Ribble Gravel SL Hero review

The Ribble Gravel SL Hero is at the top of the Preston-based brand’s gravel bike stable. Using an almost identical frameset to the brand’s more road-leaning CGR Hybrid series, this iteration ditches a chainring but otherwise maintains a host of road bike attributes while showing riders the gate to explore less reliable surfaces.

Ribble’s top-tier gravel bike balances toughness and comfort with outright pace, and its cableless carbon slipperiness ensures that it holds its own on the road. The frameset is said to be aero-optimised, and is available with half a dozen different build specs at lower prices.

In its Hero guise however, the combination of 40mm deep Zipp 303 Firecrest wheels, integrated Level 5 carbon bars, and a SRAM Force XPLR eTap AXS groupset marks the Hero out as the zenith of Ribble’s gravel ambitions.

By using Ribble’s extensive customisation options, a few relatively subtle downgrades could give you a remarkably similar ride experience for a lot less money.

As it is though the Hero’s zippiness performs best on fine gravel and those sub-par surfaces that UK riders are so used to: crumbling sections of tarmac strewn with debris, cattle grids, divots and obstacles that would present a threat to road riders. And the groupset, which sets it apart from the rest of Ribble’s Gravel range, offers a smoother and more customisable experience than the mechanical alternatives.

Ribble Gravel SL Hero development

Situated alongside the Ribble CGR (Cross Gravel Road), and cherrypicking from the ‘drag-efficient frame shapes and optimised power transfer’ of the Endurance SL road bike, the Gravel SL makes few speed concessions and yet it is an impressively versatile bike.

It is designed to be as quick as it can be on the default chunky tyres while employing a gravel-specific 1× drivetrain to ensure there is no confusion over where this bike feels most comfortable. That said, there is no reason at all why you shouldn’t switch to some 30mm tyres and add some value by using the Gravel as a road bike too.

Jamie Burrow, Head of Product at Ribble, captures the essential conundrum at the crux of bike design for a new category that still doesn’t have a full identity.

‘It’s difficult to sum up what each end consumer actually wants from their gravel bike,’ he says. ‘While the Gravel is designed to be raced, it is at home as a gravel tourer complete with a full array of luggage mounts too.’

With the nebulous desires of the bike consumer continuing to shift, more is certainly more, and the Gravel tries to do pretty much everything.

Ribble Gravel SL Hero frameset

The frameset, before you’ve even sat down, looks fast. A roadie-looking combination of truncated aerofoil tube profiles and integrated components coupled with ubiquitous gravel features, like a wide fork and a dropped driveside chainstay, gives it the feel of Ribble’s carbon Endurance SL road frame but sent on a scary holiday in the wilderness.

In fact, it employs an almost identical frame to the Ribble’s Hybrid CGR (the difference being a few extra mounting points), meaning, especially with the versatility of the Zipp 303 Firecrest wheels, having a spare pair of road tyres will give you two bikes in one.

SRAM’s wireless gearing and the supplied LEVEL 5 cockpit lend the Gravel SL notably clean lines. I searched for a cable and finally found two inches of monstrous plastic connecting the rear brake caliper to the frame. The horror. Bike makers are finding ways to hide blemishes we barely knew existed – like Caravaggio obscuring a smudge.

Of course, many of these anti-drag features are tempered by the seemingly infinite configuration of mounts incorporated on the forks, top of the top tube, and the underside of the down tube – emphasising that this is a bike designed for hauling both you and your possessions across the world.

You can do it your own weird style too, as selecting your own custom paint job is a £350 bolt-on at the point of purchase.

Ribble Gravel SL Hero build

I think the jewel in the crown of the build is the SRAM Force XPLR eTap AXS which provides a 440% gear range across a 1×12 gear system.

The SRAM Force disc brakes held up against a barrage of watery filth and lane debris, with only the rear rotor falling prey to brake squeal on occasion. The almost undetectable haptics of the eTap shifters will take a little while to get used to for those born and raised on mechanical, but soon become second nature.

What takes longer to acclimatise to is the AXS app, where, amongst numerous features, you can employ sequential shift mode which essentially outsources gear changing to the weevil in your derailleur, or, more subtly, you can request push notifications to banish battery emergencies to history.

The Level 5 Carbon integrated handlebar system is a significant upgrade both aesthetically and practically to the other cheaper iterations in the range, reducing drag by a claimed 40% on normal cabled stem setup and looking, I would estimate, 150% better.

The Gravel SL on test was specced with Zipp 303 Firecrest wheels and 40mm Goodyear Connector tyres.

The chainstays and forks are roomy enough to not just take 47mm on 650b or 45mm on 700c wheels, but also accommodate a whole slab of mud and detritus without any motion interruption.

The Goodyear tubeless setup allowed me to drop the pressure to 30psi, enjoying comfort, grip, and a puncture-free experience to boot. And for those inclined to service their own, the bottom bracket is SRAM’s own DUB BSA threaded edition.

Ribble Gravel SL Hero geometry and sizing

The Gravel SL comes in five different sizes. The geometry is generally on the more aggressive side of the gravel spectrum – stack and reach are road-like and front-end steering geometry is pretty nimble.

I did think the bike’s overall reach was a little long, but it did at least incentivise a more pedal-to-the-metal pose befitting the bike’s aero pretensions. Using Ribble’s bike builder function would let the user spec a shorter stem to offset this issue too.

Burrow also outlines that in creating the Gravel ‘the aim was to use all our R&D and aero testing on the tube shapes and profiles undertaken from our road SL R platform and introduce them into a lightweight carbon gravel bike.’

There is absolutely no harm in trying to be fast, but when riding under the 25kmh mark (which I very often am on board a gravel bike) I’m not going to be mistaken for an entrant in the UCI Gravel World Championships (in which the Gravel SL took part) and aerodynamic gains plummet in relevance.

Combined with the quick-engaging freehub and aggressively treaded tyres, the stiffness created by using frame geometry from more tarmac-oriented bikes rewarded me for showing confidence in the Gravel’s build on the climbs.

Its rigidity helped to maintain a good level of power transfer and very rarely turned pedal thrusts into spin outs.

Riding the Ribble Gravel SL Hero

If you’re assessing a gravel bike from the hardy lands of Lancashire, when better to test its limits than the depths of a sodden British Christmas.

I got the opportunity to ride the Gravel SL into the no man’s land of the West Country, exploring a combination of loose and tight gravel, bridle paths, slippery Roubaix-esque trails, soggy fields, plain mud, and even a nursery slope mountain bike trail – as well as welcome stretches on disarmingly smooth tarmac.

With its focus on stability, aerodynamics and agility, Ribble has produced an impressive all rounder that maintains speed and power transfer on both tarmac and rougher surfaces, while also absorbing the shocks of erratic cobbling nicely.

The Level 5 integrated bar/stem, claimed aerodynamic benefits aside, could have done with the bar tape continuing along its exposed tops though. The bare surface wasn’t the grippiest or comfiest place from which to control the bike.

One of the Level 5 cockpit’s more successful features were its ergonomics. While not a revolutionary idea in the gravel market, the bar’s flared drops allowed me to drop my centre of gravity into a controlled crouch as I tackled loose-surfaced downhill turns.

I struggled to squeeze through an anti-moped gate or five thanks to the extra width of the flare, but the angle makes your front profile smaller and gives you a stuck-to-the-road feeling of solidity.

Occasionally there was a nervousness in the front end that required extra care and attention on the more unsettled descents, which is perhaps where Ribble’s road-friendly focus blurs the ride slightly, and inclined me to remain at the more predictable end of the surface spectrum.

SRAM’s Force eTap AXS XPLR does away with the caprices of the front derailleur, and leaves you in a state of shifting simplicity. Left is down; right is up. Gear transitions are audible and sound more mechanical than robotic.

But more importantly, when shifting under full load and intentionally not exercising shift caution, the smooth-topped SRAM chain never so much as clanged. And when you’re in the luxurious position of powering down the cassette on some b-road tarmac, the 40-11 range was plenty for my thighs.

Whether to stick with the 650b wheels and give yourself 47mm of tyre comfort, or maintain the regular 700c road proportions is always a consideration on gravel.

The Zipp 303 Firecrest’s 25mm internal width are ideal for wider tyres, but are also resolutely road-ready and that certainly came through when switching between surfaces, picking up pace pleasingly on the road.

Their modest weight of 1,352g was appreciated as the inclines ticked up, allowing the pillowy 30 psi in the Goodyears to clutch and cling to every uneven contour while I floated over cattle grids like a muddy blimp. Cossetted in the folds of forest and track, crosswind resistance on the 40mm deep rims was rarely tested – but the occasional gusty wag was no significant drawback.

Ribble Gravel SL Hero Verdict

The Ribble Gravel SL Hero cuts a robust and smooth profile which speaks to its essential qualities: a resilient and quick bike that has its roots in the road, but flies along grittier surfaces in noticeable comfort. Riding it, you look forward to imperfections and decimated surfaces, knowing that the bike will surf them with ease.

I found it agile, responsive and accommodating on most surfaces – and since even the most committed gravel rider will find themselves on tarmac for significant stretches, the Gravel’s pace and performance on the flat stuff is a huge tick. Athletes taking part in multi-day endurance events take note: the Gravel SL Hero is a serious contender.

While I was confident tucking into everything except the least accommodating and technical bridleways due to the slight anxiety in the front end, I’m struggling to think of a situation you couldn’t adapt the Gravel SL Hero to.

Small details like the subtle down tube branding and the frame protection kit – plus premium flourishes like the Zipp wheels and wireless SRAM shifting – have been carefully combined in the Hero build to mark out this top-shelf gravel bike as a wise investment if you are after a speed-focussed gravel bike that, with a few substitute options, can do almost anything.

The bronzed colour might do something to render its rider invisible against the wilting deciduous backdrops of autumn, but it will be turning heads all the same.

• Buy the Ribble Gravel SL Hero now from Ribble Cycles (£5,799)

Ribble Gravel SL Hero spec

Photos: Mike Massaro