This soon-to-be-released Ribble Allroad Ti Prototype is all about sleek

This year’s Rouleur live was packed with stunning new bikes, and Ribble had quite a few showstoppers parked on its stand at the premium bike show hosted at London’s Truman Brewery. This time, one of the custom creations the British brand had on show was this Allroad Ti Prototype, a titanium road bike that, as the name suggests, is still in its prototype stage. Likely to hit the markets early next year, it certainly looks very nice, so we’ve taken a look at the details. 

Talking to Ribble’s head of product Jamie Burrow at Rouleur, he said that the Ti Prototype is the first one in the brand’s upcoming, broader range refresh. It’s also a bike that attracted a lot of attention from the staff members at Ribble, Burrow said, telling how they all stopped to admire the bike’s sleek looks. 

> Best titanium road bikes 2024

As the name suggests, the all-new Allroad is made with a 3al/2.5v titanium frame using 3D-printed additive-manufactured head-tube and seat-tube clusters. Burrow explained how this allowed Ribble to deviate from the traditional round tube shape and create a more aerodynamic frame. 

“You can put your stress points anywhere you want when 3D-printing. It’s also been really helpful for internal cable routing – inside this headtube it’s all open so you won’t be getting cables cut up,” he said. 

The frame is not the only prototype on this bike. The handlebar is also a prototype that will feature across the new range as an option. Dubbed the Ribble RS-2 Prototype and Ribble UB-2 Prototype carbon aero handlebar, Burrow explained that the setup is basically a two-piece version of the Ultra bar, which was introduced on the brand’s most aero-orientated road bikes back in 2021. 

“We wanted to be able to use the technology [of the aero bars] elsewhere so the obvious next step was to make it a two-piece handlebar. At the same time, this offers more customisation options for fit”, said Burrow. 

The frame is ‘brush finished’ with an ‘Ice Marble’ fork and cockpit, completed with Ice Blue etched logo and embossed head badge. The build kit is top-end stuff; the groupset is Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 2 x 12, and the brake callipers are Hope RX4+ paired with Hope road rotors.

The wheels are also from Hope. The RD40 Carbon rims are laced with beautifully purple Pro5 hubs. The rims are wrapped in Pirelli Cinturato Gravel H Classic tyres in a 35mm width, and the bike is finished with a LEVEL 3 carbon seatpost and Selle Italia SLR Boost 3D Kit Carbonio Superflow 3D-printed saddle. 

One last thing about the technical details – Burrow confirmed that the bike is moving to use a T47 bottom bracket instead of a BSA one, to help with internal cable routing and provide more stiffness. 

If you fancy getting one of these bikes, keep your eyes peeled for when it hits the market. Let us know in the comments what you think of this look! 

For more cool-looking bikes, check out our past Bike at Bedtime features.