We lost a good brand last year. All-City Cycles’ parent company, Quality Bicycle Products, announced they’d be closing down the brand in 2024. After a heartfelt outpouring here on The Radavist, John penned an homage to the brand vis-à-vis some abstract photos of the All-City Cycles Cosmic Stallion Titanium and includes a note from Saisha Harris, All-City’s creative director, and final closing thoughts by Jeff Frane, the brand’s founder. Read on for this fond farewell…
Final Ascent
I don’t know if there is a Gravel Heaven, but if there is, All-City is there.
The brand began as an urban-centric platform providing affordable single-speed accessories and, eventually, bikes but quickly blossomed into one of the pioneering gravel brands. What started as a bike-messenger #partybrand became the #gravelbrand. All-City’s catalog over the years included cantilever bikes, disc brakes, steel frames, steel forks, carbon forks, fat tires, skinny tires, flat bars, drop bars, and snazzy paint jobs. Whether inspired by some of the most iconic road racing teams or those wild 1990s paint jobs, All-City produced some of the best paint designs out of any mass-produced bike brand.
As a final departure gift to its fans, All-City launched the last new product last year. The Cosmic Stallion Titanium ($3,299) represents one of those iconic paint jobs. A purple to blue ombre fade with a sparkle clear coat, sprayed over the frame with sharp chevrons exposing raw titanium. When I got this bike to use on this homage piece–in the spirit of the old All-City product announcements I used to do here at The Radavist–it struck me as one of the nicest-looking bikes the brand has produced.
The Cosmic Stallion Titanium feels like All-City is in its final form, reaching immortality.
These titanium frames are made in Taiwan at a factory long used by QBP brands. The frame’s clearances are modest by today’s gravel bike standards, with space for a 45 mm 700 c tire or a 42 mm 650 b; they have internal porting, 3D-printed dropouts, clean welds, and a Whiskey No.9 CX Disc 12 carbon fork.
All-City produced these frames from its proprietary blend of 3/2.5 titanium tubes, which it calls “Oberon Titanium.” These frames save 3/4 of a pound from the Cosmic Stallion Steel and possess the nice, smooth qualities titanium is known for.
Designed for lightweight touring, the Cosmic Stallion Titanium has both rack and fender mounts, and the fork has cargo cages. The Cosmic Stallion Titanium is the final new product launch for All-City and a lot of emotional energy went into it.
When I started digging into this piece, I had a conversation with Tim Simundza from QBP to clarify some points:
“This (All-City Cycles Cosmic Stallion Titanium) is our last NEW product launch. We will have (replenishment) products showing up at retailers over the next 12-18 months, and then once retailers sell out, we’ll (QBP) will be around for any and all warranty related items.”
That means these Cosmic Stallion Titanium frames are the last new products to be released under the All-City banner.
Final words like this about a brand that blossomed along with The Radavist over the past fifteen years made me sad. Just like that, a metal bike brand had closed. I’m not exaggerating when I say that my heart was broken. All-City brought a fun vibe to the bike industry that consistently feels like it misses the point. It brought community, a loyal fanbase, and bikes that will last for decades to come.
Sure, Fast is Forever, but All-City encouraged riders of all pedigrees to simply enjoy riding bikes. It’s perhaps this point that made me so wrought over the announcement.
The bike industry often perpetuates this notion that we, cyclists, have to look and ride like professional athletes. So, anytime there is a brand that embraces slow miles and gettin’ weird in the woods, it gives me hope. Hope that people will throw their legs around a bike for the first time, fall in love with the freedom it provides, and simply enjoy the unique scale of movement it offers.
Was I mourning? What do people do in mourning? They pray to a divine spirit or meditate. Should I pray to the Gravel Gods and make sure All-City passes safely to Gravel Heaven?
Please join me in a prayer to the Gravel Gods:
“Our dusty legs drop in prayer.
Our salt-caked faces look forward and stare.
To the setting sun at the end of the road.
Will our beloved brand still be there?
Oh Gravel Gods take our hands.
Deliver us to the promised lands.
Where dirt roads never end…
… there you will find the #PartyBrand”
A Note From All-City’s Creative Director, Saisha Harris
They say to leave the party when you’re still having fun…
After 15 wonderful years, All-City production is winding down. I am, as they say, one of the last men standing, looking over a legacy and trying to do some justice to what we’ve created. It’s difficult to summarize, but I’ll do my best.
All-City was born from passion and purpose to support the urban cycling community and perpetuate a legacy of stellar bike-craft and rebellious spirit. A glimmer in Jeff Frane’s (Wilde Bikes) eye, grew to become an industry institution of riders, tastemakers and good-time seekers.
All of this magic was fostered by the talented business, product, sales, marketing, purchasing, and distribution folk at QBP who’ve carried the brand thus far. There are too many to mention, but you know who you are.
We can’t forget our bike builders, painters, and manufacturers: true craftspeople, the mess fam, the race teams, our amazing distributors, and shop partners – thank you for believing in us and supporting our mission. To the riders: keep #partybrand alive. Remember fast IS forever. While this party might be over, we will never forget the good times and we’ll never stop looking for more. See ya out there.
A Final Farewell from Jeff Frane, All-City’s Founder
It’s hard to know what to say that hasn’t been said… If it looked like we were having the most fun, that’s because we truly were. Our jobs were to play, and design bikes, the kind of bikes we always wished existed, and the joy that came from that absurdity seldom left us. Better yet, the rate at which we met amazing human beings was absolutely astounding, from the riders, to the bike shop folks, to our international distributors, we were given a worldwide welcome and were allowed to feel at home no matter where we traveled.
I was lucky enough to be part of the team at All-City for the first eleven years, and without a trace of irony, I can honestly say that it was a dream come true. I will always be incredibly proud of the things that the team at All-City accomplished during that tenure. We used the resources available as part of a large corporation to support the non-traditional cycling community and built one of the more inclusive and interesting brands in the industry. We made some classic bikes too.
Perhaps most importantly to the work, we always tried as hard as we could and consistently prioritized what was right instead of what was easy. That’s a heck of a legacy in my book. Cheers to my teammates, the dealers, bicycle media, and the riders. Thank you for the love and support over the years, you were always the best part.
Rest easy old friend, you will be reborn in legend.
Jeff Frane – All-City (2008 – 2019)
From everyone at The Radavist, we’d like to celebrate what a bicycle brand achieved in fifteen years. Take some time to flip through our archive galleries that represent a part of what All-City and The Radavist achieved in that time!