Hot off the Gravel presses (yes, it’s a thing), and just in time for the Sea Otter Classic, Alchemy Bikes announces a “dramatic reduction in the entry price” for the Lycos family of full carbon gravel bikes. The base model (non-Au) Lycos gravel bike is now priced at $4999 which is $2500 less than its initial iteration. Also, instead of waiting weeks for the previous model, these new Lycos will be ready to ship within 48 hours after ordering.
A new manufacturing partner will be fabricating the new non-Au frames outside of the U.S., using Alchemy Premium Factory Carbon. These frames will still be held to Alchemy’s precise specifications quality standards and layup schedules remaining “virtually identical to the original base models” that were previously made in-house in Boulder, Co.
Alchemy says that these new partner frames won’t sacrifice in weight, performance, or aesthetics. The Au models will continue to be entirely made in-house by hand.
New Lycos Build Options
- non-Au Frameset: $2700 (Frame, fork, and headset)
- SRAM Rival GX AXS build: $4999
- SRAM Red XPLR build: $7999
- SRAM Force XPLR build: $6499
- SRAM Force/XO1 build: $6749
- Shimano GRX Di2 build: $6499
“We’re absolutely thrilled with the original iteration of the standard Lycos, and the Au model too of course, and they’ve been extremely well received by consumers and the media alike,” says Alchemy’s founder, Ryan Cannizzaro. “But we realized we could offer the model to a much wider audience if we could find a way to lower manufacturing costs by outsourcing frames – but only if we could still use our Premium Factory Carbon, and assuming there’d be no sacrifices to the overall quality or performance. After an exhaustive process, we’re completely confident that the new frames match up in every way, and the entry price for the Lycos is considerably lower.”
How to get the new Lycos
You can order these new bikes beginning April 14th, with bikes shipping as soon as mid-May.
The new Lycos will be debuting at the Sea Otter Classic next week where we will get a closer look and report back here, so keep an eye out.
