weird halfway house between road and mountain bikes, their acceptance is such that all major bicycle component manufacturers now offer gravel bike-specific product ranges.

An example of this component design can be seen in the groupset fitted to the Desiknio X20. While most gravel bikes, both analogue and electric, are usually outfitted with gears and brakes from either Sram or Shimano, Desiknio has chosen an alternative option from Campagnolo.

The Italian road bike component specialist upped the ante for gravel bikes when it introduced the Ekar groupset, as used here. Rivals offer 11 or 12-speed gears, but Ekar takes it up to 13 to give you the widest spread of gears possible and the smoothest shifts between them. Other components are also suitably exotic, including the Ritchey finishing kit and Brooks saddle.

The use of such high-end parts means the frame they’re hung from has to be equally good, which dictates the use of carbon fibre. And while it may look much like other premium gravel designs, the X20’s chassis has some unusual touches, for example the rear light integrated into the rear dropout and the gorgeous metallic paintjob.

The bike’s cables are hidden inside the frame. You’d expect this on such a highend machine, but Desiknio goes further than most in using an Automatic Motor Connection system that removes the need for exposed wires connecting the Mahle X20 rear hub motor to the in-frame battery. Not only does this look neat, it means dropping the wheel out is almost as easy as it is on a regular bike.

Despite its carbon frame and fork, racing wheels and quality parts list, the Desiknio weighs just 12kg – and that’s on top of the fact that the X20 includes wired-in lighting at the front and rear, which is unusual for a bike that favours racy performance. They might add a few grams but, given how practical they are and how neatly they’re integrated, it’s a touch we wish more manufacturers would consider.

► €7,495 (£6,600)

► desiknio.com