Best Hardtail and Drop Bar Full Suspension Bikes for Gravel in 2026
The line between a gravel bike and a mountain bike has been blurring for years. But 2025 was the year it basically disappeared. At the Leadville Trail 100, two of the top three finishers in both the men’s and women’s races were on drop bar mountain bikes — full suspension included. Keegan Swenson won on a Santa Cruz Blur with drops. Melisa Rollins podiumed on a drop-bar Liv full suspension. Dylan Johnson, the godfather of the drop bar MTB experiment, showed up on an Unno Horn with a Fox suspension fork and GRX shifters. ...