The Takeaway: The All-Road can conceivably tackle anything you’d care to undertake with a drop-bar bike.

  • Aluminum frame and carbon fork
  • 1 x 11-speed drivetrain
  • Can be outfitted with either 700c or 650b wheels

Price: $1,400
Weight:
22.5 lb. (M)
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State Bicycle Co. hit a sweet spot of affordability and versatility with the 6061 Black Label All-Road, an aluminum drop-bar bike that straddles the line between rugged road bike and adventurous gravel bike. It sports a traditional aesthetic that belies a modern take on what a drop-bar bike can be. Tubes are mostly round, internal cable routing is minimal, and there isn’t a plethora of eyelet mounts. There are no claims about vertical compliance engineered into the rear stays, the 1-1/8th-inch steerer tube fits most standard stems, and the aluminum stem is refreshingly standardized, fitting handlebars with a 31.8mm clamp diameter.


5 Things We Love About the State Bicycle Co. 6061 Black Label All-Road

state all road gravel bike
Big Tire Clearance

Fit up to 2.2-inch rubber on 650b wheels, or 47mm-wide tires on 700c wheels.

Dan Chabanov
state all road gravel bike
Internal Cables

Tucked inside the frame, the cables are protected from dirt and grime.

Dan Chabanov
state bicycle co black label 6061 all road
No Proprietary Parts

The standard handlebar and stem make it easy to get your fit dialed in.

Dan Chabanov
state all road gravel bike
Choice of Wheels

Select either 650b or 700c wheels for your bike. Or take both!

Dan Chabanov
state all road gravel bike
Versatile Tires

The Vittoria Terreno Dry tires have the perfect balance of trip and speed.

Dan Chabanov

State went to great lengths to carefully curate the components on the All-Road, balancing performance where it counts and filtering in off-brand parts where dollars could be shaved off the final price. The carbon fork trims weight and damps vibrations from the road and trail, Vittoria rubber is high quality, and the 47mm-wide Terreno Dry tires on my test bike were more than adequate for all the singletrack I could handle. Mechanical disc brakes aren’t as crisp or powerful as hydraulic brakes, but that’s a fair compromise to make for keeping the price as low as possible. The handlebar tape lacked padding, and nicer cables would dramatically improve braking and shifting performance. But if that’s what it takes to keep this bike under $1,400, if only by a penny, I’m okay with that. Both are easy upgrades for owners to make down the road. State also cut cost by using a house-branded seatpost, cockpit, and cranks, and no-name aluminum wheels. And although the tires are tubeless ready, the bike ships with tubes and riders must supply their own tubeless conversion kit. State did not, however, go so far as to ditch thru-axles for quick releases: yet another example of spending only where it counts.

Versatility Is the Name of the Game

True to its name, the All-Road is for the rider looking to try a little bit of everything a drop-bar bike has to offer—bike packing, trail riding, gravel racing, road riding, and maybe even the occasional cyclocross race—all while keeping the price lower than many of its competitors. It’s also part of a growing crop of bikes that allows riders the choice of either 650b or 700c wheels (or both for a $400 up-charge). Some may argue that handling compromises must be made in order to accommodate both sizes, but at this price the versatility is well worth the compromise.


State Bicycle Co. 6061 Black Label All-Road

6061 Black Label All-Road

State Bicycle Co. 6061 Black Label All-Road

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Credit: State
Pros
  • Accepts both 650b and 700c wheels
  • Uses thru-axles rather than quick-releases
  • No proprietary standards keeps things simple
Cons
  • Off-brand components aren’t as reliable as pricier name-brand options

All-Road Family

State keeps it simple (notice a theme here?) with only one option for a complete bike, although riders can choose between a Dark Woodland-colored frame that some might call a metallic forest green, with tan sidewall tires, or the fetching blue of the brand’s Deep Pacific paint scheme. Save for different colored sidewalls, both have identical builds and will set you back $1,400. If you have a particular build in mind, or aren’t inspired by the stock option, you can grab the frameset for $680.

state all road gravel bikeView 15 Images
The flared bar offers a wide grip at the drops, but I found myself wishing the hoods were spaced just as wide.
Dan Chabanov

That option was most intriguing to me, and not only for the price. After getting a taste of the All-Road’s potential, I had the strong urge to throw on a flat bar and max out the tire clearance to make it a rigid ’90s-style mountain bike with better brakes. The availability of the All-Road as a frame and the fact that there are no proprietary standards make it easy to get creative.

State Bicycle Co. 6061 Black Label All-Road Details

Style: Gravel
Material: Aluminum
Wheel Size: 650b or 700c
Fork: State Bicycle Co. Carbon Fork
Drivetrain: State 1x11-speed
Cranks: State Bicycle Co. All-Road 1 Forged 7075 Aluminum
Chainring: 40t
Cassette: 11-42
Brakes: Tektro mechanical disc brakes
Wheels: 24mm-Deep Aluminum Wheel Set, 19mm internal width
Tires: 47mm-wide Vittoria Terreno Dry (650b)
Saddle: State Bicycle Co. Black Label Saddle
Seatpost: Aluminum, 63.8mm diameter
Handlebar: State All-Road Bar, aluminum
Stem: State, aluminum
Tire Clearance: 650b x 2.2-inch or 700c x 45mm

Limited Size Options

The All-Road is available in only four sizes. State claims these limited options can accommodate folks from 5-foot-3 up to 6-foot-3. That may be true, but it can be a bit of a headache if you, like me, fall between two sizes (sometimes it happens with brands that offer far more size options than this). The fit is upright and relaxed: 381mm of reach on my medium test bike is on the short side for a bike that alleges to fit riders from 5-foot-9 up to 6-foot-1. Shorter still is the reach on the size large, the biggest option. At 383mm, it’s only 2mm longer than the medium. It could be 10mm longer and still be considered short. Stack heights run on the tall side: 572mm for the medium wouldn’t be out of place on the next size up. Tall riders who prefer a more stretched out and aggressive fit will have trouble with this bike. However, the ease with which one can change handlebar and stem sizes mitigates some of the awkward jumps in frame sizes.

state all road gravel bikeView 15 Images
Even when outfitted with 650b x 47mm tires, there’s still oodles of clearance.
Dan Chabanov

Excels in Adverse Conditions

This bike isn’t breaking any new ground. In a category that is a veritable free-for-all of bike design, open to the whims and creativity of product managers, this one falls squarely in the middle, tucked between wild, full-suspension, drop-bar designs like the Cannondale Topstone Carbon Lefty and the Niner MCR 9 RDO, and pseudo road bikes with massive tire clearance like the understated Salsa Warroad. It’s neither of those things and probably better off for it because the All-Road is functional on a wider range of terrain than the aforementioned rigs.

My initial impression as I set off through the urban jungle of Center City Philadelphia, bound for my favorite hidden paths and off-beat roads, not to mention the amazing singletrack that winds through the Wissahickon Park and Belmont Plateau, was uninspired. The bike felt somewhat sluggish, and the slower steering that’s typical of 650b wheels felt like overkill in a city environment that gives me the urge to push the limits of my handling darting across sidewalks, dodging manhole covers and traffic, and zipping into and out of small alleys and bike lanes.

state all road gravel bikeView 15 Images
State used some house-branded components to keep the price as low as possible, like these aluminum State cranks.
Dan Chabanov

But as soon as I was in the woods, the All-Road really lit up. I remember making a mental note about just how much fun it was weaving through the trees, hopping logs, throwing it into berms, and skidding around tight turns. The sluggishness I felt on pavement was replaced with steering that felt responsive and appropriate without being overly twitchy. The bike’s light and nimble personality on trails was quite a contrast to the dull feeling on pavement. However, this felt more like a consequence of its versatility rather than something overlooked by State.

Compromises have to be made somewhere, and I was happy to accept the slower pavement miles for the sake of the downright thrilling performance in the woods, where the big tires ate up roots and rocks. The relaxed front end made it feel at ease descending on choppy single- or doubletrack, and the All-Road allowed me to tackle with confidence normally reserved for the mountain bike trails where I would normally be cautious with a cyclocross bike. It turned out to be the perfect bike for mixed-terrain rides that link together a variety of different trails systems, abandoned roads with broken pavement, gravel, and even the occasional cobblestone street.

state all road gravel bikeView 15 Images
For the adventurous types, the All-Road is a super go-anywhere machine.
Dan Chabanov
Headshot of Dan Chabanov
Dan Chabanov

Test Editor Dan Chabanov got his start in cycling as a New York City bike messenger but quickly found his way into road and cyclocross racing, competing in professional cyclocross races from 2009 to 2019 and winning a Master’s National Championship title in 2018. Prior to joining Bicycling in 2021, Dan worked as part of the race organization for the Red Hook Crit, as a coach with EnduranceWERX, as well as a freelance writer and photographer.