Allen stripped down what was a geared Foundry Harrow not too long before his National Championship ride to win the Singlespeed National Championship on his first try. © Cyclocross Magazine
We’ve been following Foundry for a long time, from our review way back in Issue 19 of the Foundry Auger ’cross bike to our most recent issue, Issue 23, where we looked at the updated Foundry Harrow. In addition to sleek black carbon that gives it a stealthy appearance regardless of the iteration, what we noticed first was that Foundry, a QBP-owned company, was one of the first to embrace the thru-axle-on-’cross bike concept. The bikes have a winning history, as well, from Mackenzie Woodring’s win at the Barry Roubaix gravel race last year (see the bike profile of her Foundry Auger here) to Tim Allen’s singlespeed Foundry that rode him to victory at Nationals this year.
Foundry Cycles have been around since 2011, making carbon road, mountain, and cyclocross bikes in carbon from the beginning. A QBP house brand, Foundryís bikes have a decidedly understand appearance, available in a variety of colors, as long as you want black, as the old saying goes. Meant to represent more of the functional than the design side of bicycles, Foundry’s cyclocross bikes still host a bevy of features found on most of today’s wonder bikes, as well as some features that are perhaps a little more cutting edge.
While not as flashy as other brands out there, and without big-name pros racing their bikes, Foundry got some deserved notoriety at Nationals in Boulder, in the form of Tim Allen’s singlespeed championship winning bike. Allen later joked that the race predictor on USA Cycling was surprisingly accurate in his video interview here. Tim’s bike, built up—or down as the case may be—from a geared bike just before Nationals features Foundry’s disc-only Harrow frameset and a host of components hand-picked by Tim for his second singlespeed cyclocross race.
Foundry’s Harrow is a full carbon affair with by now industry “standards” such as a full carbon, tapered 1.5″ to 1 1/8″ steerer fork, a PressFit 30 bottom bracket shell, and internal cable routing. The fork also happens to feature a thru-axle set-up, designed to offer stiffer, more responsive feeling steering. Our own testing of the Foundry Harrow (in Issue 23) proved this to be true, and we’re testing the Whisky No. 9 thru-axle fork in Issue 24.
Tim had no issues piloting his Harrow to the top of the podium in Boulder, despite his use of a seeming low 36×17 gear. This gear was essentially the same as Mo Bruno-Roy’s 38×18 gear she piloted to the women’s singlespeed title, and was so much lower than second place Brady Kappius’ gear that it genuinely surprised him (stay tuned for a profile of Kappius’ Stevens singlespeed).
Allen’s 36 Spot ring put him on the podium. © Cyclocross Magazine
The carbon Whisky Co. No. 7 handlebar, Thomson stem and seatpost and Fizik saddle are relatively top-shelf items, but Allen mixes in some workhorse parts with a Shimano CX70 crankset and base model Candy 1 pedals from Crank Bros.
Allen spends a lot of time riding his singlespeed mountain bike, and after such a successful January foray into singlespeed cyclocross racing, we won’t be surprised to see him lining up in more cyclocross singlespeed races this year to show off his new jersey, and defend his title in Austin.
Tim Allen’s Foundry Harrow Bike Specs:
- Frame: Foundry Harrow cross race monocoque carbon frame, PF30 bottom bracket, tapered head tube, internal cable routing
- Fork: Whisky No. 9 carbon Disc CX, tapered carbon steerer
- Wheels: Industry 9 hubs, carbon rims, 28 spokes front and rear, alloy nipples
- Tires: Clement PDX tubulars
- Crankset: Shimano CX70
- Chainrings: Spot 36 tooth
- Brake Levers: TRP RRL
- Brakes: TRP HY/RD disc
- Bars: Whisky No. 7 carbon road bar
- Stem: Thompson Elite X2 Road
- Pedals: Crank Brothers Candy 1
- Saddle: Fizik Aliante VS
- Seatpost: Thompson Elite
- More info: foundrycycles.com
Tim Allen’s Foundry Harrow Bike Gallery:
