Around this time last year, I asked if we could stop talking about rim brakes finally. The dated tech cant match disc brakes in the important business of braking in all weather.Today, however, I came across this new rim-brake bike from Firefly, and I can admit when Im wrong. I definitely do want to talk about this rim-brake bike.Firstly, its finished impeccably a piece of titanium craftsmanship. Secondly, it can take a 40mm tyre, making it a true all-roader. In Fireflys words, it's a bike capable of handling "Good roads, bad roads, dirt and light gravel". The Firefly All Road: an all-new rim-brake bike in 2026. Firefly Cycles Firefly has been able to combine the 40mm clearance with one of the finest rim calipers ever made Cane Creeks ultra-lightweight eeBrakes. I've tested bikes for 25 years and it's time we dropped rim brakes here's whyWhy go back? A full-titanium fork is a rare thing. Firefly Cycles Kevin Wolfson at Firefly says: Our goal is always to build the best possible bike for each rider. Custom component selection is a big part of that."Disc brakes will continue be the right choice for most people. But we think there's still real value in good rim brakes for some riders, particularly people who prioritise the simplicity and classic design of rim brakes, especially if we could use rim brakes while still offering the versatility that comes with bigger tyre clearance. We realised designing and building a new Ti fork gave us the opportunity to fill that gap. So we went for it." Custom thru-axles for classic hub compatibility. Firefly Cycles The All Road is not just a set of cool brakes mated to a custom titanium frame; theres a lot going on here. Firefly didnt have much faith in existing quick-release skewers for the frame and titanium fork. Instead, the brand developed its own unique custom thru-axles, complete with custom 3D-printed dropouts front and rear. The rear dropouts are realised smoothly with 3D titanium printing. Firefly Cycles Retro yet modern The brakes are modified to work with larger tyres. Firefly Cycles The bike may be retro-flavoured, but its compatible with modern drivetrains by using Growtacs Control brake levers. They omit the hydraulics, yet maintain compatibility with Shimano Di2 and SRAM AXS, and there's even a version for Campagnolo mechanical drivetrains.The bottom bracket is a 68mm BSA unit, but you can opt for T47. Internal brake and Di2 routing is available as an option, as is a 3D-printed chainstay yoke to up the drivetrain stiffness. Rack, fender and pump peg mounts are available at no extra cost.Like all of Fireflys titanium frames, the All Road uses the brand's own proprietary adaptive butted tubing with a three-piece tapered head tube. Firefly offers full-custom geometry and tube selection dependent on your needs.I asked Wolfson about the decision to go with eeBrakes here, a specially modified version of the lightweight and expensive ee unit used by Brompton because small-wheeled Bromptons tend to have larger tyre diameters than 700c rim-brake bikes.He says: It is very important to us that the bike really performs well. It isn't just a throwback bike for the sake of using older components, so we wanted to build it around brakes that we knew would work consistently, yet be easy to set up and adjust."A recent Firefly custom was also built around Paul Components' minimal Racer V-style brakes."No one was asking for it" This custom Firefly was designed around Paul Components' V-style Racer brakes. Firefly Cycles I asked Wolfson what he expected the demand to be for the rim-brake All Road. We honestly had not seen any specific demand for this bike. No one was asking for it, he admits.I think thats whats made me smitten by this beautifully crafted machine. Ive always had a soft spot for brands who build bikes simply because they want to. Its why I own such anomalies as Cannondales Slate and the Sven Cycles Swift both bikes their makers wanted to build rather than existing to fill a slot in the market.Kevin continues: At the very least we wanted it for ourselves, and we knew it would be a fun project. We thought that some people would be interested, of course. But we had no idea how positive the response would be. It really seems like there is a hunger for a bike like this that prioritises simplicity and versatility. Every Firefly is custom made to order. Firefly Cycles If youre interested in the Firefly All Road, the frames are made fully custom to order from $7,200. With the matching titanium fork, complete custom bikes start from around $10,000.