The prize for the off-road.cc Best Buy gravel bike goes to the Sonder Camino Al Apex 1. A bike that is not only good value but is much more capable than its price suggests. The thoughtful build and performacne on the trails makes it the clear winner of our Best buy award. This is the final gravel and adventure bike in the off-road.cc awards lineup alongside Benchmark Bike and Bargain Buy which were revealed earlier in the week.

The off-road.cc Best Bike Awards continues with our Mountain Bike of the year! From our three MTB category winners announced before Christmas, we have picked the best to take the top spot as our Mountain Bike of the Year. The very worthy winner is the Boardman MTR 8.9, read on to find out why...

There are even more awards here at off-road.cc, we continue with our Gravel Bike of the Year! From our three gravel category winners announced last week, we have picked the best to take the top spot , the very worthy winner is the Calibre Dark Peak, read on to find out why...

The off-road.cc awards conclude with our overall 'Bike of the Year'! This is quite simply the best bike of the six bike we have previously named a category winner, whether it's a gravel machine or a mountain bike. So without further ado, our Bike of the Year is the Boardman MTR 8.9 and here's why....

The Bosch Fontus Cordless Washer is a large capacity, battery powered cleaner that you can take to the trails, providing you have room in your vehicle and you are strong enough to heft it around! The Fontus is an adept cleaner that will have your bike clean in no time, it just comes at a rather princely price of £269, potentially making this a luxury rather than a necessity for most.

Kicking off our 2019 bike testing is this Contessa Speedster Gravel 25, a women's specific gravel and adventure bike from Scott. It's a 'do it all' gravel basher with geometry that mimics the men's bike, that won't rinse your pocket. 

Les Arcs Enduro2 - the 3-day event that delivers lift-assisted stage racing in teams of two in the French Alps - is back after a 3-year break!  We rode the inaugural event and can confirm it is an absolute blast to race in pairs! 

The new Women’s Power Saddle with MIMIC technology from Specialized is a pressure relieving seat that has eliminated soreness, created a saddle epiphany and simultaneously thrown a spanner in the works (in a good way) of the type of saddle I thought worked for me.

The Scott Contessa Speedster Gravel 25 is a gravel bike is really more of an all-round road bike than an adventurer. If you are looking for a reliable commuter with added comfort from the large diameter tyres and the ability to explore gravel tracks at the weekend then the Speedster Gravel will do just fine.  If adventure is in your blood, there are better options out there.