IN BRIEF
Litespeed is launching the Pisgah, a titanium hardtail mountain bike that the American brand presents as “the most capable trail hardtail we have ever created”. It is built on an in-house tubeset called Superform X and on a tubular titanium yoke at the rear, the part Bikerumor describes as the frame’s real visual star. The bike takes a 150mm fork, 29in wheels and tyres up to 2.6in, in five sizes from XS to XL. The brand’s own store shows the Pisgah at €6,084.95 for a European visitor, a price recorded on 20 August; the same bike is catalogued at $6,999 in the United States.
| Price | €6,084.95 on the Litespeed store seen from Europe ($6,999 in the American catalogue) |
| Frame | Titanium, Superform X tubeset, tubular titanium yoke |
| Fork | 150mm of travel |
| Wheels | 29in |
| Tyre clearance | 29 x 2.6in |
| Head angle | 64° in XS, 64.5° in S/M/L, 65° in XL |
| Chainstays | 445mm across all sizes |
| Reach | 38.5 to 49cm depending on size |
| Sizes | XS, S, M, L, XL |
A titanium hardtail brings the endurance bike to mind more readily than the descending machine. Litespeed takes the opposite tack with the Pisgah, a hardtail the brand fits with a 150mm fork and a head angle that drops to 64 degrees — figures usually associated with a full-suspension trail bike.
The Litespeed Pisgah is built around a tubular titanium yoke
The bike’s official page announces a “Superform X Titanium Tubeset”, the tubeset Litespeed keeps for its most heavily worked frames. It is the rear end, though, that catches the eye: the frame is built around a tubular titanium yoke, the part that links the seat tube to the chainstays. Bikerumor, which covered the announcement in detail, calls it the bike’s “real visual star” and explains that the shaping of the tubes and this rear end designed around the yoke are there to add stiffness.
Litespeed claims on its product page “the most capable trail hardtail we have ever created, made tougher by advanced titanium design”. The wording is the brand’s own, and it shows in the numbers: the bike clears 29 x 2.6in tyres, a width that partly makes up for the absence of rear suspension.
A geometry that changes with size
According to the figures recorded by Bikerumor, the head angle is not the same across the range: 64 degrees in XS, 64.5 degrees on the S, M and L sizes, then 65 degrees in XL. Again according to Bikerumor, the chainstays are quoted at 445mm on every size. The official page, for its part, gives a reach range running from 38.5 to 49cm, spread over five sizes, from XS to XL.
On the equipment side, Bikerumor states that the base build pairs a Shimano XT Di2 drivetrain, a Fox 36 Factory Grip X fork and Industry Nine 1/1 Sector V2 wheels with aluminium rims. The bike is presented as available to order right away.
A European price listed at €6,084.95
Litespeed’s store does serve a price list in euros: consulted from Europe on 20 August, the Pisgah’s page shows €6,084.95, while the brand’s American catalogue quotes $6,999 for the same bike. That is the price of a titanium frame assembled in small batches and specced with Shimano XT Di2, to be compared with the titanium hardtails on the market rather than with aluminium ones.
