ALLIED ABLE Gravel Bike—First Impressions

Our Athletes’ Takes On Their Maiden Rides

We unveiled the brand-new ABLE gravel race bike at the Sea Otter Classic, where our ALLIED Athletes put it through the wringer in the first event of the 2025 Life Time Grand Prix. With its new frame design, lightweight chassis, and tire clearance for up to 57mm tires, how did ABLE feel ripping around Sea Otter's 90+ miles and 10,000+ feet of climbing? Our athletes, Anna Yamauchi, Maude Farrell, Michaela Thompson, Taylor Lideen, and Payton McElveen, share their first impressions of ABLE on the course.  

The beautiful challenge of the Sea Otter course—and that's entirely subjective based on pre- or post-race mentality—is its variety. Fast, dry, and snakey descents, steep 15%+ climbs, tight and sandy singletracks, windblown hillsides, and mazes of ruts give the course its legendary status. And they present a real challenge to riders for bike and gear selections. That's why we made ABLE. It takes the guesswork out of how to have your best ride in any condition.

Stable ABLE

The first goal at Sea Otter was staying out of trouble on the opening gravel descent, where Anna Yamauchi, Maude Farrell, and Michaela Thompson felt the ABLE come alive. "I had an amazing start to the race, descending at the front. My setup ate all the bumps and loose flat corners," says Anna. We agree. We tried small-tire setups during recon, and although they were functional, you couldn't beat the giddy levels of confidence ABLE unlocked on tires north of 45mm—especially on chunky, zero-camber turns.

"ABLE was at its best through the loose corners at Sea Otter… and the fast, loose descents… and the singletrack. It was so capable that I felt like I could ride it like my mountain bike." —Michaela

We designed ABLE with race-focused geo, but we all know speed needs control, and that's why we gave ABLE the capacity to manage that speed—something Tayor Lideen and Payson McElveen really praised ABLE for during Sea Otter. "This new bike really let me relax when visibility was low. The first descent was screaming fast, and the dust was wild. Thanks to the geo, tire clearance, overall comfort, and ride feel, I could ride without burning energy and stay calm in sketchy sections," said Taylor. Payson agreed that being able—some pun intended—to stay relaxed on descents is the clear advantage of the ABLE. Speed, stability, and fun… ABLE's got the hat trick on gravel.

Helium In Here?

After the screaming downhill, Sea Otter kicked over the Jack's Rd climb, followed by a long stretch of coastal headwind. ABLE in our SRAM RED XPLR AXS build checks in at 16.25 lbs; depending on your particular setup, it could be even lighter. Anna says it feels like a "lighter climbing machine" than the previous ABLE. Although cutting grams was a goal for the new ABLE—and it feels swift on steep grades—getting the best ride quality and overall capability out of the design came first. ABLE's design is our most intensive drop bar, involving no less than five material selections and countless prototypes to perfect it. In fact Payson was out riding its prototype for a full year in races before we landed on the current iteration of ABLE. Payson says, “It’s so light and snappy. It’s awesome everywhere and a huge leap forward compared to the previous model.”

"ABLE felt brilliant! Like it could do it all. It was light and capable. In the past, light bikes lacked the feeling of stability and confidence to tackle everything on gravel. Not the case with the new ABLE." —Maude

SAND TRAPS & SNAFUS

Upgraded from the previous ABLE is fully integrated cabling, which gives it a clean profile and maximizes the wind-cheating potential of aero cockpits you might be running. ABLE's ST03 stem also allows for fit adjustments without re-cabling, boosting rider ease even off the course.

Sea Otter wouldn't be Sea Otter without sand traps and singletracks. ABLE fits up to 57mm tires, and all our riders decided on at least 700x50mm up to 29x2.25" meaty tires on race day. What stood out was how fast these setups were over the course. "I loved having wider tires and not debating which tires to run because ABLE is optimized for all widths between 45mm and 57mm. When we hit the sandy bits, going fast with wide tires, handling was so easy. There were no issues," said Maude. Wide tires are also proven faster on bumpy courses, giving more volume for a softer ride and conforming to the surface instead of being bucked around by it. Smoother (and wider) is faster. We roll the cush unless the course is groomed like CO's limestone.

Unfortunately for Payson, after about halfway on the first lap, he bobbled a hand-up in the feedzone and crashed hard. Medical scans later revealed he suffered a minimally displaced fracture in his hip. A major blow to his early-season goals, it will sideline him for at least Unbound, and he knows there’s hard work ahead to recover. But he’s a master at injury recovery, and he’s hungry to get back to racing. How was Sea Otter going until his crash? “In that first hour, I couldn’t have asked for more.” We love ya man, rest up, and looking forward to your second half of the season.

HOW WIDE IS TOO WIDE?

Now, it might also raise your eyebrows to think about how 2.25s feel to race on drop bars. Taylor was a little unsure at first, too. But with the geo optimized for both narrow and wide tires, ABLE shows up no matter what you're running. "The singletrack is where it stood out the best. There wasn't a ton of it on this course, but when it showed up, I felt like I could follow wheels effortlessly and really have fun. I was a little unsure of using the 2.25s at first, thinking it might throw off the ride feel, but it was surprisingly easy to adapt to—and honestly, I love it even more now," said Taylor.

When you can run nearly any tire you want on a bike as capable as ABLE, features like ruts are less of an issue. And Sea Otter has ruts. The finishing climb to Laguna Seca is a steep stair step, sometimes narrow and always tricky. We designed ABLE to feel fast, nimble, and stable, letting you choose the best line for you in any racing situation. With wide tires and a flared bar like the ENVE SES AR on our RED build, ABLE imbues confidence. Whether ruts or something else, ABLE charges straight into it.

"This bike is going to be perfect for chunkier gravel races like RO3, Unbound, and Migration Gravel! I can't believe it didn't exist until now!" —Anna

Great racing, everyone! Looking forward to more stories from the doubletracks.

Catch our riders on ABLE at upcoming races like Rule of Three, Unbound, and Migration Gravel.

Mods To Watch For

Anna hopes to give her ABLE a gravel fork and dropper post to see what it can do on seriously demanding terrain.

Maude doesn't normally mod out her rides, but ABLE's got her mulling the endless possibilities now. Stay tuned, she could surprise us.

Michaela and Taylor are brainstorming tire combinations. With so much clearance, it's almost an MTB, so why not experiment with running big up front and small in the back? Vittoria Peyotes were definitely the tires they leaned on at Sea Otter.

Payson really wants to see just how much he can get out of (or into) the new in-frame storage. Tools were great during the race, but just what else he has planned on stashing, you’ll just have to wait and see.

GCN Takes On Sea Otter

GCN’s tech presenter, Alex Paton, climbed aboard the ABLE, too. Bike checks, race advice, and scenes from the race you don’t want to miss.