I’m trying to decide between multiple different gravel frames. I’d like a racier type of bike with good tire clearance. I wanted to get everyone’s opinion, especially if you have/have ridden any of these! I can get a team discount with Argon 18 and a solid deal on the Allied, though I feel it will still be a bit expensive. I’ll be building the bike with a 1x Force/Red AXS set up on a set of carbon wheels I haven’t committed to yet. So the question is more about the frameset.
No specific order
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State All Road V2
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Argon 18 Dark Matter
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Allied Able
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Others?
by Coagulopathicbleed
15 Comments
Everything else aside, that Able is beautiful.
Since you seem to be fine with the 57mm tires, Lauf Seigla and Ari Shafer would be options. Fara GR4 too but I think they’re not really available outside of Europe.
The Specialized Diverge would also be an option. It fits 55mm tires.
That purple is awesome…. that is the only contribution I am gonna make to this conversation.
Argon 18 gets a lot of love for a reason. The discount seems to make it a no-brainer.
Price is a big question here. The Allied frame is $4500 the State is $1500. You could build up a nice Sate bike for the same price as just the frame of the Allied depending on your discount.
Argon doesn’t sell just the frame set unless you have a hookup so if you want a custom build you’ll have to consider that.
If money is no object yeah the super premium Allied is a way nicer bike. It is an aggressive race fit though so check you can be comfortable in that position.
3 > 2 > 1
Allied
I considered the Lauf, Argon 18, and Allied when I was purchasing.
My requirements:
Fully integrated
57mm clearance
UDH
Race geo
I went allied with Red xplr. The level of customization on the order was what tipped me (and the sick paint). You have a lot of options you can choose:
Bar model and sizes
Stem length
Crank length
Seatpost offset
Several saddles, bars, wheels to pick from.
If you want something specific that they don’t offer, they’ll subtract the price of that component from the cost and ship it without.
It’s expensive…. Sick bike though.
I have the Argon 18. Its a fantastic bike and very versatile you can do almost anything with. Good thing with the Dark Matter is that it has pretty standard component sized giving you loads of build options. Even possible to put a suspension fork on it without an elevated stack height.
Allied Able is a bit more race oriented in the geometry but also costs a pretty penny.
All of them are excellent bikes though. 🙂
If you want the racey bike with tons of clearance, then get the Allied. If you care more about your budget, get the dark matter. Still tons of clearance, different geometry but better price/quality correlation.
The Able is by far the best looking, so i would get that 😀
Only the Able has UDH. Consider Fara GR4. Biggest clearance, low weight, udh, it rips.
Allied also has a proprietary integrated stem / headset, to consider here.
I have a Dark Matter and it’s a great bike, it’s an all rounder though so depends what you want it for. If it’s mostly for racing then the Allied or an Enve MOG might be better (or even one of the aero 3T models depending on how much tire clearance you want).
That Slate looks nice, no clue what it’s like (I guess the Ari and Lauf should be on your shortlist to)
honestly the Argon 18 with a team discount sounds like the move here. you’re getting a proven race-oriented frame at a better price point, and 57mm clearance is plenty for most gravel riding. I’d put the money you save into those carbon wheels instead — good wheels make way more difference day-to-day than a marginal frame upgrade. what kind of terrain are you mostly riding? that might help narrow it down too.