This year, I’ve been riding an All-City Mr Pink Classic frameset, meticulously built to my personal specifications, and it has truly redefined my understanding of what an All City Bike can be.
Having logged approximately 1,800km on this remarkable machine, and after a few minor tweaks and upgrades, I’m convinced that the Mr Pink Classic might just be the perfect all city bike for the vast majority of my cycling adventures.
All-City Mr Pink Classic Long-Term Review: Update #1
It’s been a quick six weeks since my last update on this long-term review, and in that time, my focus has remained squarely on enjoying the ride of my beloved Mr Pink all city bike.
The fit adjustments are now dialed in perfectly, and I’m eagerly anticipating the arrival of some new, lightweight finishing kit to further enhance its performance.
Aside from these minor refinements, the only noteworthy development since my last update was addressing a warranty issue with my Halo dynamo wheel.
SP Dynamo Hub for All City Bike
Bearing durability issues affected a limited batch of SP hubs used in all city bikes. Image: Jack Luke / Immediate Media
These wheels, crucial for any serious all city bike enthusiast needing reliable lighting, are built around SP hubs, components renowned for their quality and performance. However, a quick online search reveals that a small number of these hubs experienced bearing durability problems.
Because these hubs aren’t designed for user servicing—requiring specialized splitting of the hub—they needed to be returned to SP or their distributors for professional repair.
All-City Mr Pink All City Bike Wheel Repair
My All-City Mr Pink all city bike was briefly out of commission while awaiting the wheel repair. Image: Jack Luke / Immediate Media
Halo’s UK distributor, ISON, efficiently managed the issue, ensuring a swift repair and return of the wheel, now running smoother than ever. It’s important to highlight the speed and quality of service provided by ISON, assuring customers of similar support should they encounter any issues with their all city bike components.
As a helpful note for all city bike riders, ISON offers replacement hubs for £25 for SP hubs older than two years, beyond SP’s warranty period. A wheel rebuild charge may apply in addition to this.
Beyond this minor hiccup, the Mr Pink all city bike has performed flawlessly, perfectly aligning with its intended purpose as a dependable and enjoyable daily ride. It consistently meets all my expectations for a robust and versatile all city bike.
All-City Mr Pink Classic: Specifications and Build Details for an Ideal All City Bike
All City Mr Pink 105 Groupset All City Bike Build
My initial setup of the All-City Mr Pink all city bike, featuring a 105 groupset and White Industries components. Image: Jack Luke / Immediate Media
The Mr Pink Classic is offered by All-City as both a frameset and a complete bike, catering to various preferences for an all city bike. A carbon fork version is also available as a frameset or complete build, providing options for different riding styles within the all city bike category. Explore the carbon fork version review here.
All City Mr Pink Classic Steel Frameset for All City Bike Build
All-City’s reintroduced classic, steel-forked Mr Pink frameset, perfect for an all city bike build. Image: Jack Luke / Immediate Media
I chose the classic frameset specifically to create a custom all city bike tailored to my exact needs. Detailed frameset specifications are available in my original first look article.
My decision to build this bike from the ground up stemmed from a desire to create a very specific type of all city bike: one equipped with fenders, dynamo lighting, ultra-compact gearing, and the capability for long-distance rides and nimble city navigation. A standard stock build simply couldn’t fulfill these specialized requirements for my ideal all city bike.
Furthermore, the process of meticulously selecting each component for an all city bike build is a source of immense satisfaction. Give me a new frameset, the right tools, and a good podcast, and I am in my element, crafting the perfect all city bike.
For the groupset, aiming for reliability and performance synonymous with a great all city bike, I selected a Shimano 105 R7000 drivetrain.
White Industries R30 Cranks for Custom All City Bike
White Industries’ VBC system allows for chainrings with up to a 28t difference, ideal for customizing an all city bike. Image: Jack Luke / Immediate Media
However, deviating slightly from the budget-conscious approach typically associated with all city bikes, I incorporated my high-end White Industries R30 cranks, previously used on my Velo Orange Pass Hunter test bike.
While Shimano 105 cranks are undoubtedly excellent, I felt that their aesthetic didn’t quite complement the classic look of a steel-framed all city bike as well as the White Industries cranks.
White Industries’ Variable Bolt Circle (VBC) system provides versatile gearing options that are not possible with Shimano’s proprietary bolt circle diameter, adding to the customization potential of this all city bike.
To fully utilize the Mr Pink’s generous tire clearance, essential for a comfortable all city bike, I replaced the stock Shimano brakes with more accommodating Velo Orange Grand Cru Long Reach brakes, specified to handle tires up to 35mm wide.
Velo Orange also provided their 45mm wide hammered mudguards. Based on past experience, these are, in my opinion, the best mudguards available for the price, crucial for an all-weather all city bike.
For the finishing kit, simplicity and reliability were key for this all city bike build. I opted for Thomson Elite components throughout, known for their exceptional quality, wide range of sizes, and understated branding, making them a popular choice for discerning cyclists.
The Brooks Cambium saddle was a late addition, chosen to enhance the aesthetic of the bike. Its performance and comfort will be discussed later in this all city bike review.
Halo, the in-house wheel brand of All-City’s UK distributor, supplied the wheels, with the front laced to a Shutter Precision SV-9 dynamo hub. Initially, these were fitted with Challenge Paris-Roubaix 28mm tires.
All-City Mr Pink Classic Full Specification for an All City Bike
- Sizes (*tested): 46, 49, 52, 55, 55*, 58, 61cm.
- Weight: Weight unspecified in original article.
- Frameset: Columbus Zona frame and fork – ideal for a responsive all city bike.
- Shifters: Shimano 105 R7000 – reliable and efficient for all city bike use.
- Derailleurs: Shimano 105 R7000 – smooth and dependable for an all city bike.
- Cranks: White Industries R30 48/32 – premium and versatile for an all city bike.
- Wheelset: Halo dynamo wheels – robust and practical for an all city bike.
- Tyres: Challenge Paris-Roubaix – initially chosen, later swapped for winter conditions on this all city bike.
- Brakes: Velo Orange Grand Cru long reach – essential for wider tyres on an all city bike.
- Bar: Thomson alloy drop bars, 42cm – quality and comfortable for an all city bike.
- Stem: Thomson Elite, 100mm – dependable and stylish for an all city bike.
- Seatpost: Thomson Elite inline – strong and reliable for an all city bike.
- Saddle: Brooks Cambium C15 – comfortable and durable for an all city bike.
All-City Mr Pink Classic Geometry: Optimized for All City Riding
- Head angle: 73 degrees – balanced handling for an all city bike.
- Seat angle: 73.7 degrees – efficient pedaling for an all city bike.
- Chainstay: 415mm – nimble and responsive for city streets.
- Seat tube: 550cm – size specific, check your fit for your all city bike.
- Top tube: 560mm – size specific, check your fit for your all city bike.
- Head tube: 165mm – size specific, check your fit for your all city bike.
- Bottom bracket drop: 70mm – stable and planted feel for an all city bike.
- Wheelbase: 999.9mm – stable and predictable for an all city bike.
- Stack: 583.4mm – size specific, check your fit for your all city bike.
- Reach: 389.4mm – size specific, check your fit for your all city bike.
Why Choose This Bike as Your Next All City Bike?
When I started looking for a new bike, my goal was to find a durable, versatile frameset that could handle winter conditions and beyond – essentially, the ideal all city bike.
This meant prioritizing generous tire clearances, external cable routing, a reliable threaded bottom bracket, and crucially, mudguard mounts. In my view, any road bike intended for UK conditions—or any environment with variable weather—is incomplete without mudguards, making them essential for a practical all city bike.
Frame material was also a consideration. Steel, undeniably the most visually appealing frame material on social media, became the natural choice. After all, if your bike photos aren’t getting likes, are you even riding? (Just kidding… mostly!) But seriously, steel adds a classic aesthetic to an all city bike.
Joking aside, carbon or aluminum could have worked, but this bike was destined for daily use and potential rough treatment, and steel provides superior durability and resilience, making it perfect for a robust all city bike.
The choice between rim and disc brakes was more complex for this all city bike build.
Disc brakes offer numerous advantages, especially in wet conditions. They also generally provide more tire and mudguard clearance. And contrary to some opinions, maintaining disc brakes isn’t necessarily more complicated than rim brakes.
However, the key advantage of rim brakes, for my needs, is the ease of managing pad contamination and pad life.
During winter, bike cleaning is often minimal and infrequent. Time is limited, and there are more appealing ways to spend it than scrubbing a bike in the cold after every ride. This less-than-thorough approach would likely lead to frequent contamination of disc pads.
Additionally, on very dirty, long rides, it’s not uncommon to wear through a significant portion of a set of disc pads. The ability to quickly open a rim brake caliper and stop that constant grinding noise is a major benefit for me. This ease of maintenance is a practical advantage for an all city bike.
There’s also the argument that steel disc forks must be overbuilt compared to rim brake forks to meet safety standards, potentially resulting in a harsher ride. I was curious to see if this held true and how it would affect the ride quality of this all city bike.
Finally, as rim brakes become increasingly less common, their niche appeal resonated with my desire for a slightly less mainstream all city bike.
All-City Mr Pink Classic Initial Setup: Ready to Ride as an All City Bike
Because I meticulously assembled the Mr Pink to my own exacting standards, it was practically perfect right from the start as an all city bike. The inclusion of down-tube barrel adjusters also makes on-the-fly adjustments to cable tension incredibly easy, a practical feature for any all city bike.
Similarly, because I built it myself, the initial fit was nearly spot-on.
On a surprising note, I was very impressed with the Brooks Cambium saddle. It provides exceptional comfort, with a hammock-like flex that offers noticeable shock absorption, enhancing the ride quality of this all city bike.
All-City Mr Pink Classic Ride Impressions: A Classic All City Bike Experience
The best way to describe the ride quality of the All-City Mr Pink Classic is, aptly, classic. It rides precisely as you’d expect from a steel road bike with slender tubing and traditional geometry – a quintessential all city bike feel. It delivers a pleasantly smooth, bump-absorbing ride and handles with relative agility.
While I’ve pushed hard on this bike, you can observe the tires and fork flexing under power. It’s not a sluggish ride, but it’s definitely not an ultra-stiff, maximum-wattage road racing machine either. This balance is ideal for an all city bike.
For long rides or leisurely outings, this translates to a remarkably comfortable, fatigue-reducing experience, leaving you feeling fresher compared to a jarringly stiff bike. The relatively upright riding position further contributes to this comfort, perfect for an all city bike.
Compared to the Velo Orange Pass Hunter, which also had a lugged steel fork, the All-City’s fork exhibits more flex. This, again, enhances ride comfort, a key consideration for an all city bike.
Currently, I’m using a 48/34t chainring combination with an 11-28t cassette, which is nearly ideal for my riding style. I primarily use the outer chainring, effectively treating it like a 1x drivetrain, with the inner ring as a bailout gear for steeper climbs. This gearing setup works well for an all city bike.
I might switch to a slightly smaller inner chainring for extended hilly rides in the summer, but for now, I’m more than satisfied with the current setup for this all city bike.
The Challenge tires that were initially fitted were fantastic summer tires, offering great performance and reliability. However, in their worn condition, they proved unsuitable for winter riding.
Punctures became frequent, leading me to replace them with tubeless WTB Exposure 30mm tires, which have been excellent so far, proving their worth for an all-weather all city bike.
I’m a strong advocate for dynamo lights and have been using my Exposure Revo dynamo light with great success for years. This light is now mounted on the All-City, and while I’m always curious to try new gear, I remain completely satisfied with its performance as part of my all city bike setup.
All-City Mr Pink Classic Upgrades: Enhancing an Already Great All City Bike
WTB’s Exposure tires have significantly impressed me on this all city bike. Image: Andy Lloyd
Keen observers will notice several upgrades in the lead image of this review. The first and most impactful upgrade has been the switch to the WTB Exposure 30mm tires. As mentioned, these tires have genuinely impressed me, enhancing the all city bike’s performance and comfort.
Setup was straightforward, they feel remarkably fast, and I’ve had no punctures to date. The increased volume compared to 28mm tires also significantly improves comfort on rough surfaces, a major benefit for an all city bike.
Busch & Muller Dynamo Light Upgrade for All City Bike
I upgraded the Exposure Revo dynamo lamp to a Busch & Muller model on my all city bike. Image: Andy Lloyd
I also replaced the Exposure Revo dynamo light with a Busch & Muller IQ-X headlight. While I’m very happy with the Exposure, my colleague Felix Smith needed to borrow it, providing the perfect excuse to test something new on my all city bike.
Additionally, I upgraded the stock Velo Orange brake pads to Koolstop Salmon inserts. These have dramatically improved braking power in all conditions. The softer compound also provides better lever feel and modulation, enhancing control on this all city bike.
Silca Bottle Cages Titanium Upgrade for All City Bike
These Silca bottle cages are both incredibly expensive and beautifully crafted for this all city bike. Image: Andy Lloyd
A set of stunning, yet excessively priced, Silca Sicuro titanium bottle cages have also been added.
At £55 / $70 / €62 each, they are a truly extravagant and unnecessary upgrade… but they undeniably enhance the aesthetics of this all city bike.
Once I finalized my fit, I trimmed the steerer tube, swapped the 100mm Thomson stem for a 120mm Extralite stem, and lowered the handlebars.
After confirming this position feels right, I’ll likely replace the Extralite stem with a model that has less demanding torque specifications, ensuring long-term reliability for this all city bike.
Shimano Ultegra RX Rear Derailleur Upgrade for All City Bike
I upgraded the 105 rear derailleur to an Ultegra RX model on my all city bike. Image: Andy Lloyd
Lastly, I upgraded the 105 rear derailleur to a clutch-equipped Ultegra RX model. This has significantly reduced chain noise on rough roads, making for a quieter and more enjoyable ride on this all city bike.
In conclusion, I am thoroughly enjoying my time with the Mr Pink. Building what I consider the perfect bike for my riding style has been a real pleasure, and I’m excited to see how this all city bike continues to evolve in the coming months.
