Vielo partners with Classified to create “the ultimate modern road bike”

Is Classified about to go mainstream?

By Simon von Bromley

Published: Thursday, 20 April 2023 at 12:00 am

Vielo and Classified have joined forces to create what Vielo is calling “the ultimate modern road bike”.

Launched at this year’s Sea Otter Classic, the bike sees Vielo’s R+1 Alto frameset paired with a Classified Powershift hub gear system, with a progressive build spec including wide-ranging gears and big tubeless tyres.

The R+1 Alto is a 1x-specific road bike, which Vielo claims is 30 per cent laterally stiffer than an equivalent bike designed for use with a front derailleur.

""
The build pairs the existing Vielo R+1 Alto frameset with a Powershift-enabled Classified R50 wheelset.
Vielo

Yet while Vielo is firmly behind 1x drivetrains in isolation, it says it has nevertheless seen “increased demand” for Classified’s Powershift technology to be incorporated onto its bikes.

The Powershift hub system, which is available for road, gravel and mountain bikes, effectively replaces a front derailleur and double crankset.

Its 2-speed internal gear system enables the use of a wide range of gears with a 1x drivetrain, without the need to resort to an ultra-wide range cassette.

Vielo R+1 Alto Classified build spec and pricing

""
The wheels are shod with chunky Continental GP5000 S TR tyres.

The special-edition R+1 Alto is built with a SRAM Force AXS wireless electronic groupset, with a 48-tooth Vielo 1x chainring and a 10-36t cassette at the rear.

The Powershift hub forms part of the Classified R50 wheelset, which features 50mm-deep carbon rims. These are paired with Continental GP5000 S TR tyres, in a size 700 x 32c.

Up-front, Vielo includes its own integrated carbon handlebar with fully internal routing for the hydraulic brake hoses.

""
Vielo’s integrated handlebar offers a clean front end.
Vielo

The bike is priced at £6,999 and showcases a new paintjob called Cyan Blue, which “features a vibrant blue transition with an explosion of R+1 logos”.

If you’re looking to channel your inner Matej Mohorič, Vielo says a RockShox Reverb AXS dropper post is available as an upgrade for £650.

""
Vielo offers a dropper post upgrade option for wannabe descending demons.
Vielo

Is Classified set to go mainstream in road cycling?

This latest announcement follows Classified’s recent expansion into mountain biking, with the Powershift Boost hub, and the announcement of a partnership with Parcours, a British wheel brand.

Having originally launched in 2020 as part of the Ridley Kanzo Fast gravel bike, Classified has steadily expanded its offering and accumulated technical partners.

Partnerships with the road bike industry’s most important players (namely the major bike and component manufacturers) seem to be more notable by their absence, though.

Classified does have relationships with a few higher-profile brands, such as Ridley and Rose. However, so far, these have also only produced Classified-equipped gravel bikes.

""
Ridley and Rose have adopted Classified’s tech, but only on gravel bikes so far.
Warren Rossiter / Immediate Media

This is perhaps unsurprising, given 1x drivetrains have seen a far greater level of adoption in gravel than in road cycling.

Since Team Aqua Blue’s ill-fated season on a 1x-only 3T Strada, 1x drivetrains have been largely confined to flat time trials and road races with relatively little climbing (such as Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix) at the sport’s highest level.

While Classified’s Powershift hub appears capable of solving many of the issues those riders experienced (our in-depth review of the system is currently in progress), there are other potential hurdles still to be overcome.

""
The Vielo R+1 Alto frameset is reminiscent of the original 3T Strada.

Given how heavily the road cycling market is influenced by professional racing (see the recent proliferation of aero road bikes, disc brakes and wider tyres, for example), Classified may need to more obviously infiltrate the WorldTour peloton if it wants to secure a stronger foothold in this domain.

Many pro riders and teams will be understandably keen not to upset valuable sponsors by adopting this tech unofficially, of course.

However, Lotto–Dstny’s Victor Campenaerts has already used a Classified Powershift hub, combined with a 1x crankset on his Ridley Noah aero road bike, in certain races this season.

BikeRadar’s road and gravel presenter, Liam Cahill, was also reliably informed that Team Uno-X intends to use Classified Powershift hubs at this year’s Tour de France.

Perhaps, as Liam predicted boldly in our article on 2023 road tech trends, “world domination will surely follow” if the team is successful with this tech on the sport’s biggest stage.