Specialized 2013 Machines


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The trails of Cairns are legendary, steeped in history and a firm part of Australian mountain bike folklore. Some of Australia’s greatest racers and most influential mountain bikers have come out of these steamy trails – think of the likes of Ronning, the Hannahs, Kovarik and luminaries like Glen Jacobs. It’s a special place. [private]

It was even more special recently when Specialized came to town, bringing with them a dealer show of astronomical pizzazz. Specialized have a remarkably strong presence in Cairns. Tie in the fact that the famous Smithfield trails have just been revamped and it’s clear to see why this steamy location was picked as the location for the Big S’s 2013 Australia/New Zealand launch.

Over the course of a solid day on the trails at Smithfield (and during some in-depth sessions in the dealer show) we got the low down on the most exciting bikes in the new range. Here are the standouts.

The new Enduro Expert Carbon is the highlight of the range as far as we’re concerned. It’s one of the few 26″ bikes in the line up (outside of the pure gravity bikes) and it is a world apart from the 2012 version of this bike in many regards.

The Enduro series has been a favourite of ours for a while now. They’re a great all-mountain bike, with amazing descending capabilities. In years past these bikes were, if we’re being honest, a little bit of a slug on the climbs. They had the gears to get you there, but the suspension kinematics left the bike sitting well into its travel. That has all changed for 2013.

Specialized have drastically rework the suspension action of the Enduro and it’s a far superior bike as a result. We spent the bulk of our trail time at Smithfield on the Enduro. Smithfield is definitely an area more suited to shorter travel bikes, but we genuinely didn’t feel out of place on the Enduro. Its climbing performance, especially with the TALAS fork dropped to its shorter travel setting and the ‘Trail’ mode engaged on the CTD rear shock, was excellent. Close your eyes and you’d swear you were piloting an Stumpjumper FSR up the hill.

The sub 13kg weight is amazing (though the sub 12kg weight of the S-Works version is even better!), achieved in part by the switch at Fox 34 fork with a 15mm axle, rather than running a burlier 36mm stanchioned fork as in years past.

There will be some who lament the loss of the 36, but it’s a change we welcome – if you need more fork than this, consider the Enduro Evo. The new 34 series fork is a little shorter than the 36 too, meaning that lower bar heights are possible, again improving climbing performance.

With an increase in rear suspension travel to 165mm, there’s plenty of forgiveness when you want let it rip on the Enduro. The Enduro’s equipped with Specialized’s own Command Post adjustable seat post, as well as the grippy rubber (a Butcher 2.3″ up front and Purgatory out back), clearly communicating this bike’s descending intentions.

For 2013 Specialized have rolled out their AUTOSAG rear shock technology to most of the dual suspension bikes in the range, including the Enduro, making ideal suspension setup a two second job.

If the budget won’t stretch to the Expert Carbon, the Enduro Comp shares all the same key features (ie. improved rear suspension, AUTOSAG, Fox CTD fork and shock) but with an M5 alloy mainframe instead of carbon. If you’ve got money to burn, take a look at the S-Works Enduro; with SRAM’s XX1 drivetrain and a Cane Creek Double Barrel air shock, there is no finer all-mountain bike on the market right now.

The Epic is a proven world beater; World Cups, World Champs, Olympics. For 2013 the range of Epics is massive and highly refined.

With an Olympic gold medal recently added to its trophy cabinet, the venerable Specialized Epic range is on a bit of a high. For 2013, Specialized has a huge array of Epics in carbon with just a solitary alloy option.

The Epic range scores not one, but two S-Works models this year, with SRAM and Shimano XTR options. While the S-Works Epic pictured above is shown with a SRAM XX drivetrain, production versions will in fact come with the revolutionary SRAM XX1 drivetrain, so you can feel just like Kulhavy.

Perhaps the biggest story with the new Epics is the introduction of AUTOSAG rear shocks. Not only does this speed up suspension setup, but way this system automatically balances the rear shock’s positive and negative air pressures finally means that Epics will run the correct negative pressure! This should translate to greatly improved small bump performance.

It’s interesting to see Magura brakes on many of the Epic models; in fact, there is a huge variety of brake manufacturers on display across the whole range (SRAM, Shimano, Formula, Magura and Tektro). It would appear that the inconsistency Specialized and other big brands have experienced with some SRAM offerings in the past few seasons have forced them to cast a wider net.

The Demo line up has grown to four bikes; two carbon, two alloy. We think the sub $4000 Demo 8 I, pictured here, is going to give the pot a good old stir in the budget downhill market.

While Troy Brosnan seems to be doing his best to keep himself out of action (get well soon, mate!), the bikes that he and Sam Hill ride are going from strength to strength. The release of the highly limited team replica Demo 8 Carbon has been well publicised, but it’s the unveiling of a Demo 8 at the opposite end of the price spectrum that has us pumped.

The Demo 8 I, pictured above, comes in at under $4000 and is oozing with well considered spec. Fox and Rockshox suspension, SRAM X9 Type II derailleur, brilliant rubber… there just aren’t any holes in this bike’s armour for the price.

It will interesting to see how the market responds to the regular (non team replica) Demo 8 Carbon; it shares the same frame as the team bike with the exception of the custom 135mm rear end, but comes with a far more modest component spec. Will people pay more for the carbon frame, or will they opt for the gorgeous specced alloy-framed Demo 8 II?

Specialized continue to lead the way with serious women’s mountain bikes. Hardcore female cross country racers now have a bike of unparalleled drool-worthiness to swoon over – the S-Works Fate Carbon. With a weight in the 8kg range, it’s the finest women’s race bike we’ve yet seen.

A big round of applause to Specialized for the Safire – a proper women’s trail bike, complete with Command Post and bash guard.

For women’s trail bikes, it’s awfully hard to go past the 2013 Safire Expert. This is a proper tough nut trail bike; 2×10 drivetrain, big-bagged tyres and a dropper post. It’s a bike that recognises there are women out there who don’t take the B-line on their local loops and who need a bike that is made for technical riding.

The obvious hole in the Specialized women’s lineup is a dual suspension 29er. With a lot hassling we did manage to get an admission that a 29er women’s dual suspension trail bike is next on the agenda. Our best guess is that it’ll be will look an awful lot like the current Camber.

With 150mm front and rear, the Stumpjumper FSR Comp Evo is your classic hard-charging 26er. It’s also the shortest travel 26″ bike Specialized are bringing to Australia in 2013.

If there was one overarching theme of the whole 2013 range, it was the dominance of 29ers. This may come as a shock to some, but the shortest travel 26″ bike available in Australia next year, is the Stumpjumper FSR Evo Comp which packs 150mm travel. If you want less travel than that, you’re on a 29er. The New Zealand market has the option of the S-Works Stumpjumper FSR, with 140mm front and rear.

While some will disagree, we have to give Specialized praise for the courage of their convictions; they have clearly made the call that they feel 29ers are just the better option for all categories of bike with less than 150mm-travel.

The S-Works Stumpy FSR 26, left, is New Zealand only, and it looks exquisite. To the right is a lairy beast we cannot wait to try out – the Stumpy FSR Expert Carbon Evo. It certainly appears to have the potential to change people’s opinions that 29ers are built for pussy footing about.

For aggressive trail riders who want something a little more climb friendly than the Enduro, the most exciting bike in the lineup is the Stumpjumper FSR Expert Carbon Evo 29 (pheeew, that’s a mouthful!), which looks primed to bust the perception that 29 = cross country. Proudly pushing big wheels in the 140mm range, with big rubber, Command Post, 720mm handlebar and slack geometry, it looks like you could get yourself into a lot of trouble on this machine! We didn’t manage to grab a ride on this bike, but we hope to have a test in the near future.

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