At Interbike 2014, Denver, CO, based custom carbon fiber bike builder Alchemy introduced their “Ride DNA” semi-custom program, which offered limited tweaks to the layup of stock sized road bikes.
Now, they have a full stock offering called the Atlas, which borrows heavily from their premium Helios road bike. The Atlas is an all ’round performance road frame that comes in under 900g (claimed) and uses a new BB shell mated to a thinner seat tube for 27.2 posts. That, along with the proven Helios rear triangle, lends it the right mix of stiffness and comfort.
Tube shapes are familiar, with size specific layups coming across a range of five sizes from 52 to 60 centimeters. The tradeoff between it and the Helios is primarily the lack of customization, but you’ll save $1,500 on the frameset…
The Atlas joins the recently introduced Oros and Arktos mountain bikes in Alchemy’s stock sized lineup, along with the various steel and titanium offerings. The Atlas frameset includes an ENVE 2.0 fork and Cane Creek headset comes in at $3,999. For comparison, a full custom Helios starts at $5,499.
The frame is 100% made in house in their Denver facility, using molds made there, too. That allows them to shape each tube with the mitering and sleeves close to finished, which minimizes the overwrap and resin needed to build the frame. And that’s how it gets down to 900g or under, depending on size.
For now, the Atlas is a rim brake-only offering, but considering the Helios can be made with disc brakes and that ENVE offers disc brake road forks, we’re guessing it may be an option in the future.
