I like my Verge X11 a lot. Its not quite as fast as a road bike but its still pretty quick, faster than any other folding bike I've ridden hands down, and more importantly its a lot of fun to ride. But I would be very wary about using it (or any mid-frame folding bike) much on gravel. Smooth compact gravel every now and then... maybe. But anything more and I think you're going to place a lot of stress on the folding joints, causing accelerated wear over time.