Our editorial policy
On Gravelpassion.fr, our mission is simple: help you better understand, choose, and ride bikes, no bullshit.
At the beginning, we mostly spoke to cyclists who wanted to discover this practice. Today, the publication has grown. So has our readership. We still speak to beginners, of course, but also to everyone who wants to go further: gear up better, improve, compare, decode the market, and make smarter choices.
Our line has not changed on the essentials: be useful, readable, independent, and honest.
We therefore publish content designed to answer real questions:
which bike to choose, which gear is really worth it, what a product delivers in the real world, what counts as innovation… and what is mostly marketing.
We like content that is clear, structured, pleasant to read, with a direct tone and sometimes a small touch of humor. But behind that lightness of form lies a core requirement: every article must bring something tangible to the reader.
At heart, Gravelpassion has never aimed to make noise for the sake of it. We want to save our readers time, help them avoid bad purchases, and help them see more clearly in a cycling world sometimes saturated with commercial messaging.
Our independence is priceless
Editorial independence is not a marketing argument for us. It is the foundation.
We refuse:
- to modify an article because a brand, an agency, or a partner asks for it
- to publish a complacent opinion to preserve a commercial relationship;
to recommend a product that does not seem relevant to us, even if it could be profitable - to accept collaborations that are not consistent with our editorial line or our values.
On Gravelpassion, content is approved by the editorial team, period.
That means something simple: our articles are not written to please brands, but to be useful to our readers.
We can appreciate a brand, praise a product, or recognize a smart innovation. But that never obliges us to gloss over flaws or overplay strengths.
Our priority: trust
We know very well that today, trust is earned. It is not claimed.
That is why we try to be as transparent as possible about how we work, our economic model, and the conditions in which we produce our content.
An independent media outlet does not run on love alone. We have to fund hosting, tools, editorial production, travel, tests, site development, newsletters, visuals, videos, and all the invisible work a reader does not always see.
The real question is therefore not whether a media outlet makes money.
The real question is: how it makes it, and at what editorial cost.
For us, the answer is clear: we want a sustainable model without selling off our editorial line.
How Gravelpassion is funded
Gravelpassion’s business model relies mainly on performance-based programs, such as affiliate marketing or certain pay-per-click setups.
In practical terms, this means that some links in our articles may be remunerated if you click them or make a purchase afterward, at no extra cost to you.
The price does not change for the reader.
The remuneration is covered by the retailer or the brand, which pays us a commission for the audience or the sale generated.
Today, this is one of the economic pillars of the publication.
This model has a clear advantage: it lets us fund our work without charging for access to content, and without turning Gravelpassion into a disguised advertising showcase.
Obviously, this type of remuneration can raise a legitimate question: does this influence recommendations?
Our answer is simple: it can become a problem if the outlet does not have a clear line. That is precisely why we impose strict rules on ourselves.
We work with a limited number of partners. We do not put links to just anything. And above all, we do not recommend a product solely because it is monetizable.
A good non-affiliate product will always be more interesting to us than an average product that pays.
When an article contains affiliate links, this is stated explicitly. We want every reader to understand the economic framework of the content they are reading.
Serious product tests, with clear rules
Tests hold an important place on Gravelpassion. It is logical: in cycling, many marketing promises mean nothing until a product has been used in real life.
We therefore attach great importance to testing conditions.
When we publish a review, we indicate whenever possible how the product was obtained:
- press loan
- provided free of charge
- personal purchase
- temporary loan
This transparency matters because it lets the reader put our opinion into context.
Let us be frank: no situation is perfectly neutral.
When you buy a product yourself, you naturally want to justify your purchase.
When a brand lends or sends a product, there can be a kind of reverse bias in the reader’s mind.
The most honest approach is therefore not to claim absolute objectivity. What we defend, however, is a form of editorial rigor:
- we test with real-world use in mind
- we try to identify real strengths as well as limitations
- we put products in their price, target, and competitive context
- we do not turn a test into a press release.
We also select in advance the products we cover. This explains why it is rare to see on Gravelpassion products that are totally failed or absurd: we do not waste our time – or yours – highlighting gear that seems unfinished from the start.
That does not mean everything is excellent.
It simply means that we prefer to focus our energy on products that truly deserve analysis.
No display ads, no sponsored articles
There have never been display ads on the site and since 2025, Gravelpassion.fr no longer publishes sponsored articles.
This choice is important because it clarifies the relationship with the reader.
You do not come to Gravelpassion to endure intrusive formats, aggressive page takeovers, or pseudo-articles written to satisfy an advertiser. You come to read a specialist media outlet that tries to do the job properly.
This choice obviously has an economic cost. But it seems consistent with what we want to build over the long term: a leading, readable, credible, and durable media outlet.
How we handle information
Not all content involves the same exercise, and we try not to mix everything together.
On Gravelpassion, we mainly publish:
- tests
- buying guides
- comparisons
- explainers
- product or market news
- advice and practice content.
In each of these formats, our objective remains the same: to prioritize information, to distinguish what is truly useful from what is incidental, and to avoid the trap of hollow content.
We are not trying to publish just to fill a schedule.
We aim to publish content that has editorial value.
That also means standing by a line: sometimes we prefer not to cover a topic rather than cover it badly, quickly, or without added value.
Help other cyclists discover it!
The latest news from the past 7 days, delivered straight to your inbox.