The Pipedream Cycles Alice frame and fork is a do-it-all adventure bike - a master of some while surprisingly capable overall. It's a long-distance off-road bike, with a firm bias to bikepacking and gravel riding - but can handle a wide range of other duties with ease, too.
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Pipedream Cycles Alice frame and fork - design and geometry
All-purpose Lightweight Individual Carrying Equipment. That’s what the acronym stands for - sure, it's a bit of a mouthful but it gives the bike an interesting name. It’s an updated model, with a revised geometry that comprises a slightly slacker head tube and steeper seat tube angle, and is now dropper post compatible.
Starting at the front, a 69-degree head tube angle gives the bike a sturdy-looking stance. The 44mm internal head tube is compatible with both tapered or straight fork steerers. The seat tube sits at 74-degrees with a 403mm reach on a Large frame (as tested).
The main triangle of the ALICE is made from CrMo 4130 heat-treated tubing. Pipedream uses a quad-butted top tube and triple-butted down tube, which is also asymmetric in cross-section at the head tube junction, being thicker on the underside and thinner on the top.’
This butting reduces weight and helps with the ride feel and overall compliance. All the other tubes are standard, with the frame able to clear tyre widths of up to 2.4in (2.1in is recommended).
The main triangle of the bike is made from CrMo 4130 heat-treated tubing. The top tube is ovalised slightly, which Pipedream claims adds some ‘vertical compliance and shouldering comfort’. The finish of the welds are tidy, and everything is neat and considered - sharing an aesthetic with the Pipedream Cycles Full Moxie we tested last year.
It's also got an adjustable dropout linkage that splits, which gives the option of running several drivetrain options (singlespeed or a Gates Carbon Drive) not to mention altering the chainstay length. You've also got the option of using post-mount- or flat-mount brakes. Three sets of bottle bosses are on the frame, in all frame sizes.
The Alice employs a proprietary fork, developed using an in-house mould and layup. The carbon version (pictured here) has a 42mm offset, and takes a 100x15 axle. It can fit a 29 x 2.8in (27.5 x 2.8in) tyre, and has multiple bosses for attaching cages and accessories.
The are three colours available: British Racing Green, Wonderland Blue and Desert (tested). The paint is well applied and consistent and comes treated with ED surface protection.
Our Alice test bike came outfitted in a Shimano GRX 11-speed groupset, with a single 40T chainring up front paired to 11-42T cassette at the rear. The finishing kit utilises a FUNN seatpost, bar and stem while the unsprung componentry comprises a Pacenti PI25-END wheelset shod with Hutchinson Kraken tyres. All in, the bike weighed 11.74kg (frame 2.5kg, fork 600g). This build felt appropriate for all intents and purposes, with a strong bias towards tougher, off-road kit.
Pipedream Cycles Alice frame and fork - riding experience
At 5’10ish, I felt the frame was a little on the larger side. Pipedream says the Large is aimed at riders between 5’10-6’2” and the Medium at 5’6”-5’10”, which means I fall between sizes. That said, to help my fit, I substituted the supplied 90mm stem for a shorter 75mm option, this was in part to the bar that supplied being 500mm wide, making the bike feel a lot longer and wider, generally stretching me out too much.
The shorter stem helped it feel more fitted for my height, as mentioned, I fall between the sizes. I have long arms, and shorter legs, so the frame didn’t feel too long, but the standover on the top tube felt closer than most bikes I would ride.
The Alice frame and fork feels sturdy, planted and dependable. While it certainly isn't a fast-accelerating machine, its bigger tyres, and all-round weight don’t reference speed but it’s not as sluggish as the looks might suggest either.
It’s happy on rougher terrain, where the neutral riding position manages to hold momentum with ease. It's got what I call a 'sit-up-and-spin, rather than a head-down road bike position' which doesn't hinder progress on the climbs - regardless of whether you're in or out of the saddle.
The neutral ride feel is a positive attribute. Despite its rather unassuming facade it's actually a great bike to ride. The carbon fork is comfortable, tracks well and has great mud clearance.
The wide, flared drop bars make it easy to descend more technical mountain-bike-type trails. Being rigid, it’s always going to feel harder on your arms and legs, but with the larger-volume tyres, it has a 90s mountain bike vibe about it - just with vastly improved grip and decent brakes.
The Alice descended with confidence - in part due to the component choices, bar, larger volume tyres and comfortable but accurate tracking fork - but also as the position in the drops was stable, owing to the longer wheelbase, and the relaxed head angle. The shorter stem also made the steering a little quicker and helped with introducing a more upright riding position, which helped with comfort when fully laden.
The Alice is more at home on longer distances and varied terrain, think big adventures, long distances on rougher terrain or just bad roads. It has all the attributes that adventure riders are looking for. Easily repairable steel frame if things get a bit out of hand, external cable routing for simple adjustments and replacements and mounting bosses aplenty on both frame and fork.
The upright position and wide bar put your weight centrally over the frame, more in the bike than perched on top and deliver great all-round visibility for excellent trail riding and panoramic views. Tucked in the drops, especially with this wider bar, there is a feeling of stability and control.
The Alice is happy knocking around singletrack with minimal loads with a more pronounced and dynamic ride feel from the steel tubing. When loaded it becomes steadier, and calmer, and it’s sure-footed characteristic comes to the fore providing assurance to the all-round riding experience.
The butted-steel tubing, bigger tyres and carbon fork are three factors that help make the Alice comfortable on longer rides. While not groundbreaking by any means on the tech front, its strength lies in its ability to do a lot of things very well.
Pipedream Cycles Alice frame and fork - verdict
The Alice frame and fork is a great template to build up a bike for handling a range of riding requirements. Commuter with off-road ability? Yep. Gravel bike for long miles? Yep. Long-distance off-road tourer? Yep. You get the idea.
Alice is definitely in the upper echelons of the adventure bike category - it can do long and loaded type rides and the more engaging side comes out when unladen.
The Alice shows different traits depending on the situation - it’s balanced when loaded, comfortable due to the steel frame, the larger volume tyres and the carbon fork - and when in minimal or zero load mode, it’s engaging but remains dependable. Although it doesn’t have the spring of a custom steel frameset, the butting and geometry offer that unique steel ride.
It goes up against some stiff competition, and my first comparison was to the Fearless Warlock, which is of similar ilk but a little cheaper. The Alice trumps it for me with more tyre clearance and a more off-road focussed geometry. Going up a notch in price is the Mason In SearchOf, which is more refined and has better off-road credentials. Then there’s the Fairlight Faran 2.0 and Fairlight Secan which retail for £949 and £1,399, respectively.
Without any snazzy marketing hype, the Alice makes a convincing case for itself and does exactly what it says on the tin - it's one of the better adventure bikes out there.
