Beautiful Bicycle - An Eye-Catching Allied ECHO

Allied Cycle Works first joined our shop in 2017, after a stunning candy Red Allied Alfa road bike was put on display when SRAM and NAHBS came to town. We adored the bike’s overall build quality and attention to detail. Now in 2022, we had a glimmering Allied ECHO through the shop. It caught the eye of everyone who saw it, and for good reason.

You’d be forgiven if you were unfamiliar with the Allied ECHO. In short, it is the third bike in the current Allied bike lineup, alongside the Alfa road bike and Able gravel bike. The ECHO slots neatly between the two, with road bike-like angles and a simple, flowing appearance. It wasn’t until a few years ago that people started to believe there was a space between a road bike and XC hardtail, but Allied splits the difference again with the ECHO. 

The ECHO is a little bit unique here in how it splits the difference, however, with adjustable rear dropouts and fork flip chips that allow the ECHO to be an out-and-out road racer in one setting and a gravel bike racer capable of the Unbound 200 gravel race. Just ask Colin Strickland, who has raced the ECHO in both forms. 

We’ll be sure to get into the nitty-gritty details in a ride review of the bike in the future, but there is a whole lot more to this bike than what meets the eye. Flip chips at the dropouts isn’t entirely new, but the engineering of these flip chips is pretty cool. In short, the flip chips in the lower position shortens the chainstays, drops the fork length, places tire clearance at 700c x 30mm, and steepens the head angle by 0.5 degrees. Flip those chips around, and you get a slacker head angle, longer chainstays for more stability through chunk, and clearance for 700c x 40mm tires. 

If you intend to just buy the bike for one purpose - either as a road bike or gravel bike - there is still plenty more to catch the eye. There’s plenty of neat touches on the frame, from the near-trademark Allied Eagle on the downtube, to the painted “Made Here” words inside of an image of the Continental U.S., to the Allied eagle on top of the stem. The almost-level toptube flows neatly into bridgeless seatstays, just like other Allied frames do. You expect this type of detail for a bike like this, and Allied knocks it out here.

And that stem! The stem is proprietary to the Allied ECHO, a custom-made bit of CNC’d aluminum to tuck away those pesky brake hoses. This one is color-matched to the frame. Color-matching like that doesn’t always work but this one does, and the black faceplate is a good balance.

We would be remiss to not talk about the rest of the bike, which got nothing less than an “ooh” or an “ahh” from anyone who saw it. The bright pink color catches eyes from a distance, but the closer you get the better the paint looks, as it shines under light any chance it can get. Matte Chris King hubs will always have fans and the ENVE finishing kit accentuates the American theme of the bike.

This Allied ECHO belongs to Allied's CEO, Drew Medlock, who kindly left it with us after showing it off at the ENVE Builder's Roundup. Review coming soon, Drew, we promise! 

Components Spec

Have any questions about the Allied ECHO bike, or want to build an Allied road bike for yourself? Contact us during business hours or any time at info@contenderbicycles.com.