Versatility is the name of the game, and dirt is the playing field. The players are battery-operated, too.

This story appeared in the January/February print issue of VeloNews Magazine.

The future is filthy. It’s sloppy and proudly uncouth. Forget about the mods; the future belongs to the rockers. They’re hanging out on dirt roads and rocky trails. Some of them tote carefully hidden contraband that powers the lawlessness. (Batteries hiding in down tubes instead of cigarettes rolled up in shirt sleeves.) All of them have shrugged off the established routines of previous generations, and they want to burn your bike stable to the ground.

That’s bicycles for you: always evolving, even though the thrill stays the same. In a sense, 2020 continues a return to cycling’s origins: the dirt, where gravel riders of today are rediscovering the treacherous terrain that preceded the luxury of pavement. As that blacktop becomes more dangerous and less welcoming to cyclists, riders have fallen in love with gravel. It’s the trend driving most of the development that your favorite brands are focusing on in 2020, which means every bike they produce has to push the limits of versatility. Five bikes in the garage? No way; just one, that does it all.

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