Review: Pinnacle Cerium gravel bike

Cycling UK partnered with Evans Cycles last year to launch the ‘Recommended by Cycling UK’ product range. In this partnership, the charity aims to give everyday cyclists more reassurance when making purchases both online and in-store.

We’ll be reviewing kit from Evans Cycles and testing it for everyday usability, comfort and value. I tested the Pinnacle Cerium, a new do-it-all gravel bike from the brand.

I have owned – and loved – Pinnacle’s previous gravel bike offering, the Pinnacle Arkose, so I was excited to hop onto the Cerium and give it a go.

The Cerium is described as a ‘Swiss army knife’ of a bike, aimed at both commuters and those who want to start adventure and gravel riding. It sells for £899 usually, although at time of writing it is only £599 on the website, which is a great starting price for someone wanting to get into more off-road riding without spending thousands.

Frame

The Cerium features an alloy 6061 frame in a smart silvery grey colour. The frame looks very clean, with internal cable routing and a whole host of bolts and mounts for mudguards, racks, bottles and fork racks. It has quick-release axles too, which is not always seen on bikes this price.

It comes in a variety of easy sizing: from small to extra-large. At 5' 6", I was just about tall enough to fit onto the medium frame and found that the reach was comfortable for me.

The frame has been designed with a thoughtful geography, with a relaxed 73-degree head angle and a longer wheelbase that will help to keep the ride stable over lumpy ground.

Components

The bike has been built around a Microshift Sword 2x9 drive chain, Tekro Mira mechanical disc brakes, and wide WTB 45c Riddler gravel tyres on alloy 700c wheels.

I was very impressed with the WTB Riddler tyres, which added a lovely bit of squish to the ride, helping to dampen chatter from rough terrain. They also rolled nicely on tarmac.

The Tektro Mira mechanical disc brakes are a nice touch too. Of course, they aren’t quite as powerful as a hydraulic equivalent – but I’d argue that mechanical disc brakes are easier to maintain and still offer an impressive amount of stopping power. I certainly had no complaints about them from my time on the bike.

The gearset is a mix of Shimano Cues and Microshift Sword components. You get a 9-speed cassette at the back paired with a two by crankset at the front, giving 18 gears and a range of 11-38t. While I was impressed with how smoothly the gears shifted, I did find I ran out of gears on some of the steeper off-road climbs.

It also took me a little while to get used to the shifting. The left-hand shifter has two levers to shift the front derailleur, with the smaller lever moving the derailleur into the smaller ring and the larger one moving it into the larger ring.

The right-hand shifter is reversed: the small lever shifts you up while the big lever shifts you down. It left me in the wrong gear on occasion and is quite unintuitive for the first few times on the bike.

Finally, the Cerium is finished with wide, slightly flared handlebars and a standard FWE saddle. It weighs around 13kg, which isn’t bad for my medium frame, though this is without the extras of mudguards, rack or water bottle.

Ride feel

When I hopped on the Cerium to ride it from the store, I was impressed with how responsive the handling was. The bike reacted fast to changes of direction and efforts through the pedals.

For its first long ride, I took the Cerium around 50 miles on mixed terrain. Mucky towpaths were handled with aplomb, thanks to the wide Riddler gravel tyres. The well-padded, wide handlebars meant my hands felt comfortable on rougher off-road paths too.

I was also very impressed with how powerful the Tetkro disc brakes were, they pulled me to a stop on several occasions when a dog shot out in front of me on the narrow towpaths. Though there was a bit of cable buzz from the internal cables, the ride was very impressive.

Since that first ride, I have used for the Cerium for a whole host of reasons: relaxed Sunday pootles, fast zips around town, and I even tried it on some mountain bike trails in my local park.

It was fun – though I did manage to reach the point where it got a bit overwhelmed. The Cerium can handle some roots and bumps, but it’s not meant for drops and rocks!

Overall, the Cerium performed well and offered a comfortable and stable ride, and both the brakes and gears worked pretty much flawlessly over the testing period.

I could definitely imagine using the Cerium as a comfortable, versatile commuter. Once you put on a rack and mudguards, it would make the perfect companion for riding to and from work.

Verdict

Overall, the Pinnacle Cerium is a very impressive offering. For an erstwhile commuter, a do-it-all companion and even an adventure companion for gravel riding, this is a solid choice.

For those who want a bike that can start them off on their off-riding journey, or who want to mix their rides with a bit of canal paths as well as tarmac, this is a great choice.

Other options

Cube Nuroad Pro 2026 gravel bike £1,199

For £1,200, the Cube Nuroad offers a gravel bike with mountain bike qualities, including 1x11 gears, hydraulic disc brake and 45mm Schwalbe tyres.

Microshift SWORD 1x10v, GRVL AF gravel bike – Pink £899.99 (£849.99 at time of writing)

Van Rysel’s AF gravel range starts with this £899 offering. You get 1x10 gears, mechanical disc brakes, a carbon fork and 40mm Hutchinson tyres.

First published in January 2026. All information correct at time of publishing.