Tech

Specialized reveal new Camber

· By Press Office · 16 comments

Trail riding encompasses all of the sweet spots of mountain biking— getting outdoors, climbing with friends, and descending amazing trails that put an ear-to-ear smile on your face. We’ve lived the trail riding life since we released our first trail bike in 1981, and the feeling has never been lost. We’re excited to announce the all-new Camber.

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Specialized S-Works Camber 29.

Confident trail bike, built for speed

When creating these new dirt machines, we were so excited that it was hard to stay focused. Hopefully all the tireless details are self-evident upon first look, but there are three key areas that work in unison to create the fastest trail bikes out there:

SPEED: While Camber has always been a blast to ride, the standout feeling of the new Camber is how quickly the bike accelerates, tackles climbs and bursts out of corners.

  • Concentric Link FSR – To keep your tires in contact with the trail, our fully active, fully independent linkage keeps the suspension moving at all times. By directly connecting the FSR to the shock through the Concentric Link, we achieve a stiffer and lighter seatstay providing a crisp feeling. We also further refined the FSR for all-around trail performance, while keeping our hallmark, easy-to-service hardware and fully sealed cartridge bearings at every pivot.
  • Position-Sensitive Micro Brain – When it comes to blending shear speed with active suspension, there’s nothing better than the Brain. It’s the only shock that knows the difference between the rider and terrain inputs, so it’s firm when you’re on the gas and active over the bumps. The position-sensitive portion of the new Micro Brain is the latest to come out of our in-house Suspension Team. It’s a novel approach to creating a Trail Brain, and it has many of the features that you know and love from the Epic Brain, only with one major difference, catered directly to the trail rider’s needs: The inertia valve doesn’t engage until the sag point, which leaves the first 25% of the travel open for an enhanced trail feel. Basically, it creates the perfect blend of speed and efficiency for trail riding.

CONFIDENCE: Trail bikes have to do it all, and do it all well. And while Camber has a touch more speed built into its DNA, it still needs to tackle singletrack with the total confidence that trail bikes are known for.

  • Geometry – Built from the ground up for 650b and 29” wheels
  • Confident wheelbase @ 1,119/1,135mm
  • Slacker headtube @ 67.5/68°
  • Shorter chainstays @ 420/437mm
  • Same low bottom bracket height @ 329/335mm

UTILITY: It’s more important than ever to be prepared for what the trail might dish out. Most of the time, it comes down to the performance of the bike, but other times it boils down to what you bring along to fix it when things go sideways.

We first introduced the mind-blowing SWAT Door on the completely redesigned Stumpjumper FSR and Rhyme, and now we’ve adapted the same feature to the Camber.

  • FACT carbon Trail Chassis – built with storage in mind from the very beginning, meaning the performance of the frame remains intact, incurring only a small weight penalty, while the entire frame remains as torsionally stiff as its predecessor.
  • A SWAT cradle holds your EMT tool under the top tube.
  • On the down tube, a SWAT door unhinges from the frame to reveal a storage compartment inside the downtube.
  • A Bulkhead, as well as SWAT wrap, keep tubes, pumps, and CO2 cartridges held safely in place and rattle-free.
  • Molded carbon tubes protect cable housings, so there’s no tangling with stored items.
  • SWAT Door available on all carbon models. *Not all models come standard with the tool/wraps.

Other cool details

We love the details, and there are so many cool things to talk about. As follows:

  • The Camber line has been simplified — no more standard or EVO models. Now, there are just slack head tubes, low bottom brackets, and short rear ends across the line.
  • Most models come with the new Command Post IRcc.
  • Most models come with full internal routing and Shimano brakes.
  • Every model is two-by compatible with our optional Taco Blade front derailleur mount and our new seatstay & shock extension design. Also, most models come standard with 1×11 drivetrains.
  • Most models come with wide Traverse rims, the higher-end models getting full Roval Traverse wheels.
  • These new trail bikes took over two years to develop, while the new SWAT Door has taken almost five years to fully realize. Over all that time, though, the goal of making the best riding trail bikes for the rider has never been lost. We hope you’ll take the new bikes out on your favourite trail to see what they can do.

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Comments

nonky

Jul 6, 2015, 4:04 PM

my next bike.

slack, wide rims, dropper - PERFECT trail bike.

Brett

Jul 6, 2015, 4:25 PM

SWAT Door? for stashing smokes or what?

TLK

Jul 6, 2015, 4:26 PM

:thumbup:

igg

Jul 7, 2015, 6:24 AM

USD forks with no bash protection?

Those could cost a bit to service...

 

Looks like I need to start saving.

Baracuda

Jul 7, 2015, 11:09 AM

SWAT Door? for stashing smokes or what?

 

This year's gimmick. The promotional videos are a hoot "Since I can now store my tube and bomb inside the frame, SWAT has transformed by life, who I am, the way I am"

 

Useful for smuggling dagga into Afrika Burns.

linuxlg

Jul 7, 2015, 1:17 PM

Looks stunning, but I have to agree, forks require a bash plate

Odinson

Jul 7, 2015, 2:02 PM

Gorgeous bike! Can't wait to ogle the rest of the range. 

 

Spez definitely firing on all cylinders with their 2016 range of bikes.

DanielJhb

Jul 8, 2015, 2:52 AM

travel?

linuxlg

Jul 8, 2015, 3:59 AM

travel?

120mm travel with the 29er and 130mm with the 650B

L.T.G

Jul 8, 2015, 6:05 AM

Gorgeous bike! Can't wait to ogle the rest of the range. 

 

Spez definitely firing on all cylinders with their 2016 range of bikes.

I haven't been able to stop drooling since this news surfaced...

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But.....I think I'll be hanging on to my 2014 model for a quite a while now, I have a feeling 2016 prices are going to unfriendly  :mellow:

 

 

The fun stuff doesn't end with the bikes, looks like there'll be loads of new gear too.

Like the new 2FO shoes... and these  :drool:

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Odinson

Jul 9, 2015, 8:50 PM

I'm aching for this Camber, but I already have my heart set on the 2016 Specialized Fuse. 

 

http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bikes/2016-early-launch-bikes/fuse-2016-early-launch/fuse-expert-6fattie

 

Review: http://enduro-mtb.com/en/first-ride-the-all-new-specialized-fuse-expert-the-hardtail-comeback/

 

Will undoubtedly test ride the Camber before making the leap. 

Odinson

Jul 9, 2015, 9:02 PM

Very good review of the new Camber by bikemag.com: http://www.bikemag.com/gear/bikes/trail-bikes-gear/first-look-2016-specialized-camber/

 

Nice to see that the Comp Carbon version (basically the lowest spec carbon version) has a SRAM GX 1X11 drivetrain and dropper. At $3,800, it's not cheap though.

L.T.G

Jul 10, 2015, 4:46 AM

I'm aching for this Camber, but I already have my heart set on the 2016 Specialized Fuse. 

 

http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bikes/2016-early-launch-bikes/fuse-2016-early-launch/fuse-expert-6fattie

 

Review: http://enduro-mtb.com/en/first-ride-the-all-new-specialized-fuse-expert-the-hardtail-comeback/

 

Will undoubtedly test ride the Camber before making the leap. 

I might just have to "test ride" the Fuse, Camber and Stumpy for MONTHS before being able to make up my mind :whistling: 

 

(but I think I'm with you there on the Fuse) 

Captain Fastbastard Mayhem

Jul 10, 2015, 5:30 AM

Very good review of the new Camber by bikemag.com: http://www.bikemag.com/gear/bikes/trail-bikes-gear/first-look-2016-specialized-camber/

 

Nice to see that the Comp Carbon version (basically the lowest spec carbon version) has a SRAM GX 1X11 drivetrain and dropper. At $3,800, it's not cheap though.

at $ 3,800 it's very well priced for a carbon framed bike. Remember that the Trance Advanced sits at approx R 38,000 so if Spaz SA retain the $ pricing model, we'll be seeing the Camber at R 47,500 or so ($ dependent) - next best carbon bike doesn't even come close. 

Odinson

Jul 10, 2015, 7:55 AM

at $ 3,800 it's very well priced for a carbon framed bike. Remember that the Trance Advanced sits at approx R 38,000 so if Spaz SA retain the $ pricing model, we'll be seeing the Camber at R 47,500 or so ($ dependent) - next best carbon bike doesn't even come close. 

 

Very true. It's not often that you get a bike in that price range that ticks all the boxes of what modern trail bikes should have standard: 1X drivetrain, dropper, wide rims, trail-specific fork and so on. 

 

If I were to buy that bike, there is nothing that I can think of changing. 

Saag

Jul 10, 2015, 8:52 AM

Very true. It's not often that you get a bike in that price range that ticks all the boxes of what modern trail bikes should have standard: 1X drivetrain, dropper, wide rims, trail-specific fork and so on. 

 

If I were to buy that bike, there is nothing that I can think of changing. 

I'm sure we can find something!  :ph34r:  :whistling:

 

But I agree, although there is nothing wrong with my 2014 Camber carbon, I will "have" to get a new one.....

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