State Bicycle Company, based out of Phoenix AZ, provides a niche aesthetic in the world of single speed and cruiser bicycles. The 18-year old bicycle manufacturer prides itself on its original “Core Line” of limited edition single speed bikes with flip flop hubs that allow riders to turn any of them into a fixie and commute around town.
But townies, fixies and single speeds are not where State’s growing line of bicycles ends. Road bikes, off-road bikes, and even e-bikes have entered the conversation, albeit, most of them still adhere to the single speed mentality of simplicity, but now with a few more gears.
The Undefeated Disc Road bike is no exception. The newer Undefeated road bikes are made of Y9 aluminum, have 11 speeds, and mechanical disc brakes, making these bikes not only different from their steel frame single speed fixies, but almost completely the opposite. They are super light (ranging from 1984g to 2211g small to large sizes respectively) with special aluminum that is made with titanium to improve hardness in the frame’s walls without adding bulk, but still helping with maneuvering bumps and turns, and making the bike easy to drive. The components are simple, and mostly in-house, which is probably what keeps a carbon fork, special aluminum road bike’s cost low. The gearing is still a little limited, but helps with the hills, and having good disc brakes is always a positive when you’re whipping around.
State Bicycle Undefeated Disc: the geometry
At 5’9'' I tested the Undefeated Disc Road 55cm with the excitement of a lightweight road bike, gears, and good brakes. The bike itself fit well, and the tube angles left me in an easy riding position. Its overall performance as a road bike felt comfortable, yet aggressive at a seat tube angle at 74 degrees, a headset angle at 72.5 degrees, and the reach at a comfortable 388mm. The medium aggressive positioning helped my legs engage and adapt to the bike’s heavy gear range, while not feeling strain in my neck, back, or on the saddle, which as someone who spends a lot of time on bikes, is a pretty big deal.
State Bicycle Undefeated Disc: the ride
This road bike’s gearing may not be for the faint of heart, with a 1x11 drivetrain with a 11-32T cassette range, paired with a 46T chainring, it’s not made for big mountain passes or high-grade hills. The simplistic gear set does, however, reflect State’s true single speed roots and it does make for an incredibly fun, fast, and powerful ride. As someone who doesn’t shift much, often stays in a bigger gear, and sometimes wishes for a more powerful push on low-grade hilly rides, I loved the bigger ring. It finally gave me the option to pedal without spinning out and rarely did I find myself being forced to coast. With such a lightweight set-up, it didn’t feel like a slug and there wasn’t much holding me back from zipping around quickly.
The front carbon fork saved me from bumps in the road, and made for a much smoother and comfortable ride that allowed me to confidently pick up and keep my speed. The vibration and jolts from bumps were hardly felt, and not an issue, and the stiff frame made the bike feel agile and capable of quick, stable maneuvers.
Paired with it, the 28H 700c aluminum wheelset with Maxxis M203 Detonator 700 x 28c tyres allowed me to take corners confidently and smoothly, which says a lot coming from a mostly gravel and mountain bike rider. Same can be said for the overall performance of the bike; as someone who notoriously doesn’t choose road riding specifically because of the discomfort of the bicycles, the bumps on the road, and the intimidating skinny wheel sizes, I was pleasantly surprised at how comfortable I was, how confident and steady I felt, and how much fun it was.
Not to mention how beautiful the bright psychedelic colors are on an otherwise white frame set. The ride was really fun, but it was equally fun pairing the bright stripes to brightly colored pedals, water bottles (on the two available bottle cage brackets), and a bright colored frame bag.
The only downside I saw – which I went back and forth on whether or not I liked it – was the shifting. It is a SRAM-like double tap shifting set-up that is incredibly convenient, using only one shifter to change gears. One click inward moves the chain down on the gearset, and two clicks moves the chain up. This single movement shifting doesn’t require anything but a small push which adheres to State’s simplistic brand, but can also get troublesome if you don’t push the gear hard or fast enough. A handful of times, I found myself wanting to shift into a bigger gear, but pushed too hard and double clicked into a smaller gear. Luckily, the gear ratio isn’t big enough to make the mal-shift a big deal, but can be a little off putting nonetheless. I’d say it’s half user error/preference, half asking too much of a good thing.
Value and conclusion
Overall, I’d say the Undefeated Disc Road is my new favorite road bike. I’ve ridden quite a few in the past, and all but given up on riding road bikes because of jarring bumps, uncomfortable positioning, and intimidating handling. While, I wouldn’t recommend this particular bike for high grade hills or a lot of elevation gain, it is fun for fast rides with smaller hills, and it’s perfect if you want a consistent pedal and a high, rhythmic cadence for a lot of really fun miles.
