NAHBS’17 Part 3: Alchemy Bikes

By PEZ Crew On Mar 16, 2017

NAHBS 2017, Salt Lake City: In Part 3 of Nic Sims’ review of the North American Handmade Bike Show, he takes a close look at Alchemy Bicycles from Colorado and their Helios, Atlas and new Kratos models.

– By Nic Sims –

Colorado-based Alchemy Bicycles has built a lot of buzz around its bikes and rightfully so. They build some of the finest road, ‘cross and mountain bikes available. Their eye for craftsmanship, attention to detail and use of the latest technology, pays homage to the way frames used to be built before mass production and robots.

At NAHBS, Alchemy launched three models the Helios, Atlas and all new Kratos. The Helios on display had a clear coat that under the show lights appeared black with a reddish tint but no carbon was visible but once the bike was outside in the sun BAM!! The finish appeared a reddish candy clear and carbon weave was clearly visible. New on the Helios was the rear end, it now uses High Modulus Carbon and is built to take tires up to 30mm wide. Frames will be available in both a standard brake and flat mount disc version. Pricing starts at $4999.

The Atlas stays mainly unchanged except for increased tire clearance and the ability to choose standard of disc versions. It also took home the show award for best lay up, something they should be very pleased with, as there was some stiff competition.

The other big news was that Alchemy is one of the first companies to adopt Mavic’s new Speed Release system in their new inhouse dropouts.

SPECIFICATIONS:
•Helios: $4,999 / Helios SL: $5,499 base framesets
•Atlas: $3,999 (rim-brake frameset)•MADE IN THE USA (Denver, Colorado)
•ENVE RD Disc Fork•Flat mount, Speed Release disc available
•30mm tire clearance on disc models•Custom Ethic Paint Works paint starts at $750 for all models
•Custom paint on individual components (seatpost, stem, etc.) $100 ea.

The last bike is the Kratos this is Alchemy’s Gravel/Adventure bike, their KTM Adventure or BMW GS, It’s the do it all go any where bike. Everything about this bike screams long fun days in the saddle, the bike features bottle cages placed to accommodate half bags and specific geometry to meet the needs of today’s adventures. The show bike also had a special FOX 32 Step Cast 27.5″ chassis that has been cut down for this application.

KRATOS SPECIFICATIONS:
•$3,999 frameset•MADE IN THE USA (Denver, Colorado)
•Size-specific titanium tubes
•45mm tire clearance
•Flat mount, thru-axle rear dropouts
•31.6 seatpost offering a large diameter surface for securing heavy seat bags
•14 Ethic Paint Works color options
•ENVE CX Flat Mount Fork
•Electronic and mechanical shifting friendly
•Internal brake routing available
•Rack mounts and third bottle cage options