July 7/10 17:42 pm - Specialized 2011 Press Launch - Mountain Bikes

Posted by Editoress on 07/7/10
 

Specialized Bicycles once again graciously invited Canadian Cyclist to preview their 2011 bicycles and some of their components. This year, event was held in Keystone, Colorado, which is about two hours west of Denver, and up in the high mountains. Height was a factor for the whole weekend, with even the Keystone Inn being at 9000’ above sea level. The lifts got us up to as much as 11600’, where we had a choice of a number of different trails to get us back down. It’s not a huge trail network, but a nice one, with lots of singletrack in the trees, mixed with open shots across the ski runs. It was dry, dry, dry when we were there, with an extreme forest fire risk. Keystone Resort

The best thing about a Specialized Press Launch is the sheer number of bikes available for testing. Close to the lifts, Specialized had set up a massive tent. Go to the sign out desk at the tent and request your bike and a few minutes later it was presented to you. A quick set up of the suspension and away you went. We should all be so lucky.

Welcome to the World of the 29er

For the 2010 model year many companies had already made the commitment to the 29 inch wheeled bike. Specialized had some models, but for 2011 they will have them in abundance. From the competition directed S-Works all the way down to the Hardrock Series, there are 29ers available for every pricepoint and riding style. Hardtail and full suspension are well represented. It’s funny to think of what happens in a year. Last year’s Press Launch in Utah featured the Specialized staff asking the European journalists why 29ers weren’t popular in Europe. Now we have the company fully committed to the concept. This commitment includes 29er’s that will fit a 5’ tall woman. It says a lot of what the company thinks the future will hold.

The decision to jump at the 29er world didn’t come lightly. Not only did they want to do it right, they also wanted to prove to the world why a 29er might be the best way to go. With extensive resources available to them, they decided to quantify the debate between the 26” and the 29” wheel, and the hardtail versus full suspension. Top Specialized Pros Burry Stander and Christophe Sauser had their bikes fitted with data capturing units that recorded everything (even steering input) while they were riding. The data included GPS location so that what was going on where on the course could be evaluated. The conclusion of the testing was that the less resistance the rider experienced, the faster they will be. In this context, the 29er is faster overall than the 26, and a full suspension is faster than a hardtail according to the data Specialized gathered.

However, perceptions die hard. Many riders still feel that the 29 inch wheel doesn’t accelerate as fast as a 26 inch wheel due to the increased weight. So Specialized set about creating one of the lightest 29” wheels ever. And from here it created a whole assortment of changes to their bike designs.

Let’s tackle the wheel thing first. The logical first step is the tire. Specialized had many of the 29ers I rode equipped with a new tire called the S-Works Renegade. In a 29” x 1.95” size it weighs all of 450 grams. It is tubeless (or 2Bliss in Specialized-speak) ready as well. So that’s a big start in saving weight. The tread is designed for hard pack race courses.

Next step is the rim. Here we have a brand new product called the Roval Control SL-29 wheelset. The big news is the 29 inch carbon rim. This is the first time I’ve ridden carbon rims, road or mountain. Specialized is suggesting an upper rider weight limit of 240 pounds. I’m in Clydesdale land and didn’t have any trouble with these rims. They’re a V-section profile and are quite attractive, thanks to Specialized’s “wedge” paint scheme, where one-quarter of the rim and spokes are painted in red. Spokes are bladed and are straight pull into the carbon shelled hub. On the front hub, the disc side is cross-2, while the non-disc side is straight (radial). On the back, the spokes are cross 2.

With such a light rim, you need to support it as much as possible. Here is where a substantial change in design has happened. With the advent of the 10 speed cassette on one side of the rear wheel, and the disc on the other, there isn’t a lot of room to widen the spoke stance (the angle from the hub flange to the rim). Specialized has taken a big leap (it’s too early to say if it’s forward) and introduced a 142mm spaced rear hub. They are calling it the X-12 142+ rear end.

First thing is that the frame has to be changed in terms of geometry to accommodate the wider spacing. To increase stiffness, Specialized also opted to go with a 12mm thru axle. The end of the axle is threaded, and fits into a large nut embedded in the drive side of the rear dropout, and secured by a pinch bolt. The non-drive side rear dropout is fully carbon, with no metal insert. It is easy to slide the rim into the dropouts, thanks to guides built into them to channel the wheel caps. The axle slides in, and then a couple of turns are all that is required to secure it. The lever always ends up in the correct position in a manner similar to the RockShox Maxle (thanks to the correct number and pitch of threads). I tried it and any fears of a difficult removal weren’t there. However, I am always troubled when there is an attempt to diverge from an industry standard, such as the 135mm hub spacing. Yes, there are 142mm hubs on the market, but they are typically for the freeride/DH market. You’re making a commitment to Specialized with this wheel and frame.

The benefits of the wider spacing are readily apparent. The spoke flanges on the hub are pushed out 4mm overall, the angle to the spokes is increased, aiding in the triangulation of the spokes. Ultimately, all the changes make the wheel stronger. Since the wheel/hub has been redesigned, the stays might as well be tackled too. The new seat stay is described as the “hockey stick” due to its new shape. The carbon stay has increased in size, but since there is much less metal in the dropouts, the overall weight of the back end of the bike has been decreased.

More weight is shed at the bottom bracket, which is metal free except for a small metal guard on the leading edge of the shell to protect the carbon from the chain. The bearings are press fit 30mm sealed units. Although this was used on their carbon bikes last year, many more manufacturers are or will be using the PF 30 as a standard.  It does save a huge amount of weight and the lack of threads reduces chain line alignment issues.

A Tale of Two Bikes

Specialized was anxious for us to try essentially the same bike but with the different wheel sizes. Both of the S-Works Epic's had a very similar spec, with SRAM XX 2x10 drivetrain and lots of Specialized’s own components, including the aforementioned carbon rimmed wheels. Chainring sizes were slightly different between the bikes to optimize the gearing for the different wheel diameters. The rings and spider are from SRAM, mated to Specialized’s carbon arms. There were, of course, suspension forks on each, with the 26" I rode getting a Specialized FutureShock, and the 29er a Rock Shox Reba. Rear shocks were from Fox, with the Specialized Brain remote reservoir.  Suspension travel was 100mm, both front and rear.

The 29er was the first I rode on the trails at Keystone. First impression - it climbs like a rocket. On the other hand, you can’t help but climb like a rocket when the bike weighs all of 9.67kg (21.27 pounds). They’ve managed to carve out over half a pound from last year’s bike, and they’ve improved the ride too, thanks to an even better carbon frame. And if you’ve ever wondered about the absence of a granny gear on a 2x10, get over it. You’ll never miss it on a bike that climbs this well. The bb is stiff but, thanks to the fact that you’re on a full suspension, and a well designed carbon frame, the ride is very good. It would be a sweet XC race bike, but on the right sort of trail you’d likely be happy riding it all day.

As is usual at a Specialized Press Launch, the Sunday afternoon always features a long group ride with the journalists and the Specialized crew. This time it was the 26 inch bike for a long afternoon ride up and then down a mountain ridge. The 26 is a few grams lighter than the 29 but it’s not like you really notice. It’s a heck of a light bike, period. Over the 4 hour ride it performed well, both up and down the mountain.

And the winner is…

The 26 inch wheeled bike, but only because it had better tires for the loose gravel at Keystone. I honestly wish I could tell you something earth shatteringly different about the bikes, but I honestly can’t. Both ride great and I’d be happy to own either one. The trails around Keystone are generally hard pack, with some rounded rocks and every once in a while big patches of crumbly gravel. The S-Works Renegade tire on the 29er just didn’t have enough of a set of knobs on it to hook up well, especially when cornering. The 26" had a tire called the Fast Trak, which performed just fine. Just based on the difference in tires I was more inclined to push it on the 26". It’s funny that the difference would come down to something small like this, but the 26" was more confidence inspiring because of the better rubber. I’m no stranger to 29ers. I’ve owned a 29er for a couple of years now. The rubber you ride is very crucial if you’re going to ride it aggressively.

That being said, unless you’re going to be riding or racing on hard pack trails, you’re probably going to want a somewhat more aggressive tire on the 29er, which is going to pump up the weight by probably a couple of hundred grams. Personally I wouldn’t worry about. With so much competition between manufacturers over who has the lightest bike, then a couple of hundred grams probably means a lot to Specialized, especially when they’re claiming that the S-Works Epic 29er is the lightest full suspension 29er around, but for riding you likely won't notice the difference.

Clearly though, 29ers have arrived and, I suspect, are here to stay. Specialized has certainly thrown down the gauntlet in the fight to get you to buy their bikes. True, their S-Works bikes are at the top of the food chain, but what appears on them always trickles down to more cost conscious machines. We’re still a ways out from the introduction of the 2011’s to the consumer, but you might just want to wait for one of these bikes. They are both very good.

www.specialized.com

Report by CC Tech Editor Mike Badyk