“Trail bikes have become bloated over the past decade,” according to Sam Pickman, Director of Product and Engineering at Allied Cycle Works. With the launch of an all-new trail bike, the Allied Fitz, the Arkansas-based brand promises 140mm of travel front and rear at a weight that’s as low as 26lb for the most expensive build.
“The lightweight trail bike had essentially died, and I don’t know exactly why that happened,” said Pickman in a media roundtable. “We have our theories. But really about, I don’t know, five, six years ago, when e-bikes kind of started to take over, this category just got very feature-heavy and sort of closer to the enduro side, and the bikes just got heavy. So it’s not uncommon now to see trail bikes that build at 32, 35, 37 pounds. And there was a time when these bikes were more all-rounders, and our theory for the uptick in downcountry popularity was the sort of exit of the lightweight trail bike. And people are just sort of filling it with downcountry bikes.”
Allied did not provide detailed build specs as of press time, though Singletracks has been able to glean some details based on photos and the information provided. The brand notes the 26lb claimed weight is for a “top-tier XX SL complete build” which will retail for $11,400.
Lightweight trail bikes exist, but they are rare
Looking at high-end trail bike builds with roughly 140mm of rear suspension travel from mainstream brands shows that even a five-figure price tag doesn’t guarantee a weight that’s under 30lb. The $11,000 Yeti SB140 XX Turq build features the same lightweight SRAM XX Eagle Transmission drivetrain as the Fitz at a claimed weight of 30.13lb. The S-Works Stumpjumper 15 (also $11,000) weighs 29.89lb using a medium-sized frame.
Pivot says the Trailcat LT, with 135mm of rear suspension travel, weighs about 28lb, though it’s unclear which build level actually achieves this weight. Canyon offers Neuron CF builds with weights as low as 28.2lb, however, none of the builds available in the USA approach that weight. The second-generation Propain Hugene had 140mm of rear suspension travel and a claimed weight of just 28.4lb for the highest-level build, but the newest, third-generation Hugene has less travel and weighs more.
Only the highest-level Orbea Occam SL, with 140mm of travel front and rear, claims a lighter complete build weight than the Allied Fitz for the same amount of travel. Announced in 2023, the top-end Occam SL was said to weigh just over 24lb (10.9kg), beating the Fitz by two pounds.
The Allied Fitz frame, with the shock, weighs under six pounds according to the brand. The least expensive Allied Fitz GX build, priced at $6,900, is claimed to weigh just 28lb, which would easily make it one of the lightest 140mm trail bikes at this price level.
It’s a modern trail bike with a lightweight parts spec
With a 64.5° head tube angle and reaches that stretch beyond 500mm for the largest size, the Allied Fitz is a modern trail bike that promises to deliver comfortable climbing and descending. Though much of the emphasis is on the bike in its 140/140mm front/rear suspension travel configuration, the bike can also run up to 150mm of suspension travel front and rear, which would likely add to the overall weight.
The carbon fiber Fitz features in-frame storage with a magnetic closure plus clearance for 29er tires up to 2.6″ wide.
Allied chose the name Fitz for their trail bike in a nod to the trails at Fitzgerald Mountain in nearby Springdale, Arkansas. All of the other Allied bikes have four-letter names — BC40, Echo, and Able — so Fitzgerald was shortened to just Fitz.
Looking at complete mountain bike weights, components account for the majority of the overall weight, generally 75% or more. Bike brands tend to have similar access to parts from the big brands like SRAM, Shimano, and Fox, so the weight game almost always comes down to which parts are specced. To be fair, the Fitz frameset weighs less than 6lb, which is at least four ounces lighter than the Specialized S-Works Stumpjumper frame. Still, the lightest Stumpjumper build weighs nearly 30lb, roughly four pounds heavier!
So what accounts for the difference? Judging by the parts spec as seen in photos of the Allied Fitz, significant weight savings likely come from the suspension, tire, and brake choices. Allied is making use of the latest and greatest Fox 36 SL Factory fork, while Specialized is still speccing the much heavier Fox FLOAT 36. While Allied specs the downcountry-style Continental Magnotal tires (with tan walls, no less), Specialized sends it with their grippiest Butcher T9 tires. Even the Motive brakes save precious grams over the Mavens that other lightweight trail bikes are speccing. Though the bikes have similar travel numbers, the heavier Stumpjumper’s part spec is arguably more capable and durable when it comes to descending.
To put a bow on it, while Specialized (or Yeti, or Pivot) could get to a comparable weight by speccing the same parts as the Allied Fitz, the fact is that they don’t currently offer buyers such a lightweight option. By putting these builds together, Allied is making a statement about priorities that will surely connect with a core group of riders.
Allied is branching out
Allied has built a reputation for delivering lightweight, race-oriented gravel and short-travel mountain bikes, and the Fitz marks an expansion of that purview.
“While the brand’s roots are in performance racing, FITZ represents a shift toward pure trail riding where efficiency, fun, and capability intersect,” the company explained in a press release. Among everyday riders clamoring for lighter-weight trail bikes to ride just for fun, the Fitz just might find its niche.
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Why don't they offer such a lightweight option? Probably because they don't think that spec will hold up to real trail riding. For instance, my Pivot Trailcat SL is pretty damn light, but the stock build features a 2.4" Minion DHR up front and a 2.4" Dissector in back. Could Pivot have saved substantial weight by speccing a lighter-weight tire with less aggressive lugs? Most definitely. Would I ever WANT to ride lighter-duty tires on literally any of my trail rides? Hell no.
Dropping down to these tires was already a substantial weight and size reduction from what I run on my Switchblade, and going with even less tire for my terrain and riding style would be terrifying.