Feature

TESTED: Specialized Camber Women's Comp

The Specialized Camber is a highly popular bike, from XC to trail and everything in-between. Brodie Chapman put the Women's Comp model to test on the trails in Victoria.

AMB Magazine 20.02.2017

Photographer: Andrew Railton

Tester: Brodie Chapman

RRP: $5500

Full details are online.

Specialized Bicycles are well versed at mountain bikes. They are innovative, forward thinking and have an impressive lineup for 2017. The Camber has been in the family since 2011 and was perhaps a bit ahead of its time before the trail bike boom. The women’s equivalent was originally the Rumour, which has essentially been revamped and rebranded to join its men's counterpart as the [Women’s] Camber. With an almost undetectable slither of difference in trail and rake than the longer travel Rhyme, the Camber has hit the sweet spot with the geometry of a more aggressive trail bike but with the agility of an XC bike. Riders who want a playful step up from the XC race-ready Era will find a jill-of-all-trades in the Camber Comp Carbon.

Initial Impressions

It's a cool colour. As much as this might seem like a superficial observation, for many women the colour scheme of a potential new ride can be the deciding point. In a world where it really is hit or miss with paint jobs on women’s bikes, it is refreshing to see Specialized come up with a snazzy colourway for the Camber Comp, poetically dubbed as “Satin Nibalia Blue/Nordic Red/Flake Silver”. First impressions count, and ticking boxes straight off the shop floor leaves you optimistic about what this bike has to offer.

Specialized has been producing top quality self branded after market componentry for some time now, so the cockpit set up was actually already pretty dialled! I often feel compelled to remove the stock bars and stem before they even leave the shop but the Camber comes with 720mm wide bars, allowing enough control and stability for a smaller rider without being twitchy. The Camber Comp features Shimano M506 hydraulic brakes, which are about as reliable as they come at this level. The bang-for-buck brakes paired with the Sram NX shifters mean you are treated to an affordable package with the luxury of a neat carbon frame. The Roval Traverse wheel set is burly and strong, but a lighter upgrade would be welcomed should you be motivated to shave some grams.

The Camber Comp comes appropriately adorned with a women's specific saddle, as a long-term fan of Specialized saddles, I was pleased that the Myth was just as I expected; comfortable, practical and subtle. The dropper post is Specialized’s own “Command” with 100m of drop on the medium frame. The lever appears deceptively similar to a shift lever and although ergonomic, was annoyingly sensitive. The dropper itself was very touchy and every time I released my thumb it moved the dropper from where I had just set it. Controlling the speed of the drop was hard to modulate without going too far too quickly.

The top tube has ample clearance, which means smaller riders can really shift their weight around the bike with confidence. Because of the placement of the shock tucked in amongst heavily sloped top tube, the bidon cage mounting point means that you must run a side mount style cage. This would be fine if everything wasn’t so jam packed in the small space of the front triangle. A standard 600ml bidon just nudges the CTD switch, which had me climbing with an open shock at one point when I really didn’t need to be! Removing and replacing the bottle while riding was also challenging, so much so that I found myself having to stop each time I wanted to take a swig. Beneath the bottle cage mount is the SWAT trapdoor, a crafty idea patented by Specialized for storage of spares and snacks, eliminating the need for bulky pockets or swinging saddle bags. The SWAT feature is sure to win you over, ask anyone who has used one and they will brag about its’ genius!

On the trail

I first took the Camber out to Red Hill on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, which demands a decent amount of ‘up’ before you get to play on the trails. I initially had reservations about how efficiently it would climb, yet the Camber again proved good at introductions as women’s tuned Fox Float CTD performed flawlessly to give me a balanced ride up and down. Although the angles and bottom bracket height fall within a degree of the bike's 150mm big-sister Rhyme, the lower stack and greater stretch in the reach gives the rider a more favourable position when it came to the slog up the hill. Pedal bob has been almost entirely eliminated from many high end dual suspension bikes nowadays, but the Camber takes this to the next level and almost enhances the climb by grabbing at protruding trail features and clambering over them with ease. I was also impressed by its ability to negotiate tight switchback climbs, steer with precision and accelerate out of turns. When gravity gave way, the Camber echoed the ride of an enduro-race-rig and took the bigger hits with poise. Specialized aimed to produce this bike to have equal climbing and descending ability, and with the Camber they have seen success, giving riders the edge over varying terrain.

The Women’s Camber actually has identical geometry to men’s version, yet is only offered in a 650B wheel. On the contrary, the men’s lineup predominately offers the higher end builds in a 29er, and one lower spec’d 650b option. I feel that it is limiting that this bike has been branded for women as it means smaller male riders or even those that prefer a 650B wheel are left with either the option of the lower specced alloy camber for men or a ‘women's’ bike. Other features such as a shorter crank, women’s specific saddle, custom tuned suspension and aforementioned narrower bars are what define the bike as women’s specific, as these contact points usually do make a difference for female riders. The custom tuned suspension is based on the assumption that the rider will be lighter and put less force on the bike, and has a cool autosag adjustment for a no-fuss set up. I decided to trust Specialized and roll with the autosag as my only suspension adjustments, and true to form the revelations and the fox float felt nicely balanced and adaptable the terrain.

The Camber Comp Carbon ticks most boxes for practical, fun and sleek trail bike, however a notable blemish on an otherwise near perfect bike was the incredulously small 28 tooth chainring. Although this feature inspires a no-excuses-to-not-climb-the-steep-fireroad kind of ride, it does mean that combined with the 650b wheel, the chain line actually sits right on the chainstays, which results in an annoying chatter over any small bumps or corrugations. As I see it, a slightly larger chainring would be the obvious resolution and would go so far as to have positive effect on the ride feel. This should be an easy change at your dealer if you need higher gearing.

Final impressions

If I were to capture the spirit of the Camber Carbon in a few words, it would be adaptable and compliant. Perhaps overused buzz words in the bike industry but the Camber really handles whatever is thrown at it. I gave it a run on some downhill trails, steep fireroad climbs, step-downs and jumps, sandy berms and wet, off camber roots. The Purgatory 2.3” tyres were trustworthy and all the right kinds of grippy, only to be improved by a tubeless conversion, which is easily done with the tubeless ready rims and tyres. As trail bikes are branded as the one bike to rule them all, it can sometimes present a challenge to actually nail all aspects of it without going too far in the one direction. I rate the Camber as this bike. For a majority of trails in Australia, the Camber rides the line of perfect balance between capable enduro machine and nimble trail whip.