The best gravel bike accessories will help make that off-road trip that much more fun and help keep you running if something does go wrong.
Punctures are the main bugbear for gravel riders, so we’ve got a couple of options to help here. You could just call the sag wagon if you get a flat or a mechanical, but it’s much more satisfying to sort things out yourself, so it’s good to carry the necessary gravel essentials.
That means more to take with you, so you may soon run out of pocket space. Extra carrying capacity is a plus if you’re gravel biking, even if you’re not going for the full bikepacking gear experience. A good front light is worth having for early starts, late nights or that pesky mechanical that holds you up longer than it should have done.
So here are our top picks of the best gravel bike accessories to bring with you and the products that we rate as the best for each type.
Tubeless repair kit
It’s a fact of life that off-road travel will involve more punctures than riding on the road and even the best gravel tyres are more puncture-prone than a hefty MTB tyre. The best tubeless sealant is wonderful stuff and will seal most holes quickly, but sooner or later you’ll hit something that it just won’t handle.
That’s where a tubeless repair kit comes in. Insert a plug into the hole and there’s a good chance that the sealant will work its magic, gum everything up and you’ll be ready to roll again without needing to pull your tyre off, insert an inner tube and deal with the rest of the sealant still in there.
Tubeless repair kits are really compact and light, so they’re easy to carry and often come neatly packaged. We really like the Nukeproof Horizon kit. It masquerades as a CO2 cartridge, so you can screw it into an inflator, and hides an array of plugs in different sizes and the inserter tool inside. And it comes in a range of bright anodized colours too.
Tyre inserts
Punctures are definitely the least enjoyable part of gravel riding, so here’s another get-out-of-jail option to help keep you moving. A tyre insert will add protection against big hits for your tubeless gravel tyre and it lets you lower your air pressure for added grip without the risk of squirming or burping. If you do get a flat you can probably ride it home too.
There are a few insert options available for gravel tyres, but we reckon that…
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