Specialized at Interbike

Since I mentioned earlier that Specialized was one of the my top two booths at the show, I guess the time has come to justify that decision. I’m sure much of the mainstream press will spend most of their time showcasing the Epic, Specialized’s inertia-valved XC full sus ride. Each time I stopped by the booth, there was another rider stomping on the pedals of their home-grown Epic demonstrator. Now, I’m not much of an XC rider, but I was certainly impressed with the lack of bob even when the rider was standing and mashing on the pedals. If the bike can balance that trait and still feature useable travel, it’s sure to be a huge hit in 2003.

Like Norco, Specialized was showing off a single speed playbike, the P1. All of the P-lineup features Specialized’s A1 Centerfold frame found on the higher end P3 and are disc specific. The P1 sports horizontal dropouts, a bolt-on, singlespeed disc hub (36 hole), 6” Hayes HMX-1 rear brake (no front brake), Truvative Hussefelt ISIS cranks and Marzocchi Bomber Comp fork. The bike retails for an absolutely crazy $450US. When you upgrade to the P2, you’ll get a front brake (8” HMX-1), and 16 gears.

Also new for 2003 is the Enduro SX frameset. The four-bar linkage, 4X/slalom design offers adjustable travel (3-4 ½ “) full disc cable routing and is available as a frame only. It was interesting to see the BigHit Spec, a single-pivot 140mm travel full suspension offering from the originators of the FSR patent. A couple levels of this bike will be offered but suffice it to say this bike is aimed right at the grommet market. Kids looking for an affordable, fully suspended, disc braked, abuse worthy bike need no longer search our Buy and Sell.

The rest of the BigHit lineup features the more familiar 4-way adjustable headangle/travel FSR design, monocoque front triangle, 24” rear wheels and beefy ISCG tabs. The rear linkage has been tuned to give a better progression like many of the high dollar upgrades currently available. The Comp offers up 5.5-6.3” travel via Fox’ Vanilla R (upgradeable to 8.1” through use of larger link), a Marzocchi DJ-II, Hussefelt ISIS cranks and 3-ring compatibility. The 27 speed Expert gets upgraded with 6.8-8.1” travel via Fox’ Vanilla RC, Holzfeller ISIS cranks, Marzocchi JrT (with air assist). My favorite of the bunch, the BigHit DH gets Hayes’ Mag brakes, (though still only 6” in rear) Boxxer Race, MRP Bones cranks and fatty WC2 Chainguide in stealth black.

For more info check out the Specialized Website

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