In-depth Alchemy Atlas Review (Best Carbon Fiber Road Bike?)

Your search for the World’s best carbon fiber road bike may have just ended.

Boutique bike company, Alchemy Bikes, have been designing and hand-building some of the most beautifully crafted bicycles to be found anywhere in the world. And they’ve been doing it since 2008 from their home base in the foothills of the Rocky Mountain National Park.

The team at Alchemy has made it their sole mission to create the most awesome-riding and jaw-droppingly performing bikes to be found on the planet. And, with the Atlas, they’ve achieved that goal with room to spare.

This is a road bike that will take you up steep mountains with ease before transitioning to smooth and fast-flowing descents. It’s a confident and self-assured machine that that will make you the envy of the peloton.

The Atlas is the stuff of dreams. It’s a work of art from its gorgeously flowing carbon frame to its stunning hand-painted finish.

But has it got the specification to match that beauty?

Short Answer? Yes. Longer answer? Yes, yes, yes! Let’s take a look and see why.

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The details

In the Atlas range, there are five models to choose from, plus an option to buy just the frame.

In each section below you’ll find the geometry and full specifications for each of these models. Just click the tabs on each model to see these.

Because Alchemy hand-build all their bikes, you have the option to get a number of bespoke features built in at no extra charge on your Atlas. These include:

Handlebar width
Stem length
Seat post offset
Crank length
Gearing

Take a look at the full range of custom options here.

It’s fair to say that the team at Alchemy goes above-and-beyond to create a bike that fits you perfectly.

Ready to feast your eyes on some of the most stunning road bikes?

Let’s take a look.

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Review

Alchemy say that their mantra is “No Shortcuts Accepted” and it’s clear to see that they stand by that with the Atlas.

Do you know how carbon fiber frames are made? This is how Alchemy does it:

First up, they’re one of the US bike manufacturers that actually makes their own carbon fiber tube. The initial design is created on a 3D-modeling CAD program, then transferred to a CNC machine for cutting. The sheets of carbon fiber are then individually cut out and there can be up to 500 of them in a typical Atlas frame. Some of these are used to create the tubing, which is then mitered, butted together, and overwrapped with other carbon fiber sheets. Creating the strength with the lightness.

All of this is done in-house by Alchemy craftsmen and has won them multiple awards at the North American Handmade Bike Show for Best Carbon Bicycle and Best Carbon Layup.

Wow.

There are so many features on the Atlas that really set it apart from other road bikes.

If you take an up-close look at the downtube and top tube you’ll see that these flare beautifully. The downtube seems to melt into the bottom bracket and the top tube blends front and back. Features like this not only look stunning, but they add high levels of stiffness and responsiveness to a bike frame that is both supremely comfortable and totally capable.

Alchemy not only claim to do it all in-house, they actually do. To the extent that they even have their own in-house finishing team, known as Ethic Paint Works. These guys will literally make your new bike glow.

The finish they achieve on Alchemy bikes has to be seen to be believed. Until your new bike arrives, take a look at the images on their website and you’ll see just what lengths they go to. There are no decals to be seen here. Instead, there’s meticulous taping of various sections of the frame for each new paint layer. Paint is applied (by hand, naturally) layer upon layer until the finished bike is revealed in all its glory.

There are a couple of features common to all Alchemy bikes that you won’t actually see on any Alchemy bikes. Their ‘cooling off’ period and financing options.

Alchemy wants to make it easy for you to buy their gorgeous creations, so they offer a guarantee that if after 2 weeks you decide you’re not 100% satisfied then you can return the bike no questions asked. See their website for more details.

They’ve also joined forces with Bread to give a range of finance options so you can buy your bike now and pay it off over time. There’s more information on this here.

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Conclusion

Is the Alchemy Atlas the best carbon road bike in the world? Yes, I think it is.

With the end-to-end, design to finishing process that Alchemy uses to create their bikes, they’ve managed to realize a dream with the Atlas and create the bike of your dreams.

A carbon frame road bike is amazing and the Atlas stands head and shoulders above the rest of the pack.

The hard part? Well, now you need to decide which of the seven models you’re going to choose.

Good luck and enjoy the journey.

For more info head to Alchemy Bicycles and choose your dream carbon road bike