The Ridley Kanzo Fast 2.0 is our 2026 Bike of the Year: a gravel bike thats equal parts racing rig, versatile adventurer and practical all-year machine and wow, it's a blast to ride fast.After months of testing, weve arrived at our winners across our three drop-bar categories, with Eddy Merckxs radical 525R taking the Race Bike of the Year title, while Canyon's practical but high-performance Canyon Endurace CF SLX earns the Endurance Bike of the Year crown.The third in our category-winning trio and the Gravel Bike of the Year is the newly launched Ridley Kanzo Fast 2.0, and it's the Ridley that also earns the top prize as our overall winner for 2026.Its a gravel bike that combines aero-race bike speed, off-road handling chops, and year-round practicality and versatility in a single package. It's also a machine that shows how the gravel race bike has truly come of age, against some seriously stiff competition in 2026. Read Warren's full Ridley Kanzo Fast 2.0 review to find out how it rides Read more on Bike of the Year 2026 What is Bike of the Year? 2026 Race Bike of the Year shortlist 2026 Endurance Bike of the Year shortlist 2026 Gravel Bike of the Year shortlist Introducing our 2026 Bike of the Year winners The Ridley Kanzo Fast 2.0 is race-bike responsive yet comfortable and composed off-road. It's our Gravel Bike of the Year and overall champion. Scott Windsor Our 2026 Bike of the Year shortlist comprises 21 bikes across three categories keep reading for the full shortlist. Every bike has been tested by the BikeRadar team over the past 12 months and subsequently been deemed worthy of inclusion in our annual Bike of the Year showcase. The best three bikes were then selected from each category to form the podium, with our senior technical editor, Warren Rossiter, pitting the bikes head-to-head to determine the category winner. Overall winner and Gravel Bike of the Year Ridley Kanzo Fast 2.0 Race Bike of the Year Eddy Merckx 525R Endurance Bike of the Year Canyon Endurace CF SLX 8 Di2 We'll be revealing more about each category including the runners-up and why we've chosen each winner in the coming days, so stay tuned to BikeRadar. We'll also be revealing the winner of our 2026 eMTB of the Year test on Tuesday 1 September. A bumper year for bike tech The Eddy Merckx 525R emerged victorious from our race bike category. Andy Lloyd Its been a strong year for new bikes, with innovations in geometry, larger tyre clearances and increasingly aerodynamic designs across all categories, regardless of whether you're looking at a race bike, endurance road bike or, in the case of the Ridley Kanzo Fast 2.0, a gravel bike.Weve also seen a shift in the way lots of these great bikes are being sold. Ridley and Merckx hit the top step of the podium in the gravel and race categories respectively, and both offer online configuration so you can tune the bikes build to your needs.Thats something I certainly want to see more of in the future. Ribble, Vielo, Orbea and Canyon all brands represented elsewhere in our test also offer good levels of customisation on ordering and deserve the merits of making our shortlists and podiums. The Canyon Endurace CF SLX 8.0 is a fast-handling yet smooth-riding bike and our 2026 Endurance Bike of the Year. Andy Lloyd Why is the Ridley Kanzo Fast 2.0 our overall Bike of the Year winner for 2026?Its been a tough year to choose a winner in each category, as well as for the coveted overall title.The Canyon is a smart blend of practical and fun, and the Merckx 525R deserves the highest of praise for taking a new path to race-bike perfection. It's also a bike that proved you can still be innovative in the very fundamentals of road-bike design, and I applaud the esteemed Belgian brand for taking such an approach.The Ridley Kanzo Fast 2.0 goes the whole hog, though. It pushes the aerodynamic boundaries of gravel race bikes, much like Argon 18s Anti Matter, BMCs Kaius 01 One and Cervlos spero 5. But it has the edge on all of those when it comes to handling.Its also obvious that the bike has been put together by riders. The tyre clearance of 58mm is one of the largest youll find, and Ridley has exploited that further by using huge 55mm tyres from the get-go. Not only has it gone for big volume, but it's also gone front- and rear-specific lower, faster tread on the rear for straight-line speed, and a chunkier heavier tread up front for cornering grip.There are also small but important details that only someone keen to ride gravel all-year round would choose, such as the mudguard/fender mounts.Then theres the placement of the port for the generous down-tube storage positioned low near the bottom bracket to provide a better centre of gravity. Its also not underneath a bottle cage, so itll remain rattle-free because the door wont have three-quarters of a litre of liquid hanging off it.During testing, Ive experimented by putting large-volume road tyres on the Kanzo, and it makes for a brilliant 1x road bike, too. In fact, its so good that Im even tempted to downsize my huge collection of road and gravel bikes, and configure a Kanzo Fast with two sets of wheels. It could be all the drop-bar bike Ill ever need.With that in mind, if youre in the market for a new gravel bike any time soon, ignore the awesome Ridley Kanzo Fast 2.0 Force AXS XPLR at your peril.What we've tested the full 2026 Bike of the Year shortlistRace bikes Cannondale SuperSix Evo 3 review 6,995 / $6,999 / 6,499 Cervlo Soloist Force AXS review 7,000 / $8,500 / 7,499 Eddy Merckx 525R review 6,299 / 6,999 Factor Monza SRAM Force w/Power Meter review 6,799 / $7,199 / 8,299 Giant Propel Advanced Pro 0-Di2 review 5,799 / 6,600 Merida Reacto 10K review 9,500 / 10,199 Rose Shave FFX Red AXS review 8,500 Wilier Filante SLR ID2 Dura-Ace Di2 review 9,500 / $12,900 / 10,900Endurance bikes Canyon Endurace CF SLX 8 Di2 review 4,299 / $5,999 / 4,499 Cervlo Caledonia Force AXS (review coming soon) 5,250 / $6,500 / 6,499 Fairlight Strael 4.0 review (custom build) 3,909 Ribble Ultra-Road 105 Di2 Aero review 3,799 / $5,215 / 4,880 Vielo R+1 Campagnolo Record review 7,999Gravel bikes Argon 18 Anti Matter Force AXS XPLR review 7,495 / $8,995 / 8,495 Argon 18 Dark Matter SRAM Rival XPLR AXS review 4,500 / $4,650 / 5,095 BMC Kaius 01 One review 9,999 / $12,999 / 10,999 Giant Revolt Advanced SL 0 review 9,999 / $12,000 / 9,999 Orbea Terra M21e Team 1x review 5,299 / $6,299 / 5,999 Ridley Kanzo Fast 2.0 6,299 / 6,999 Singular Pterodactyl review (rolling chassis) 3,490 / $3,959 / 3,429.95 Trek Checkpoint ALR 5 Gen 3 review 1,700 / $2,099 / 1,999 Previous Bike of the Year winners (2009-2025) Our Bike of the Year test has been running since 2009, with past winners including some of cyclings biggest names alongside breakthrough brands that have earned their place at the top table. 2025: Cannondale Synapse Carbon 2 SmartSense 2024: Giant Defy Advanced Pro 2 2023: Vitus Venon Evo RS Aero 2022: Giant Revolt Advanced Pro 0 2021: Boardman SLR 9.4 AXS 2020: Cannondale SuperSix EVO 2019: Rondo HVRT CF0 2018: Giant TCR Advanced 2 2017: Specialized Roubaix Comp 2016: Cannondale CAAD12 105 2015: BMC GF01 Disc 105 2014: Cannondale Synapse 5 105 2013: Giant Defy Advanced 2 2012: Focus Izalco Pro 3.0 2011: Storck Scenero 2010: Cannondale Six Carbon 105 2009: Giant TCR Advanced 3