WATCH: FIRST RIDE ALLIED ECHO
At first glance the Echo’s traditional drop-bar aesthetic appears to be nothing more than a modern gravel bike, but the bike can be ridden in two separate geometries. In its gravel setup, the carbon frame accepts 40mm tires, and its internally routed hoses keep it looking trim. At 950 grams the Echo is on par with other gravel race bikes like the Factor Ostro Gravel and many standard road frames. Our Maroon Metallic paint job is an upgraded offering alongside six standard colorways and a handful of other premium personalized designs.
A closer look reveals the interesting bits of the Echo. From the eagle logo on the downtube to the “Made Here” lettering above the bottom bracket, the Echo is packed with personality. However, we were instantly attracted to the dual flip chips located at each dropout.
Much like the single flip chips in use across the industry, the Echo is able to tweak the position where the wheels are placed relative to the frame, allowing for variable tire clearance and key geometry distances. Our Echo was set up in the gravel position—a 101.5cm wheelbase and 72.5-degree head tube angle with a 57.5cm stack and a 38.9cm reach. It’s a relatively steep head tube angle for a gravel bike by about half a degree, and the stack height is on the taller end.
In the road position, the Echo squeezes into a tighter geometry with a 73-degree head tube angle, 100.1cm wheelbase, 39.4cm reach and 57cm stack. The 73-degree head tube angle is common on racing bikes like the Specialized Tarmac SL7 and Giant TCR, even an endurance bike like the Cannondale Synapse is close with a slightly steeper 73.1-degree angle. Stack- and reach-wise, the Echo is longer and taller than most road bikes. In this position, the chainstays are 41.5cm, a centimeter shorter than in the gravel position.
THE RIDE
We tried every variation of the Echo’s flip chips. Starting off with the gravel position, our test riders reported highly responsive handling, which is what we expected based on the steep head tube angle and overall lightweight build. It was quick to input with predictable responses. It felt aggressive for a gravel bike and eager to go fast.
Before going straight to the road position, we tried out road wheels without changing the flip chips. We set up a pair of Zipp 303S wheels with 28mm Vittoria Corsa tires. The result was similar to an endurance bike, like a Cannondale Synapse with relatively controllable relaxed handling for skinny tires.
Getting the flip chips set up in the road position proved simple. Allied uses a smart sliding mount for the brake caliper on the fork and a secondary bolt position for the rear caliper. Once loosened, you can simply flip and fit the flip chips in the dropouts with just the help of the tools Allied provides with the bike, an 8mm hex key and a 16mm wrench. The calipers required minor adjustments, but the total process took less than 15 minutes, even for our less mechanically inclined test riders.
In road mode, the Echo is not a full-on race bike, rather it’s a tame, progressive road rig with a long wheelbase that rode more like an endurance bike. This isn’t a bad thing, but it didn’t provide the high-performance handling we expected to match the aggressive gravel position. Its subdued nature is not a negative. Rather it’s in line with the compliance-focused trends many manufacturers are blending into their race bikes.
STATS
Price: $6735
Weight: 17.64 pounds
Sizes: XXS, XS, S, M (tested), L, XL
Comments are closed.