Specialized

Comments:

I ride about 3-4 days per week. I love the suspention in that its adjustable and there is plenty. Going from 26 to 29 and the way its geared makes this bike faster from the start. It is very rideable on rough terrain and handles really well in turns and climbs. I believe this bike should come with bar ends for climbing and better pedals that would at least accept Power Grip Straps. Its hard to find a bike made in America so with that being said it should easily be affordable for Specialized to upgrade a few more desireable items for around $2000.

Comments:

I've got the 2012 Camber 29er. I haven't owned a real mountain bike for almost 20 years, but I've been itching to get one forever. When I started my search, I hadn't even heard of a 29er, but it became apparent that at my price range, this was about as good as I was going to get, and I'm pretty pleased. I ride rocky, rooty trails with lots of ups and downs, and so far this bike is perfect for what I wanted. I'd considered a 29er hardtail, but looking at my age, and the gnarliness of local trails, I decided to go with a full suspension, and I don't regret it at all. I do wish it was a little more all mountain capable, but that's not really what the bike is designed for, so I can't complain. It's handled everything I've thrown at it, and I can see my skills increasing. At first, the geometry and the 29 inch wheels gave me a little bit of a hard time in corners, but it's getting better as I'm getting better. I've had to learn this whole thing from scratch again. Each ride, I feel a little more confident, and as a result the bike performs better as well. It's a great all around trail bike, and looks great too. As far as weaknesses, as the price dictates, there are certainly components that could be lighter. The XT rear derailleur is nice, but it's mated to much cheaper shifters and cranks, with the other parts falling somewhere in the middle. The Recon front shock has a loud sort of whooshy sound that takes a little while to get used to. The stock grips were shredded within weeks, and I'm not that hardcore. The biggest problem I've had is with the Avid brakes. They were silent and effective for about a month. Before long, they were making the turkey gobble noise, and vibrating both front and rear, which is apparently common with these brakes on Specialized bikes. I took it back to the shop, and they improved the problem, but they're not silent again. I'm hoping some bedding in and a couple more weeks help. If not, I'm going to replace the rotors to start. The thing is, I shouldn't have to. The weight for my medium, with XT pedals is 31 lbs. First thing I'm going to do when I get a chance is upgrade the wheels and go tubeless. Then I'm gonna look at that rear cassette as well, and shifters. End of the day, I'm very happy with the bike. When I look at it in the garage, I just want to get back on it and go ride. None of the upgrades (except the brake rotors) feel urgent, and right now I can just enjoy the thing.

Comments:

I have tried and bought bikes such as Specialized and Trek over the years. I was looking for a full suspension 29er under $2,000 and gave the Camber 29er Comp a try. It is a good bike and rode comfortably. However, Specialized increased the price of the Camber for 2012 which jacked up the price $200 or $2,200. Considering the current economic crisis, people do not much have disposable income. Specialized doesn't seem to be willing to help reach those under the $2,000 bracket plus the fact that they tend to manufacture less FSR bikes than the demand. So there is a wait time on orders for both the Camber and the Stumpjumper. Luckily, after a very thorough research, I found the 2012 Scott Spark 29er Comp which rides similar to the Camber but weighs about the same if not less. At [$] OTD, the Scott Spark is a much better alternative to the more expensive Specialized bikes. For Las Vegas trails, the Scott Spark is more than sufficient.