Opinions, please: Allied Cycles

[djg21]

Originally Posted by hollowgram5

Your bike looks stellar, and you aren't making the resistance of the short trip down the road to Little Rock to see their operation any easier.

That orange fade looks great! One of my favorite colors by far.

BBDave is rubbing off on me. I even found black and orange Arundel carbon cages, and I’ll be looking like the Great Pumpkin riding in my club’s black and orange attire.

[quattro]

Originally Posted by djg21

I got home from work today and there was a big box waiting for me on the porch. . My new Allied Alpha, built with eTap, was waiting for me.

Allied has packing down to a science: the bike was completely built and well packed in an oversized bike box. All I had to do was take it out of the box, peel off the thin foam sleeves protecting the tubes, attach bottle cages, put the front wheel on, and install the seat and seatpost. Allied even supplied a small package of grease for the seatpost.

The only hitch was getting the derailleurs to shift. I ultimately realized after a few minutes that eTap ships without batteries installed in the derailleurs. The batteries were in a SRAM box with the battery charger and other SRAM paraphernalia that I failed to see in the bike box in my excitement.

The bike is beautiful, and eTap is really slick, granted I’ve only checked it out on my workstand.

I also love Ti, haven ridden Merlin, Litespeed and most recently, a custom Lynskey R440 that I have loved. I wanted a carbon bike, and the Allied had the longish toptube and geometry that I prefer and looked to be building really nice stuff.

Allied also made the choice pretty easy by virtue of its guarantee — if I don’t like the bike, I can return it for a refund no questions asked within a reasonable period from the delivery date. I scheduled the bike to be delivered in March, but of course I get it just in time for the second “bombogenesis” storm of the season. Hopefully it will just rain here and clean the salt off the roads, then warm up quickly.

Nothing like the smell of a new bike!

I met the owner of Allied at NAHBS this year was very impressed, wonderful paint work.

Best of luck with your new bike, hope you post a ride report after you have had a few good rides on it.

[dhalbrook]

I have an Alfa frameset on order. Congrats on the new ride. Eager to hear your ride impressions!

[sparky33]

Well...
I like that they have low and high geometries.
I don't like that the AllRoad has QR because I prefer TA.

The AllRoad's concept of aggressive road geo with chubby tires is refreshing - not a slack gravel bike. I messaged a few questions, and Chris@Allied called me just 1 minute later. Good talk.
fwiw the AllRoad does not fit 650bx42 but they are coming out with a 650b bike in Q4...intriguing.

Originally Posted by Iansir

I strongly considered the Alpha all road for my next frame. Lack of fender mounts now (a necessity in Seattle) was the only reason I did not proceed.

I did email them and find out they have a fender capable version in the works, approx 1 year out.

Looks great. Please tell us how you like the ride!

Originally Posted by djg21

I got home from work today and there was a big box waiting for me on the porch. . My new Allied Alpha, built with eTap, was waiting for me.

Allied also made the choice pretty easy by virtue of its guarantee — if I don’t like the bike, I can return it for a refund no questions asked within a reasonable period from the delivery date. I scheduled the bike to be delivered in March, but of course I get it just in time for the second “bombogenesis” storm of the season. Hopefully it will just rain here and clean the salt off the roads, then warm up quickly.

[livingminimal]

Originally Posted by sparky33

Well...
I like that they have low and high geometries.
I don't like that the AllRoad has QR because I prefer TA.

I got over the Waltons thing a bit when I learned that the grandkids have considerable distance from the family. Supporting Allied/Rapha is a far cry from supporting WalMart for me. The money I spend on Rapha (considerable) doesnt feed into a system that perpetuates Rapha. Does it enrich these two kids? Maybe. but I think its pretty separate at this point.

I still loathe just about everything regarding WalMart.

I am very, very interested in allied, but QR is a total deal breaker on any "all-road" disc bike. I had early QR disc adoption and it was pretty bad, comparatively.

[merlinmurph]

Originally Posted by livingminimal

I am very, very interested in allied, but QR is a total deal breaker on any "all-road" disc bike. I had early QR disc adoption and it was pretty bad, comparatively.

I'm curious, why is QR a deal breaker?

[bigbill]

Originally Posted by merlinmurph

I'm curious, why is QR a deal breaker?

Curious as well. My Coconino Dirt Road Racer was built for QR and I've been fine with it. I have two wheelsets for it and both will convert to TA if I go that way in a few years, but I haven't noticed any negatives.

[hollowgram5]

Originally Posted by sparky33

Well...
I like that they have low and high geometries.
I don't like that the AllRoad has QR because I prefer TA.

The AllRoad's concept of aggressive road geo with chubby tires is refreshing - not a slack gravel bike. I messaged a few questions, and Chris@Allied called me just 1 minute later. Good talk.
fwiw the AllRoad does not fit 650bx42 but they are coming out with a 650b bike in Q4...intriguing.



Looks great. Please tell us how you like the ride!

Looks like its thru axle in the pictures, and in this review..

I know their "builder" makes it look QR, but I don't think that's actually the case. I'd venture the guess that is tied more to the regular road frame and using the same "frame image" to apply the colors to, but what do I know!

[sandyrs]

I don't think the Allroad is QR, they just need to update their bike builder. The product page shows TA.

[bjf]

Originally Posted by sales guy

Yes
Part of the Guru buy-out was their paint booth and mixing station which is state of the art. Which is why CyclArt came along. We use the same booth and mixing system. So does my local guy who does all the work fro Porsche, Audi and BMW clubs of Ohio.

Yes. Allied bought CyclArt for its expertise, but recently booted the CyclArt people after having them set up the plant production line. So sadly, CyclArt is history.

[bigflax925]

Originally Posted by bjf

Yes. Allied bought CyclArt for its expertise, but recently booted the CyclArt people after having them set up the plant production line. So sadly, CyclArt is history.

CycleArt in California as a company is history. I believe they tried to sell the business before they left, but don't think they sold it.

Allied brought Jim and Susan Cunningham here to Little Rock to paint for them. Where did you hear that they were booted from Allied?

[sparky33]

Originally Posted by sandyrs

I don't think the Allroad is QR, they just need to update their bike builder. The product page shows TA.

Agreed. not QR in the actual bike photos.

[bjf]

Originally Posted by bigflax925

CycleArt in California as a company is history. I believe they tried to sell the business before they left, but don't think they sold it.

Allied brought Jim and Susan Cunningham here to Little Rock to paint for them. Where did you hear that they were booted from Allied?

I called Allied to reach Jim and was told that he's not there any more.