Specialized Camber

othello

After some scumbags pinched by custom Marin hardtail the insurance company paid out and I went shopping for a new bike. I hadn't had a full-sus since my original GT RTS a long time ago. After much searching I plumped for a Specialized Camber.

It arrived today and here are some pics after unpacking. I've only managed a quick spin around the block but it feels great. I'm off to Swinley Forest later in the week to give it a proper thrash!

D-Cyph3r

Lovely frame them Camber's, probably my favourite in the current Spesh line-up... though I keep wondering why they didn't go for a tapered steerer. :roll:

Have fun.

@lexD

Very tasty that one such a great paint scheme 8)

Let us know how you get on

othello

Initil impressions after a 20 minute blast last night on some bridleways by my house:

* Tyres feel BIG. They are listed as 2.0 but boy are they bulbous
* Much slacker head angle than my old Marin, so the front wheel feels 'out there in front'
* No pedal bob at all
* Feels light
* The mechanic who built it up did the most stupid brake cable routing (see pictures).

Will report back after a proper thrash in a few days

yorkshire_man

Lovely looking bike, though agreed about the cable routing, the brake lines on my Enduro are far too long and pretty obtrusive!

@lexD

Wow they are well long and the routing is bizarre :shock:

I have just shortened mine on the XC as I thought they were excessively long and needed tidying.

I am surprised your LBS let it go out like that.

othello

@lexD wrote:

Wow they are well long and the routing is bizarre :shock:

I have just shortened mine on the XC as I thought they were excessively long and needed tidying.

I am surprised your LBS let it go out like that.

Unfortunately it didn't come from my local LBS (who are top notch). Came direct as an insurance claim.

Might have to stump up the cash to get my LBS to trim the outers as I'm not sure I'm up to it. Was it an easy job?

D-Cyph3r

Probably worth getting the LBS, given the frankly disgusting money brake manufactures charge for bleed kits and the fact that it's tricky to get a perfect bleed on Elixir's the money will be better spent on letting them faff about with it.

@lexD

D-Cyph3r is correct avids need a daft bleed kit so LBS is probaly the best option unless you are going to purchase and do your own maintenance.
On my shimanos the only pain was the cost of a new end fitting and olives at £5 For 2 of each otherwise it was a doodle of a job.

yorkshire_man

othello wrote:

@lexD wrote:

Wow they are well long and the routing is bizarre :shock:

I have just shortened mine on the XC as I thought they were excessively long and needed tidying.

I am surprised your LBS let it go out like that.

Unfortunately it didn't come from my local LBS (who are top notch). Came direct as an insurance claim.

Might have to stump up the cash to get my LBS to trim the outers as I'm not sure I'm up to it. Was it an easy job?

Did it come from wheelies? My Enduro was an insurance replacement, going to upgrade brake lines to goodridge which should tidy things up a little

007iron

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This is how your cables should look.....i think

othello

yorkshire_man wrote:

Did it come from wheelies? My Enduro was an insurance replacement, going to upgrade brake lines to goodridge which should tidy things up a little

How did you guess! Yes, from Wheelies.

othello

An update on the bike after a proper thrash around Swinley Forest on Friday night...

Pros
* Rear suspension is amazing, even though I think I need a bit more air in there. It never feels like you are through the travel
* The bike is light, and feels it. You fly on it.
* I cannot believe how well it climbs! The rear just digs in and I was going up steep climbs in the middle ring rather than the granny on my old hardtail.
* 10speed set-up is great, especially the low range on the rear cassette. Seriously thinking of going 2x10
* Position feels good. The slacker head angle took a little getting used to (felt like steering a bus on tight singletrack), but now I'm getting used to it
* Corners like its on rails!

Cons
* The Reba TK is noticeably not as good as the Reba Race with Blackbox I had on my hardtail. Might help once I have fiddled with the settings maybe.
* Not keen on the tyres and might swap them out for XC Pros, which are my favourite
* Getting a odd noise from the front of the bike when going over rough ground. The type of noise you get when the headset is loose, or the wheel is loose in the dropouts. But neither are. Wondering if its just the frame booming a bit?

Overall, I love it though

leaflite

I didnt know you could get reba tks-I thought the bottom one was the rl?

If you find that the damper is the problem(assuming that the dimensions are the same as a standard reba and not a recon etc) crc sell blackbox dampers that you could fit.

leaflite

I didnt know you could get reba tks-I thought the bottom one was the rl?

If you find that the damper is the problem(assuming that the dimensions are the same as a standard reba and not a recon etc) crc sell blackbox dampers that you could fit.

othello

leaflite wrote:

I didnt know you could get reba tks-I thought the bottom one was the rl?

If you find that the damper is the problem(assuming that the dimensions are the same as a standard reba and not a recon etc) crc sell blackbox dampers that you could fit.

According to the Specialized website

http://www.specialized.com/gb/gb/bc/SBCProduct.jsp?spid=52768&scid=1000&scname=Mountain

The spec sheet says:

Custom RockShox Reba TK, Turn Key damper, Solo Air, alloy steerer, rebound adj. w/ LO, disc only, 120mm travel

But that model isn't on the RS website