For years I’ve contemplated the question “if you could only own one bike, what would it be?” The answer to that question has changed as often as I’ve changed bikes, but usually it was a case of either mountain bike or road bike. Factors like whatever I was enjoying riding mosty at that point figured heavily, and other considerations like convenience, technology and plain old fun were always takin into account. But the simple choice of mountain or road never really was influenced by versatility. It’s not fun riding a mountain bike on the road, and a road bike wasn’t going to see much rooty singletrack action.

Ask me today that same question, and the answer is easy. I’d own a bike like the Specialized Sequoia, whatever you want to label it as; a gravel bike, all-road bike, adventure bike, touring bike, cyclocross bike. It’s all these and whatever else you want it to be. There’s no wonder that bikes like this are becoming the fastest growing segment of cycling, because they really can do it all, maybe not as good a bikes made specifically for certain types of riding, but you can do a lot more than you might think is possible, and then some.

The Sequoia keeps it simple for a bike with such varied personalities. A good-looking steel frame with a sloping top tube keeps the bones traditional, while modern tech like a carbon fork, tapered head tube, curved thin stays and burly dropouts add the requisite stiffness, comfort and precision expected in contemporary bicycles.

Our test bike comes fully loaded with Specialzed’s Burra Burra frame bags, available as extras and all custom fitted to each size bike in the range.

Up front the handlebar bag features a stiff harness and a dry pack to stuff in clothing or a sleeping bag, and come in 13 or 23 litre sizes.

Sturdy mounting to the bars with alloy clamps means the load is stable and won’t end up in your front wheel.

The ‘Stuffpacks’ mount to the fork blades via an alloy cage held by two bolts, and can hold pretty much anything that’ll fit… like beer bottles or cans.

A half-frame pack is probably the most useful of all bike bags, even for everyday use. This has a long zip on the right side and two small outer pockets on the left which are proving great for stuff you need to access easily and quickly, like gels, bars, cash and cards.

A 10 litre seat pack holds a surprisingly good amount of clothing, I even managed to get a pair of shoes in there. It mounts to the seatpost via a clamp and an alloy rail slips inside the bag to offer extra stability and helps keep the bag bag-shaped.

That seatpost sure is funny lookin. It’s designed to dampen shock over rough surfaces and features on Specialized’s Roubaix road bikes, hence its moniker Cobble Gobbler. The saddle looks kinda industrial and old school, but like most of the S saddles its shape is compatible with my arse and is more comfy than it looks.

A drop bar with a rise? Yep, the Hover bars have 15mm or rise to give a more comfortable front end position. Tape is of the cloth variety and matches the old school look and feel of the saddle.

The bars also flare out at the drops, giving more knee room and a pretty comfortable hand position when on the hoods, plus more stability in the drops. The Force levers are substantial with the hydro reservoir in there, but don’t feel bulky under hand at all.

Flat mount brake caliper mounting for the SRAM Guide hydro stoppers and a 142×12 thru axle keeping the rear end stiff.

12mm thru axle and flat mount up front as well, with 160mm Guide rotors doing the stopping duties at both ends.

The drivetrain on the Expert model is a 1 x 11 SRAM Force group, which offers MTB-like range from the 11-42 cassette, which is Shimano funnily enough. The substantial dropouts also offer fender and rack mounts.

The single 42 tooth FSA chainring may leave some wanting on steep climbs, especially when fully loaded. Cranks are carbon SL-K units which should be stiff enough under any masher. Don’t laugh at my beaten up old Time ATAC pedals, they may not be pretty but are still kicking after a good 12 or more years of service.

Box section Cruzero alloy rims not only look boss, their 25mm internal width gives plenty of support for big tyres while the eyeletted spoke holes and double-butted J-bend spokes add extra strength for long-distance security.

They may look neither here nor there, but the Sawtooth 42mm tyres are a capable all-rounder.

Every bike should have one of these, but on a bike like this a threaded bottom bracket shell makes even more sense. Simple, reliable, doesn’t creak, easy to service.

Stripped down to its bare bones, the Sequoia strikes a racey and aggressive look that will please both mountain and road purists. In this guise it’s ready to take on any gravel race, bunch ride or long road ride where you don’t really have a destination.

Neat internal hose routing for the front brake.

And every test bike should come with one of these! What a nice surprise to find when opening up the bags to take a peek…

Even better when you get surprised four times! Cheers!

That says it all really. Decide where you want to ride, or just wing it as you go.

We’ve taken the Sequoia on an overnighter and some shorter gravel rides so far, and it’s hard to wipe the smile off our face. There’ll be a lot more roads to discover on it over the next months, and we’ll bring a full review once we’ve returned from wherever the hell we end up.