Cycling

Rapha and Allied Cycle Works and Colin Strickland Come Together on Limited Edition Able Gravel Bike

Kevin Curry

Mar 19, 2020 — 3 min read

This is one of the better paint jobs I’ve seen recently. Great looking bike.

For the Club’s latest collaboration, we combined with Dirty Kanza winner Colin Strickland and all-American bike manufacturer Allied to create the ultimate gravel bike, complete with a customised paint scheme designed with the man himself.

Membership of the Rapha Cycling Club comes with access to our most exclusive collaborations. With more and more members heading off-road, we are proud to present two hugely exciting projects. Later in the year, members will have exclusive access to a capsule collection designed for Colin Strickland, but not before we’ve unveiled a special edition of his Kanza-conquering bike.

Founded in 2016, Allied’s aim to make the finest bicycles is underpinned by an all-American approach. Every bike is designed and built from the ground up in the United States using only the highest-grade components. Fittingly, Colin’s landmark win at America’s definitive gravel grinder – as well as Amity Rockwell’s in the women’s race at Kanza – was the brand’s greatest success so far.

We are delighted to collaborate with Allied to bring RCC members a special edition of the gravel-specific Able frame. A titan among gravel bikes, the Able has a proven track record in races and a unique silhouette with a raised chainstay to allow for extra tyre clearance while keeping the bike light and nimble.

On top of the Able’s proven performance credentials is a unique, hand-finished paint scheme created with Colin. Fresh off the back of the 100-mile solo breakaway that landed him the win last May, Strickland had a clear vision for the design: “Being from Texas, I had imagined dry, earthy colours that would remind me of the roads I train on at home,” he told us. “The colour striping takes inspiration from geological patterns in rock formations.”

While Colin provided the initial direction, the graphic was brought to life by Rapha designer Jess Money whose Texan connection helped her join the dots on the design. “That link definitely helped on this one,” Jess said. “Working on it took me back to the long road trips and visits to my grandparents in Texas, with big skies and the dry heat.. It was a dream brief for me so the design direction was really intuitive.”

The rock-solid paint scheme features most heavily on the forks of Colin’s bike but his kit customisation doesn’t end there. In defence of his Kanza title, he’ll ride in a special edition Rapha Custom kit with the same geologically-inspired pattern. The full collection will be available exclusively to members, on the eve of the race in May.

By that time, our limited-run Allied Able frames will be long gone. Available only to members, this is the ultimate collaboration between two brands striving to produce the best for gravel riders around the world. Just 100 bikes will be built to be pre-ordered by members on a first-come, first-served basis.