Titanium has long been seen as a premium bicycle frame material, and with the specialist knowledge and tools required to shape and weld Ti into bicycles, it makes sense. But there is one brand that wants to change that, and by its own admission, wants to make titanium bikes more accessible.
Despite its cult fanbase and growing popularity amongst gravel and endurance athletes, the Gloria bike brand has only been around for five years. Starting from humble beginnings, it was the brainchild of founder and owner, Carlos Ramirez, who got Gloria off the ground while also running a bike shop in Fulham.
Carlos – and Gloria – have since moved out of London as the brand’s popularity grew, as running a workshop, bike shop and bike brand became a little too much to juggle. It’s a move that has paid off and then some, as Gloria now has a neat collection of titanium bikes in its range. This includes the brand-new All Gravel, released in September.
Titanium bikes are a firm favourite among staff here at road.cc, with the material and careful geometry design offering comfort, performance, and a bike that is quite frankly timeless. Titanium bikes are known for their longevity, and while they might not often beat carbon fibre in terms of weight, the overall benefits can outweigh (literally and figuratively) other frame materials.
A gravel bike designed and tested in the UK
Interestingly, Gloria has a pretty diverse portfolio of offerings, from the All Road Ti bike, to the All Terrain titanium hardtail. But the most recent bike, the All Gravel, sticks with the simple and timeless Gloria design that fans know and love, but with a little bit of ruggedness and extra capability.
And, with it being designed and tested in the UK, riders can feel somewhat comforted that it’s not a gravel bike that’s only been ridden on champagne gravel in California or Girona. It’s tackled typical rutted, rocky and muddy bridleways in the UK, but looks to find the balance between capability and all-day comfort.
Gravel as a concept is quite an interesting one, as it’s quite difficult to define. Some gravel bikes do embrace technology like gravel-specific suspension forks, dropper posts or mountain bike-width tyres, but the All Gravel isn’t designed to follow a fad. Instead, it’s an adaptable, but functional bike that looks to be pretty future proof.
A timeless design, with modern touches
Gloria is also one of the few brands still to offer a lifetime warranty on its titanium bike frames. Although this was the norm until a few years ago, several big name brands have reduced the warranty to several years rather than lifetime.
Looking at the All Gravel from a rider’s and mechanic’s perspective, it’s easy to see why the brand has made certain decisions. Instead of following trends, Gloria has gone with a BSA threaded bottom bracket. The bike is optimised for 700 x 50mm tyres, but can take up to 29 x 2.1in.
It features a UDH hanger, which again future proofs it against whatever interesting standard the industry comes up with in the next few years. And, the cable routing can be internal or external.
Geometry-wise, there are six size options, from 49cm to 60cm frames. A 71.5 degree head tube angle and 74 degree seat tube angle looks to offer a ride that balances off-road stability with on-road comfort and performance.
But Gloria’s bikes go beyond off-the-shelf, and add plenty of customisation to the buying process so that riders can feel like they own a truly unique piece. From colourful accents like seat clamps, stems, headsets etc., to building the spec level you want, each bike is created for the individual. It’s as close to bespoke as you can get without paying a premium for a specialist bike builder.
Celebrating every ride
The All Gravel isn’t necessarily all about ‘performance’, and neither is Gloria. Carlos wants to bring titanium to a wider audience, and his brand does this by keeping things simple focusing on proven designs and smart, efficient development rather than constant reinvention.
That doesn’t mean you can’t indulge in a little flamboyance, however. If a RockShox Rudy suspension gravel fork is on your wishlist, then you can customise your build to include this.
Equally, dropper posts or electronic gears are also available to choose. The beauty of a smaller brand is that customisation is available.
An All Gravel frameset sets you back £1,499, and full builds start at £2,999. For a small company that doesn’t have the economies of scale that larger brands do, those prices are very attractive.
Beyond cost, what might draw people towards Gloria bikes is the ethos, the passion the company has about getting more people on bikes, and celebrating every day adventures.
There is certainly a place for ultra-racing or mega bikepacking adventures, but equally, an hour’s spin up to the top of your favourite hill where you sit down and enjoy a coffee is worth just as much enjoyment – and that’s what bikes should be about… enjoyment! Not everything has to be performance-oriented, but every ride should be enjoyed.
What does the future hold for Gloria? Continuing to build on its current portfolio, but only introducing new models when there is a genuine need to do so. In a world where it feels like many brands offer nothing but a new colourway for each model year, it’s refreshing to see a company take this approach.
The All-Gravel bike is available to pre-order from the Gloria website, with the option to buy a frame, frameset, or a fully built bike. Head to gloriacycling.com now.
1 thought on “From All Road to All Terrain, Gloria’s attainable range brings titanium bikes to a wider audience”
I seriously considered a
I seriously considered a Gloria All Road this year. My bikes were stolen and I spent a good amount of time with Carlos in the phone – a great guy.
They look great as a spec/price balance. In the end I opted for the Mason Bokeh has the brand had a little bit more history/it was easy for me to research more. I was also blown away about the levels of engineering to fine tune the alumnium frame. Also, I’ve had titanium before and wanted something new.
It’s a shame – I’d love to have both.