Gravel bikes (whether electric or not) and gravel riding in the UK have been subject to some scepticism through the years. I, for one, have also been sceptical. With a distinct lack of Unbound-style smooth, dusty gravel on my doorstep, previous attempts at riding ‘gravel’ have mostly left me with bone shaking bridleways where I’d personally have felt more comfortable on a 29er full-squish beast of an e-MTB. But I digress.
I’m currently in possession of a Cairn E-Adventure 1.0 Rambler Edition electric gravel bike (from the same brand that brought us the Cairn BRAVe 1.0 Drop Bar) and after a scour of the interwebs looking for gravelly routes and events nearby, I came upon the Yorkshire Moors Gravel Epic hosted by Glorious Gravel.
Based in Helmsley’s Duncombe Park before heading up onto the moors, the description promised “excellent and smooth” gravel, with routes taking in remote parts of the Moors. I was sold.
So on Saturday 10th June, I rode the Yorkshire Moors Gravel Epic – the short route, I might add, because even with the most optimistic and frugal use of the assistance, I wasn’t quite sure whether the 430Wh battery (or my legs) would last more than the specified 35 miles and 3,500ft of climbing.
In hindsight, that was absolutely the right choice – not only because of the battery range (I finished with one bar of battery left out of five), but because it also turned out to be the hottest day of the year so far. While admittedly this didn’t affect me too much because I was having a rather lovely time on an e-bike, the 52 or 75 mile options would probably have been too much.
The route
Beginning in Duncombe Park, we riders were greeted by a stunning backdrop of the historic house for the start and finish. There were roughly six miles of private gravel tracks before heading out onto the public highway, with a pretty gnarly descent which would then be the finishing climb as you re-entered the estate.
Upon joining the public carriageway the route made its way into Helmsley, a pretty little market town, before turning off into a forest and then up onto the moors via some gravel tracks. Upon reaching the top, we were treated to spectacular views, and what I can only describe as ‘dream’ gravel. It was fast-rolling, no errant giant rocks to throw you off kilter, and it was at this point that gravel bikes began to make sense.
From there we dipped onto the road, up Newgate Bank - which if you’re a Tour of Britain fan, you may remember was featured in last year’s edition. On an e-bike it was manageable, but other riders looked a little weary at this point.
What followed was a fast road descent following some narrow roads into Hawnby and the feed stop – which was excellently stocked. There was plenty of hydration, a selection of Soreen bars that I absolutely had to text my Soreen-keen dad about, and some sandwiches. I stocked up and head off up onto the Cleveland Way, which is always beautiful, but with the crisp blue skies and contrast of stunning white gravel tracks was particularly stunning.
The route back into Duncombe Park went past some old ruins including Rievaulx Abbey, which had begun to get a little busy with visitors but nothing a friendly greeting to part the sea of pedestrians in the road couldn’t solve. I’d begun to slightly worry about my battery level by this point, as my Garmin told me there were two more climbs to do and one bar of juice left. I had decided to use it as frugally as I could, only applying assistance when the hills had a little too much sting for regular pedalling.
The last climb before heading back into view of Duncome Park was an absolute beast - 25% in places (according to my Garmin), and reasonably technical. Many riders walked this section, and I’m not surprised – there were points when I wondered if my front wheel was even going to stay grounded. But luckily it did, and I arrived back under the start/finish arch safely and was welcomed with a medal and cold non-alcoholic beer.
She’s electric
Would I have done the event on a non-electric bike? Possibly, if I had a suitable bike at home. But I don’t think I would have enjoyed it half as much. As someone who started with road cycling, I do like to endure a bit of sadism on two wheels, but as I no longer have the watts I did four years ago, I think that riding an electric bike just added to the pleasantness of the experience rather than taking away any of the challenge.
The biggest difference between riding an electric and non-electric bike was evident during the climbs, which seems obvious. But interestingly, I also found myself apologising to people as I passed them on the climbs – the hum of the motor giving me away. Except to one chap, who was adamant it wasn’t an e-bike and I was just incredibly strong (thank you, sir).
Also worth noting is that everyone (outwardly at least) seemed to be accepting of the e-bike riders, of which there were quite a few. I think as public perception moves away from the ‘e-bikes are cheating’ rhetoric, it’s slowly trickling through to events like these, and it was great to see. More and more people were asking questions about the bikes, or telling me about theirs, and I think this added to the enjoyment of the day.
Conclusion
So would I do it again? Absolutely. I’ve saved the GPX file so I can ride the public parts of the route again. The terrain redefined gravel for me – and speaking to one of the event organisers, it’s definitely one of the better places to ride a gravel specific bike – electric or not. Not all parts of the country are blessed with this type of fast-rolling 'pure' gravel as I’ll call it, but it was an absolute joy to discover it relatively nearby. Next year, however, I’m doing the longer route.
The bike was also faultless. The 38mm Vittoria Terreno tyres were grippy across sand, rocks, and gravel, without feeling slow on the road, and the Fazua RIDE 60 motor system was decent enough to take the sting out of the climbs. If electric gravel bikes are your thing, you might want to check out our guide to the best electric gravel bikes to find one for your next adventure.
My conclusion? One of the best days I’ve had on a bike. A perfect mix of fast-rolling gravel, some technical sections, and quiet, scenic roads. At £49 it’s not cheap, so individual circumstances will dictate whether it’s value for money. That being said, it was really well organised and signposted – which isn’t easy when there are no trees to hang signs from – and it was welcoming for e-bike riders too.
