They say if you can’t beat them, join them. However if you are a billionaire mountain biker brother duo, you do have one other option apparently, and that is simply buying them. In the case of the Walton brothers that looks to be working out in their favor with their investment into Allied Cycles, who just might have beaten Specialized to the XC punch!
As you saw in our previous article, we were the first to leak what we think is the brand new Specialized Epic that we spotted in pics from the recent XC race by Specialized racer Sina. However diving even deeper into this bike and looking at the striking similarities by Arkansas’s bike brand Allied cycles BC40 (which was released in 2022), it's hard to not question if Specialized is taking notes from Allied and possibly late to the game on this new Epic.
Both of these bikes as shown share strikingly similar frame aesthetics, however recently a leak of the Epic’s geo chart has started to float around the internet. If the geo chart is accurate, well then kudos to Allied Cycle Works. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and for a brand that has been around since 2016, one of the largest players in the game taking notes of your geo is very impressive.
On a size Large BC40 and the leaked Epic you can see both have a 1210 wheelbase, 435 chain stay, and 475 reach. Also to note here the BC40 was first released in 2022, and if the Epic is following these numbers, then they definitely were ahead of the game.
Allied Cycle Works is now based in Bentonville and the Walton brothers investment company, RZC Holdings, does have ties into the company. Which leads to the next question, does money and passion lead to success? Too many times we have seen outside investment money ruin a brand. However, normally that money comes from people that don’t ride bikes or care about our sport.
But with the Walton brothers, they clearly have the money and but they also have the passion for mountain biking. The brothers love to ride, travel, and invest into trails. Clearly they also seem to have the vision in a potential of a company by trusting Allied Cycles with their investment and it seems like this investment is paying off. They have attracted talent like pro racer Payson McElveen.
Clearly Specialized is either taking notes or maybe Allied Cycle works is just that much ahead of the game.
We have reached out to both Specialized and Allied Cycle Works for comment.
-Awesome MTB
