Modern upgrades in gravel bikes have seen them get lighter and lighter. As with the world of road bikes, it feels as though the ‘lightness is king’ mindset has started filtering through to the gravel segment, which brings us to this – the Crux Expert. Build by creators Specialized as the lightest gravel bike on sale today, it’s a featherweight option designed for riders who like to take to the less-beaten track while still setting some PBs.

However, in true gravel bike fashion, we’ve still got plenty of tyre clearance in order to fit rock-beating rubber all on a setup which should, in theory, rival most road-going bicycles in terms of outright weight. 

But while the desire for lightness has been clear in road bikes for some time now, is it something that is really needed in the world of gravel – or is it a quest which didn’t need to be undertaken? We’ve been behind the bars of the Specialized Crux Expert to find out. 

Sphere Score

For

• Superbly light
• Still manages to deal with road surfaces
• Free-rolling and comfortable
• Setup isn’t too aggressive 
• Shifting is smooth and accurate

Against

• Expensive 
• Brakes were very squeaky during our time with the Crux
• Standard tyres could be a bit more aggressive if you’re after more traction off-road 

Tech specs 

• Price: £5,500
• SRAM Rival eTAP AXS hydraulic disc groupset 
• Roval Terra C Disc Wheels
• 700x38mm Pathfinder Pro Tyres
• Specialized Body Geometry Power Expert Saddle
• 8.16kg

What has the Crux Expert got to offer?

Pick up the Crux Expert for the first time and you’ll get a sense of how incredibly light it is. Even against high-end road bikes, this is one featherweight setup and it gives you a clear and focused indication of the kind of riding experience it’s trying to offer. The build quality is good, too, and though the matte finish of ‘our’ test bike didn’t feel like it’d hold off too many nicks and scratches, it’s an attractive-looking design overall. 

It’s worth noting that the Crux Expert is available in two colourways; ‘satin harvest gold metallic’ and ‘oak green’ as on our test bike, or gloss carbon and black. Both do look great, but we’d argue that the former is a little more stand-out and tends the reflect the kind of environment you’re travelling through in the UK, with sandy gravel surfaces being more in keeping with this warmer colour choice. 

It’s also a very clean design. The internally routed cabling combines with some very discrete bar wrapping to create a cockpit which is largely devoid of any distractions. In fact, you’re almost hesitant to fit any kind of computer to the bars in order to leave it as uncluttered as it is straight from the box. The position behind the bars isn’t too aggressive, either, and your first time astride the Crux Expert leaves you imagining longer days in the saddle, rather than short stints that’ll leave you dying to get off. 

Look closer and you’ll see plenty of tyre clearance, too. In fact, you can fit up to a 47c/650b x 2.1” tyre, giving you plenty of options when it comes to rubber choices. As standard, the Crux Expert rides on 700x38mm Pathfinder Pro Tyres and while we’ve got some reservations about them – more on this later – they’re not a bad set to come straight out of the box. As you can see from the pictures, there’s still plenty of space to fit some bigger and more aggressive tyres, mind you. 

Perched atop the rather thin seatpost is a Specialized Power Expert saddle which, though thin, does actually provide enough padding for longer journeys. It doesn’t get Specialized’s latest Mirror technology, mind you, though it does sit on titanium rails for – you guessed it – weight saving, as well as a little bit of vibration absorption. 

Riding – what is it like?

Boy, does that featherweight setup translate into a very exciting riding experience. Out on the tarmac, the Crux Expert darts along with an excellent feeling of rigidity and power transfer. It doesn’t feel too snappy nor overly aggressive, it’s just as close to a full road bike-riding experience as you’d get from something designed to cover gravel routes instead. It’s only the slightly louder noise generated by the tyres which gives the game away; fit this bike with some of your favourite tarmac-focused rubber and it’ll easily keep up with the best of them.

But unlike an out-and-out road bike, the somewhat relaxed head geometry that you get from the Crux Expert makes it very comfortable over longer rides. The shifter location is good, too, and we never once had an issue with the SRAM Rival eTAP AXS which gave a precise reaction each time we reached for a new cog. The general ride quality is surprisingly good and thanks to a combination of the vibration-soaking carbon frame and the chunky tyres, allows the Crux Expert to deal with those road imperfections – though there is a somewhat frequent ‘buzz’ coming through the handlebars on rougher sections. 

When you switch to the surface that the Crux Expert was intended to travel on, things all become clear. The slacker head angle makes it predictable and easy to control yet the lightness delivers the agility and sharpness of movement that you’d want. Again, the easy-to-control gears ensure that you’re never left spinning up when you weren’t meant to be.

The brakes offer up a good amount of performance, too, though the ones on our test bike refused to stop squeaking during the entirety of our test rides. Also, while the Pathfinder tyres provide excellent rolling resistance on the tarmac, they start to feel a bit out of their depth when things get a bit more slippery. If you want some extra confidence we’d be fitting some chunkier rubber. 

To finish

The Crux Expert is the ideal gravel bike for riders who want to go fast. It has been designed with lightness at its forefront and this blends through the create a bike which feels more focused and agile than other gravel-focused models, ensuring that it’s just as capable on-road as it is off it. 

This does come at the detriment of some off-road ability – the Crux can sometimes feel a bit too snappy for its own good – but if you value speed and agility then there are few which offer the same kind of abilities. As an all-rounder, it’s very impressive though, particularly if you want a bike that’ll tackle all types of terrain without slowing you down.