Bikes & Big Ideas

Allied’s Fitz is one of the lightest 140mm-travel bikes we’ve ever tested. So today, Allied’s Director of Product, Sam Pickman, joins us to tell the development story, what inspired the lightweight focus, why they chose a four-bar suspension arrangement, and why he thinks Trail bikes have gotten so heavy over the years.

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TOPICS & TIMES:

Allied’s Story & making bikes in the US (2:40)

The Switch to Overseas Production (5:13)

Gravel Bike Success (6:31)

Moving into the Mountain Bike Space (7:57)

Inspiration for the Fitz (14:36)

From Concept to Production (18:35)

Travel (22:24)

Suspension Design & Geometry (24:33)

Prototypes and Testing (34:11)

Adjustability (36:30)

What’s Next? (50:42)

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Specialized showed a lot of glimpses of the Demo 11 as it was being developed, but there was much more going on behind the scenes that couldn’t be gleaned from looking at the series of lugged prototypes. So we brought Nicco Deluca from the Ride Dynamics team on to tell the whole story.

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Please let us know if there’s a topic you’d like us to cover or a guest you’d like us to have on Bikes and Big Ideas. Email us at info@blisterreview.com to weigh in.

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TOPICS & TIMES:

Nicco’s Role at Specialized (1:49)

Goals for the Demo 11 (2:15)

Leverage curve testing (4:03)

The Demo 10 & its limitations(9:29)

High Gear (12:45)

Kinematic refinement (16:03)

Design tradeoffs (19:27)

Drivetrain packaging (21:34)

Anti-squat & anti-rise (27:02)

Adjustability (30:47)

Final notes (38:45)

We caught up with Cam McCaul to run down the 2026 Red Bull Rampage that left fans in awe at the women’s event and frustrated after the cancellation of the men’s competition. Cam shares his on-location perspective of the insane amount of work done by the build teams, the Robin Goomes vs. Hannah Bergemann showdown, as well as his thoughts on the men’s cancellation and whether it should have been postponed.

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Please let us know if there’s a topic you’d like us to cover or a guest you’d like us to have on Bikes and Big Ideas. Email us at info@blisterreview.com to weigh in.

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TOPICS & TIMES:

Did the venue take a lot of effort on by the dig teams (2:28)

Women’s and Men’s Dig Team Collabs (4:27)

Bergemann vs. Goomes Showdown (5:40)

Men’s Event Cancellation (13:42)

Rampage Rookies Setting a High Bar (16:51)

Highlights (19:20)

Jaxson Riddle (21:30)

Szymon Godziek (25:58)

Carson Storch Crash (27:57)

Why cancel? Why not postpone? (33:31)

Why Didn’t They Move it to Friday? (39:57)

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The first-ever Whistler DH World Cup did not disappoint, including crazy weather, wild racing action, some heroic performances, and tons of crashes — Cam and Simon couldn’t wait to talk about it. Cam had a gnarly crash himself and shares that story along with his behind-the-scenes preview of this week’s Red Bull Rampage. Of course, we sprinkle in some industry news and introduce a couple of recurring segments as well.

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Please let us know if there’s a topic you’d like us to cover or a guest you’d like us to have on Bikes and Big Ideas. Email us at info@blisterreview.com to weigh in.

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TOPICS & TIMES:

Cam’s Crash (1:01)

Number One Thing You Don’t Want To Be This Month (12:05)

First Whistler DH Recap (18:32)

Asa’s Mind-Blowing Win (25:03)

Women’s Results (32:39)

Juniors & Who to Watch Next Year (36:02)

What is MTB X ( 2:13)

Beyond Gravity (54:45)

Air Rage (56:59)

Fart Blasters? (59:44)

Marketplace Ad of the Month (1:03:16)

Industry News (1:05:50)

X-Lab (1:13:10)

What We’re Reading & Watching (1:19:42)

Cam’s Rampage Preview (1:21:05)

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This year marks the 25th anniversary of Red Bull Rampage, and the third year of Rampage including a women’s category. The fight to make that happen was a long one, and for this selection from The Vault, we’re revisiting a conversation we had with Casey Brown on Bikes & Big Ideas back in 2023 about the importance of having a women’s competition, the year before it finally came to be.

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We’d love for you to share with us the stories or topics you’d like us to cover next month on Reviewing the News; ask your most pressing mountain town advice questions, or offer your hot takes for us to rate. Email us at: info@blisterreview.com

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For the Full Episode: Casey Brown, Vaea Verbeeck, and Hannah Bergemann on Women at Rampage (Ep.191)

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