The Ridley Kanzo Fast 2.0 is our 2026 Bike of the Year: a gravel bike that’s equal parts racing rig, versatile adventurer and practical all-year machine – and wow, it’s a blast to ride fast.
After months of testing, we’ve arrived at our winners across our three drop-bar categories, with Eddy Merckx’s radical 525R taking the Race Bike of the Year title, while Canyon’s practical but high-performance Canyon Endurace CF SLX earns the Endurance Bike of the Year crown.
The third in our category-winning trio and the Gravel Bike of the Year is the newly launched Ridley Kanzo Fast 2.0, and it’s the Ridley that also earns the top prize as our overall winner for 2026.
It’s a gravel bike that combines aero-race bike speed, off-road handling chops, and year-round practicality and versatility in a single package. It’s also a machine that shows how the gravel race bike has truly come of age, against some seriously stiff competition in 2026.
Read more on Bike of the Year 2026
Introducing our 2026 Bike of the Year winners
The Ridley Kanzo Fast 2.0 is race-bike responsive yet comfortable and composed off-road. It’s our Gravel Bike of the Year and overall champion. Scott Windsor
Our 2026 Bike of the Year shortlist comprises 21 bikes across three categories – keep reading for the full shortlist.
Every bike has been tested by the BikeRadar team over the past 12 months and subsequently been deemed worthy of inclusion in our annual Bike of the Year showcase.
The best three bikes were then selected from each category to form the podium, with our senior technical editor, Warren Rossiter, pitting the bikes head-to-head to determine the category winner.
Overall winner and Gravel Bike of the Year – Ridley Kanzo Fast 2.0
Race Bike of the Year – Eddy Merckx 525R
Endurance Bike of the Year – Canyon Endurace CF SLX 8 Di2
We’ll be revealing more about each category – including the runners-up and why we’ve chosen each winner – in the coming days, so stay tuned to BikeRadar.
We’ll also be revealing the winner of our 2026 eMTB of the Year test on Tuesday 1 September.
A bumper year for bike tech
The Eddy Merckx 525R emerged victorious from our race bike category. Andy Lloyd
It’s been a strong year for new bikes, with innovations in geometry, larger tyre clearances and increasingly aerodynamic designs across all categories, regardless of whether you’re looking at a race bike, endurance road bike or, in the case of the Ridley Kanzo Fast 2.0, a gravel bike.
We’ve also seen a shift in the way lots of these great bikes are being sold. Ridley and Merckx hit the top step of the podium in the gravel and race categories respectively, and both offer online configuration so you can tune the bike’s build to your needs.
That’s something I certainly want to see more of in the future. Ribble, Vielo, Orbea and Canyon – all brands represented elsewhere in our test – also offer good levels of customisation on ordering and deserve the merits of making our shortlists and podiums.
The Canyon Endurace CF SLX 8.0 is a fast-handling yet smooth-riding bike – and our 2026 Endurance Bike of the Year. Andy Lloyd
Why is the Ridley Kanzo Fast 2.0 our overall Bike of the Year winner for 2026?
It’s been a tough year to choose a winner – in each category, as well as for the coveted overall title.
The Canyon is a smart blend of practical and fun, and the Merckx 525R deserves the highest of praise for taking a new path to race-bike perfection. It’s also a bike that proved you can still be innovative in the very fundamentals of road-bike design, and I applaud the esteemed Belgian brand for taking such an approach.
The Ridley Kanzo Fast 2.0 goes the whole hog, though. It pushes the aerodynamic boundaries of gravel race bikes, much like Argon 18’s Anti Matter, BMC’s Kaius 01 One and Cervélo’s Áspero 5. But it has the edge on all of those when it comes to handling.
It’s also obvious that the bike has been put together by riders. The tyre clearance of 58mm is one of the largest you’ll find, and Ridley has exploited that further by using huge 55mm tyres from the get-go. Not only has it gone for big volume, but it’s also gone front- and rear-specific – lower, faster tread on the rear for straight-line speed, and a chunkier heavier tread up front for cornering grip.
There are also small but important details that only someone keen to ride gravel all-year round would choose, such as the mudguard/fender mounts.
Then there’s the placement of the port for the generous down-tube storage – positioned low near the bottom bracket to provide a better centre of gravity. It’s also not underneath a bottle cage, so it’ll remain rattle-free because the door won’t have three-quarters of a litre of liquid hanging off it.
During testing, I’ve experimented by putting large-volume road tyres on the Kanzo, and it makes for a brilliant 1x road bike, too. In fact, it’s so good that I’m even tempted to downsize my huge collection of road and gravel bikes, and configure a Kanzo Fast with two sets of wheels. It could be all the drop-bar bike I’ll ever need.
With that in mind, if you’re in the market for a new gravel bike any time soon, ignore the awesome Ridley Kanzo Fast 2.0 Force AXS XPLR at your peril.
What we’ve tested – the full 2026 Bike of the Year shortlist
Race bikes
Cannondale SuperSix Evo 3 review – £6,995 / $6,999 / €6,499
Cervélo Soloist Force AXS review – £7,000 / $8,500 / €7,499
Eddy Merckx 525R review – £6,299 / €6,999
Factor Monza SRAM Force w/Power Meter review – £6,799 / $7,199 / €8,299
Giant Propel Advanced Pro 0-Di2 review – £5,799 / €6,600
Merida Reacto 10K review – £9,500 / €10,199
Rose Shave FFX Red AXS review – €8,500
Wilier Filante SLR ID2 Dura-Ace Di2 review – £9,500 / $12,900 / €10,900
Endurance bikes
Canyon Endurace CF SLX 8 Di2 review – £4,299 / $5,999 / €4,499
Cervélo Caledonia Force AXS (review coming soon) – £5,250 / $6,500 / €6,499
Fairlight Strael 4.0 review (custom build) – £3,909
Ribble Ultra-Road 105 Di2 Aero review – £3,799 / $5,215 / €4,880
Vielo R+1 Campagnolo Record review – £7,999
Gravel bikes
Argon 18 Anti Matter Force AXS XPLR review – £7,495 / $8,995 / €8,495
Argon 18 Dark Matter SRAM Rival XPLR AXS review – £4,500 / $4,650 / €5,095
BMC Kaius 01 One review – £9,999 / $12,999 / €10,999
Giant Revolt Advanced SL 0 review – £9,999 / $12,000 / €9,999
Orbea Terra M21e Team 1x review – £5,299 / $6,299 / €5,999
Ridley Kanzo Fast 2.0 – £6,299 / €6,999
Singular Pterodactyl review (rolling chassis) – £3,490 / $3,959 / €3,429.95
Trek Checkpoint ALR 5 Gen 3 review – £1,700 / $2,099 / €1,999
Previous Bike of the Year winners (2009-2025)
Our Bike of the Year test has been running since 2009, with past winners including some of cycling’s biggest names alongside breakthrough brands that have earned their place at the top table.
2025: Cannondale Synapse Carbon 2 SmartSense
2024: Giant Defy Advanced Pro 2
2023: Vitus Venon Evo RS Aero
2022: Giant Revolt Advanced Pro 0
2021: Boardman SLR 9.4 AXS
2020: Cannondale SuperSix EVO
2019: Rondo HVRT CF0
2018: Giant TCR Advanced 2
2017: Specialized Roubaix Comp
2016: Cannondale CAAD12 105
2015: BMC GF01 Disc 105
2014: Cannondale Synapse 5 105
2013: Giant Defy Advanced 2
2012: Focus Izalco Pro 3.0
2011: Storck Scenero
2010: Cannondale Six Carbon 105
2009: Giant TCR Advanced 3