![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/20251212_Archibald-Team-riding-photos-57.jpg\")
<\/a>The Archibald crew backs up their demands for tough bikes with burly riding. Photo: Mitch Kaiser\nA bike that started with a problem<\/p>\n
Archibald may be opening up to more pedal-friendly, or pedal-tolerant riding, but its roots are very much in gravity riding. The AC1\u2019s distinctive design started with a simple problem, though.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was never really happy with the bikes I was riding,\u201d Troughton says of what sparked the Archibald journey. \u201cI\u2019m 6\u20334, so finding a bike that fit me in 2016 was pretty challenging. I never really had a bike that fit me properly. And the bikes I had, some would be nice in certain ways and others in other ways, but never a whole package.\u201d<\/p>\n
Troughton was working at Blackspire at the time which, he says, meant making things yourself in Canada always seemed like a realistic option. Even in an era when bicycle production was primarily an overseas venture. When he returned to school, designing his own bike was a natural extension of work he did with Blackspire and the AC1 became his Capstone project for his engineering program.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was two to three years of design work figuring out what the bike would be to try and hit every everything I wanted out of it. And really what I wanted was a bike that fit me and fit anyone who wanted to ride one and then didn\u2019t have compromises that I\u2019d been dealing with. Destroying derailleurs, frames just getting destroyed, cracking and failing that was a big one. Paint was always getting scuffed off and just being ruined. So there were a lot of things that kind of guided the design choices.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s easy to see that list of problems reflected in the AC1 design. The raw metal frame finish has a gearbox as its centrepiece. It also comes in a very detailed sizing run, with custom options available. To say it looks burly would be a gross understatement.<\/p>\n While gearboxes are gaining traction, they\u2019re still an exception in a world of traditional drivetrain layouts.\u00a0Troughton says once he tried a gearbox, he realized it was the only option for his design.<\/p>\n \u201cThe biggest objective when we started was descending performance. Once you start looking at the unsprung mass of the rear end, that becomes very hard to go back on. Pulling that derailleur and cassette off the rear wheel does so much for the rear end to perform better that, regardless of the other benefits, that is one I simply can\u2019t compromise on anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n That drove the rest of the frame\u2019s design, opening up new design possibilities when not restrained by traditional drivetrain design. When\u00a0releasing the AC1 Trail, Troughton says that, while admitting its not the most efficient option for riders more interested in pedalling than pure descending, \u00a0there was no real interest in re-thinking that core design.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re adding weight, it\u2019s going to be heavier than a traditional drivetrain bike, but its in a great spot. We\u2019ve found the AC1 platform can be adapted to this trail set up really well.\u201d<\/p>\n If Archibald\u2019s bikes look very specific and boutique, they are. To an extent. They\u2019re functional works of art. But Troughton is quick to point out that he can offer AC1 frames at a price that is, amazingly, competitive with bigger brands that outsource their bikes to overseas production, while still building the frames in B.C.<\/p>\n \u201cI love making stuff, and if I can make stuff at a competitive price and have my hands on it and be able to put care into every single bike that goes out the door? That is just a difference that can\u2019t really be done when you have to ship the bike so far, far away,\u201d Troughton says, adding a simple question. \u201cIf we can do it, why wouldn\u2019t we?\u201d<\/p>\n Archibald offers AC1 frame kits (shock and gearbox) starting around $6,000. High-end, for sure, but not out of place. That\u2019s only $500 more than a Forbidden Dreadnaught frame. Or a $1,000 more than a Trek Slash framekit. Again, for something made for you instead of mass-produced by the thousand overseas.<\/p>\n One benefit of designing the bike through a manufacturing engineering program was that the Archibald project was always focused on design for manufacturability.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we weren\u2019t doing a gearbox bike, we could produce it for less money,\u201d Troughton adds. \u201cBut because of the gearbox advantages, I had to work really hard on on the design so that it would be affordable to produce it.\u201d<\/p>\n That work laid a foundation that\u2019s allowing the brand to transition from a garage project to a growing business with its own facility and customers around the world. Competing against the buying power of big brands is harder when it comes to building out complete bikes. But the AC1\u2019s are a different value proposition than those mass-produced frames.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s made out of a super high end material and super strong lifetime warranty, and it\u2019s made locally,\u201d Troughton says. \u201cI think that\u2019s a pretty cool thing that we can keep doing.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a>Gearbox drivetrains and metal tubes give Archibald\u2019s a wild, Mad Max look but it\u2019s design-driven. Photo: Mitch Kaiser
\nBringing the gearbox revolution to home trails<\/p>\n<\/a>All AC1\u2019s are welded right in Photo: Mitch Kaiser
\nTurning made in Canada into an advantage<\/p>\n