When an email landed in my inbox from UK-based sports car brand, Ariel, famous for its Atom track car and Nomad dune buggy, I thought someone had confused me for a different JC. Jeremy Clarkson and his duo of Top Gear colleagues might have been the team who introduced me to the Ariel brand, but this email was meant for me.
That's because the Somerset, England-based brand is stepping back into the world of bikes after a 92-year hiatus.
Called the Dash, the bike is launched in part as a celebration of Ariel's first-ever product, the Ariel Ordinary, a Penny Farthing that the brand claims was the world's first series production vehicle, created in 1871.
The Ariel Dash comes in two separate guises: the belt-driven Dash Urban and a Shimano-equipped Dash Adventure. Both are built around a 1.3kg frame - though the geometries differ - made from a combination of titanium and carbon fibre, using 3D-printed lugs, offering internal cable routing and a clean aesthetic.
The frames use Reynolds 6-4Ti Seamless ELI titanium tubing, which Ariel says are made by Reynolds specifically for the Dash. The tubes are joined by 3D-printed Ti-6AL-4V Grade 5 Titanium using the same machines used to construct combustion chamber components for space rockets and thrusters for satellites.
The seat tube and seatpost are carbon fibre, and give the aesthetic of a continuous tube that travels upward from the bottom bracket to the saddle clamp.
Specifications
The Dash Urban, which features Zipp's Vuka track bars up front, uses a single-speed Gates carbon belt drive. Weighing 10.9kg, it uses the Mahle X35+ power system with a 250Wh battery and 250-watt rear hub motor. It promises a range of up to 45 miles or up to 80 miles with the optional range extender.
The Dash Adventure is equipped with Shimano's 1x12 GRX mechanical groupset, offering 2x12 Mahle's X20 power system with a 236Wh battery and 250-watt motor. The Adventure promises a range of up to 50 miles, or 95 with the range extender.
Both bikes can connect to the Mahle My Smartbike app, allowing the user to configure their bike, adjust power delivery settings, record activities and install firmware updates.
Both will be fitted with Aera GR23 wheels built onto Hope RS4 hubs, although an upgrade option to the Aera AR45 carbon wheels is available. Mudguards, Tailfin luggage racks, Tailfin pannier bags, integrated Supernova lights, and a Brooks C13 saddle can also be specced as optional extras.
Price and availability
A standard-spec Dash Urban will be priced at £8,320 plus VAT (20%), which equates to £9,984. The Dash Adventure gravel bike will be priced at £9,160 plus VAT, or £10,992. No pricing information is currently available for the optional extras.
Each bike will be made to order at the Ariel factory in Crewkerne, Somerset, by a single technician, whose name will endorse the frame via a nameplate once finished. Bikes will be available to order as of June 10th, 2024, although lead times aren't yet confirmed.
Ariel's history in cycling
Following the Ordinary in 1871, the British brand continued making bicycles for over 60 years, making gents, ladies and racing cycles until 1932.
In 1873, the Ordinary - or High Wheel as it became known - was used by James Moore to set the first known Hour Record. He covered 14.5 miles around Molineux Grounds in Wolverhampton. In 1893, the record was pushed to 25 miles by J W Stocks, who later pushed it out to 32.5 miles in 1897.
In 1932, Ariel's attention turned to motorcycles, and Ariel's production of bicycles stopped. Today's launch marks the end of that 92-year hiatus.
