We introduced Arkansas-based Allied Cycle Works back in October and with the Alfa All-Road they might just have cracked the N+1 conundrum once and for all. If you’re in the market for a versatile bike capable of taking on a wide range of adventures then read on. If you just like beautiful bikes then don’t go anywhere either – this is one special machine.
The boom in the gravel sector over recent years has reflected a shift in the bike industry. Instead of selling you bikes that the professionals use, we now have ones designed for the type of everyday riding you do – everything from commuting and racing the local crit to weekend rides on quiet country lanes, cheeky short cuts along bridleways and bombing down fire roads. You don’t need a different bike for each ride; you need a bike that can take it all on. That’s where the Alfa All-Road comes in – a high performance road bike that you can ride damn near anywhere. A road bike that is equally at home in road races as it is on dirt or gravel roads.
At first glance, the All-Road might look like just another gravel grinder, with disc brakes and tyre clearance up to 38mm ticking that box with a fat black marker pen. Take a closer look though and you’ll notice a light (the 56cm frame weighs a paltry 920g), stiff, smooth and compliant frame set-up with sharp handling for a grin-inducing reaction when you put the hammer down. There are no mudguard or rack mounts here – this is a pure race machine that just happens to want to turn down that dusty trail where the cool kids are hanging out.
Allied have achieved this by designing a snappy frame more in common with its road racing brothers than most gravel machines. With a tight wheelbase and a bottom bracket placed marginally lower than you’d normally find on off-road focussed machines, the All-Road is a responsive road bike with intuitive handling.
Traditional adventure bikes tend to compromise sharp handling in favour of stability and comfort – a long wheelbase and slack head angle are great if you live and ride exclusively on gravel-covered roads, but in the UK that’s a rarity. This ain’t Kansas, Dorothy.
The All-Road can take tyres up to 38mm wide, which puts you into real off-road territory and the personality of the bike isn’t lost – it’s still a fast and stiff bike just with more cushioning from the larger air chamber of a bigger tyre. You could choose a 33mm cyclocross tyre and the All-Road would be the ideal ‘cross ripper. Or go for 30mm wide road tyres and you’ll have the best of all worlds. From the local trail or hill climb to the dirt track you’ve always wanted to turn down, this is truly one bike to rule them all.
Allied allow you to spec the bike how you like, from mechanical Shimano Ultegra right up to the exceptional SRAM Red ETAP AXS or Shimano Dura Ace Di2. You can also buy the frameset on its own – Allied frames are delivered in around 30 days and our expert mechanics will apply the finishing kit of your choice – but there are some things on which they won’t compromise. Clean lines, internal cable routing, flat mount disc brakes and thru axles give the All-Road the versatility you’d expect from a bike with that name – strength and stopping power that you’ll need wherever you want to go.
As an added bonus, Allied frames come with a lifetime warranty and they offer a repair service if your frameset is ever damaged in an accident. This repair service is an industry first and does not impact the lifetime warranty for the original owner.
Matt Phillips at Bicycling managed to get his hands on the Allied Alfa All-road and confirmed its ‘do anything, go anywhere’ mentality:
“It’s a bike that lets me go more places and do things I’d never dream about doing on a typical rim-brake, road-racing bike. And going places is how I have adventures.â€
Fancy getting hold of your own? Contact alex@bicyclechain.co.uk or your nearest Bicycle Chain store to find out more.
