Allied Cycle Works ABLE Gen 2
Wheel Size: 700c
Travel:
- Frame: N/A
- Fork: N/A
Geometry Highlights:
- Sizes offered: XS, S, M, L, XL
- Headtube angle: 70.5°
- Reach (size Medium): 400 mm
- Chainstay length: 428 mm
Frame Material: Carbon fiber
Price:
- Complete bikes: ~$6,500 to $11,000 USD (builds are customizable)
- Frameset: starting at $4,500 USD (includes stem and seat post)
Intro
Allied Cycle Works calls Arkansas home and has long focused on drop bar bikes along with their Cross Country rig, the BC40. First released in 2019, the ABLE was their platform for Gravel racing, with a unique elevated chainstay design to create space for larger tires while keeping the chainstays short. The ABLE actually won both the women’s and men’s Unbound 200 after being introduced at the event — not a bad start.
Gravel has been evolving rapidly in terms of bike design, with bikes getting both longer and slacker in recent years as riders continue to push higher speeds on rougher courses. The second-generation ABLE aims to carry the Gravel racing torch forward for Allied, losing the elevated chainstay while managing to gain even more tire clearance. While we haven’t gotten a chance to ride one just yet, let’s have a look at some of the details of the new release.
The Frame
The Allied ABLE is, like most race-oriented Gravel bikes, entirely crafted from carbon fiber. At a claimed frame weight of 950 grams for the size Medium, it’s rather lightweight, and Allied claims that the top-shelf SRAM RED XPLR AXS build cuts the complete bike weight as low as 16.25 lbs.
The most striking feature of the original ABLE was its elevated chainstay design on the drive side, but the new ABLE does away with that in favor of a more traditional silhouette. With the new ABLE, Allied has dropped the forward portion of both of the chainstays well below the bottom bracket, thereby avoiding interference with the crankset and creating clearance for tires up to 57 mm wide. That’s a good chunk wider than the old ABLE, which cleared up to 43 mm tires out back and 47 mm at the front wheel.
Most race-oriented Gravel bikes favor 1x drivetrains these days, and the ABLE offers no provision to run a front derailleur — that’s part of what allows the extra-wide tire clearance. All cables are routed internally through the stem, though Allied claims that their ST03 adjustable stem design allows riders to swap between two different rise options without needing to re-run the cables.
Allied has also added in-frame storage to the new ABLE, which features a magnetic latch. Unlike most other designs, it sits independently of the bottle cage mounts, which Allied says helps to drop some weight.
Allied doesn’t manufacture their carbon frames in the US anymore, but frames are still finished in Bentonville, Arkansas. That means that custom paint is a possibility, too, if the buyer is so inclined.
Fit & Geometry
It feels like modern Gravel bikes are continuing to get longer as they stray further from traditional Road geometry, and the new ABLE is a testament to that evolution.
For reference, the original ABLE in a size Medium featured a 71° head tube angle, 387 mm reach, and 553 mm effective top tube length, along with stubby 420 mm chainstays. The new ABLE gets bigger in just about every respect — for a size Medium, the head tube angle is half a degree slacker at 70.5°, the reach stretches to 400 mm, the effective top tube length grows to 564 mm, and the chainstays get a bit longer, too, at 428 mm. The new ABLE also gets a bit more bottom bracket drop, which now sits 10 mm lower than the original at 80 mm.
None of those measurements are particularly radical, though, and the Allied ABLE is still very much in the mix with other contemporary Gravel bikes. Full geometry details are as follows:
The Builds
Allied offers a frameset option for the ABLE, along with three all-SRAM, all-electronic builds, ranging from Rival AXS to RED XLPR AXS. All three builds get carbon wheels from Industry Nine, from the Ultralite Carbon wheels with 1/1 hubs on the Rival build to the SOLiX SL AR40c wheels on the RED XLPR AXS build. As mentioned earlier, that RED XLPR AXS build is the premium build of the bunch, and the hefty price point gets you a genuinely impressive 16.25 lb claimed weight.
Both the Force AXS and Rival AXS builds are indicated as “Mullet” builds, but that carries its own meaning in the Gravel sphere that’s a bit different than in the mountain bike world. Rather than indicating a smaller 27.5’’ wheel as it would on a mountain bike, “Mullet” means that a wide-range mountain cassette is used at the rear wheel rather than a more conventional Road or Gravel cluster with a tighter range.
Spec highlights and build pricing are indicated below, but readers should note that these prices are highly variable thanks to a number of customization options available. That also implies that there’s an opportunity to upgrade parts within a given build tier, but the specs below illustrate the starting points of the three stock builds available:
- Drivetrain: SRAM Rival AXS (12-speed)
- Brakes: SRAM Rival
- Fork: ABLE Carbon
- Wheels: Industry Nine 1/1 Ultralite Carbon
- Dropper Post: N/A
- Drivetrain: SRAM Force AXS (12-speed)
- Brakes: SRAM Force
- Fork: ABLE Carbon
- Wheels: Industry Nine 1/1 Ultralite Carbon
- Dropper Post: N/A
- Drivetrain: SRAM RED XPLR 13-speed
- Brakes: SRAM RED
- Fork: ABLE Carbon
- Wheels: Industry Nine SOLIX SL AR40c
- Dropper Post: N/A
Allied also makes the ABLE frameset available on its own for $4,500 USD, which comes with the ST03 stem and headset plus Allied’s SP02 seat post.
Some Questions / Things We’re Curious About
(1) Allied plays up the race-born pedigree of the ABLE, but does it fare well at a more casual pace too?
(2) Some brands have embraced purpose-built suspension for Gravel bikes, but the ABLE seems to have prioritized space for higher-volume tires instead. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each approach out on the trail?
Bottom Line (For Now)
Allied’s new ABLE builds on the original with some refreshed features and geometry, including notably large tire clearance. While Allied’s team will be putting the updated ABLE through a season of racing, the ABLE’s geometry is by no means race-specific and should have appeal for riders prioritizing ample tire clearance and low weight.
This geo chart shows 80mm BB drop. So that would be 10mm LOWER than the V1 geometry of 70mm.
Good catch — we had that number mixed up. That makes more sense given the effect that higher volume tires will have on overall BB height, if maxed out for what the new clearance allows.
$4500 frameset? Time ADHX 45 over this all day long for that kind of cheddar.
It certainly isn’t cheap, but it’s worth noting that the price reflects a tariff-associated price bump.