Specialized was gracious enough to let us play with their Camber Pro for a good six months. At least five different riders rode it in such varied terrain as Santa Cruz and Downieville in CA and Bend, Oregon. The first thing to note is every rider had fun and walked away impressed with the bike. The second thing to note is we cleaned the chain and oiled the chain. That's all we did and the bike still performs like the day it was delivered to us.
That's what sticks out about this bike. It's very easy to live with. It complements the rider rather than get in the way of riding. With all the decisions about 2x10 or 3x, tubeless or tubed, 120mm or 140mm, 26/29er this bike just works. We just left it alone and we took it everywhere.
At the end of it all, we just looked at it each other and said. "You know what? This is a solid bike." Give it a task and it will do just fine. That fact that it looks great and is under $3000 is just icing on the cake. It's not a $7000 carbon trail bike or a 21 lb. 29er with full XTR. Rather what we have here is a carefully conceived and well-executed bike. In my audiophile days, I gained more appreciation for the stereo systems that achieved music Nirvana at the $1000 price point instead of the $20,000 dream systems. We have gained the same appreciation for the Camber Pro over the last few months
[youtube width="610" height="343" align="left"]httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-N3y6NhJhY&hd=1
So let us explore why we liked this bike. It passed the first and most important test which is: Don't let any bike or bike equipment detract from the riding experience. But we know that such a zen state does not happen by accident. A lot of thought and engineering went in this bike to deliver such seamless performance.
The Frame - The Camber is a new platform from Specialized for 2011 - sporting 120 mm of travel from an M4 aluminium frame with a similar suspension layout to its Stumpjumper and Enduro lines. The old FSR XC has been dropped from the range to make room for the Camber and give Specialized a legitimate shot at the 120 mm market. Front travel is matched at 120 mm as well.
The 2011 available configurations are:
Camber Pro 29er - $3000
Camber Pro - $2900
Camber Expert - $2400
Camber Elite 29er - $2150
Camber Elite - $2050
Camber Comp - $1750
2012 Configurations:
Camber Pro Carbon 29 -$8300
Camber Expert Carbon 29 -$5100
Camber Comp Carbon 29 - $3800
Camber Comp 29 - $2750
Camber Comp - $1850
Camber Elite - $2200
Camber 29 -$2200
Perhaps, there's one too many but the consumer ends up the winner as they can really select what's right for their style and budget.
Frame
The Camber Pro is the top model of the Camber line and is available in a 29er version as well. All the Cambers feature the same hydroformed frame with the four-bar FSR suspension design Specialized is famous for. All Camber models get an integrated headset, cable routing for a dropper seatpost, together with replaceable sealed bearing pivots.
Suspension
A custom Fox Triad three-position shock offers a complete lockout, Pro Pedal platform and a fully open setting. The lock-out is useful on sustained smooth climbs as it is a full on locked setting. We haven't seen this in a while on a bike with this much travel but the bike will climb like a hardtail at this setting. The Pro Pedal position saw the most action as it provides the most balanced feel in all conditions. The bike climbed and descended well at this setting. On the full open setting, it was a bit more plush on the downhills but climbing out of saddle was not a good exercise as suspension bob was quite noticeable.
The Wheels and Tires
At Mtbr, we're kind of anal about wheels and tires. We believe that is a component that can unlock the potential of a bike or it can literally drag it down into mediocrity. Our mantra is light, stiff wheels to provide snappy acceleration and climbing. And lateral stability aids in the handling and trail carving abilities of the bike. Likewise with tires as they are the final gatekeeper for the bike's cornering, braking and climbing abilities. It is very hard to find a happy medium with tires and wheels as the weight and preferences of the rider can vary greatly on this one all-purpose Camber Pro.
But Specialized came in with Specialized The Captain tires and Specialized hubs on DT Swiss X420SL rims with 15g stainless steel spokes. We are happy to report they arrived at a very good setup here. We never felt that the wheels and tires held us back in either cornering or climbing abilities of the bike. This combination, like the rest of the bike, just worked. They handled our 140 lb. and 210 lb. testers without hesitation. We are starting to get curious though what this machine can do with a pair of carbon wheels running tubeless tires.
The Cockpit
75 mm stem with adjustable angle, check. Wide bars, check. Locking grips, check. Comfortable Body Geometry saddle, check. The basics are here and they are meant to complement the ride and not interfere. But what about the newfangled dropping seatposts? Well Specialized has the Black Lite seatpost option and this bike is ready for it. There is cable routing ready for it and we tried it for a couple months with this setup. We're happy to report that they worked awesome together. Look for our review on the Black Lite dropping post by Specialized.
The Drivetrain
The crank looks like a carbon SRAM XO crank that is rebadged as Specialized. It is a very light and expensive crank and we're surprised to see it at this price point. The drivetrain itself is a 2x10 that works flawlessly. The chainrings in front is 38/24 and the rear cogset is 11/36. This gearing is carefully spec'ed and is very forward thinking. In 2011, we received quite a few bikes that had the traditional 3x10 gearing and they were really inferior compared to these modern drivetrains. When the gears are selected carefully for a 2x10 setup, it is disappears into the ride. The rider can hang out in the big ring all day and there's always enough gears in the smaller ring to tackle any surprise wall climbs the trail may offer. Specialized is a crusader of 2x10 and they even spec different front rings for the 29er version of this bike to optimize it for the bike and its intended use.
The XTR Derailleur may seem lost here in the mix but it's a very nice touch. We never had trouble with our rear shifting. It performed flawlessly throughout all the test rides.
Geometry
And finally, the magic numbers:
Head Angle: 68.5 Degrees
Seat Angle: 74.5 Degrees
Bottom Bracket Height (in): 13.2in
Chainstays (in): 16.5
If you just got excited, then you know a lot about bikes. The key thing to note here is the head angle is pretty slack at 68.5 degrees and the seat angle is steep at 74.5. Such is the forward thinking geometry of modern bikes. Make them slack and handle well in technical descents. Couple that with a short stem and wide bars and you'll have a confident descender. And then the steep seat tube angle helps the rider drive power in those pedal when it's actually time to climb the 3000 foot hill you just bombed down on. The bottom bracket is low this bike is a home in the very twisty trails of Santa Cruz or in the huge banked turns of Bend, Oregon.
Specifications:
- Bottom Bracket Model: SRAM GXP, outboard bearing
- Brakes Model: Custom Avid Elixir R SL, hydraulic disc, reach adjust, alloy backed semi-metallic pads, stainless hardware, G3 Clean Sweep rotor, S/M: 185mm, L/XL: 203mm
- Cassette: Shimano HG81, 10-speed, 11-36t Chain Model: KMC X10, 10-speed, w/ reusable Missing Link, nickel plates
- Cranks Model: SRAM Carbon S-2200, GXP, 36/24T rings
- Fork Model: Fox F120 RL, 120mm travel
- Frame Material: M4 hydroformed aluminium, 120mm travel
- Front Derailleur Model: SRAM X.7,10-speed, S3 direct mount for DMD, bottom pull
- Front Hub Model: Specialized Hi Lo disc, laser-etched logo, OS 24 end caps, sealed cartridge bearing, RWS, 28h
- Handlebar Model: Specialized XC low-rise bar, 7050 butted alloy, 680mm wide, 8 degree back sweep, 6 degree up, 31.8mm
- Head Angle: 68.5 Degrees
- Headset Type: 1 1/8" upper and lower campy style cartridge bearings for integrated alloy HT
- Pedals Model: Resin Test Ride Pedals with toe clips, CEN std.
- Rear Derailleur Model: Shimano RD-M980 XTR Shadow, 10-speed, long cage
- Rear Hub Model: Specialized Hi Lo disc, laser-etched logo, double sealed cartridge bearing, QR, 32h
- Rear Shock Model: Custom Fox Triad II for Specialized, custom on-the-fly 3-position switch 1) lock out 2) Open 3) ProPedal, rebound adj., 7.875x2.0"
- Rims Model: Custom DT Swiss X420SL, 24mm w/ eyelets, 28/32h
- Saddle Model: Specialized BG Henge Comp, hollow Cr-Mo rails, 143mm width
- Seat Angle: 74.5 Degrees
- Seatpost Model: 2014 butted alloy, single bolt setback, 30.9mm, S/M: 350mm, others: 400mm
- Shifters Model: Shimano SL-M660-10R SLX, 10-speed, trigger
- Stem Model: Specialized XC, 3D forged alloy, 4-bolt, 31.8mm clamp, adjustable rise
- Weight (kg): 12.1
- Weight (lb): 26.6
- Bottom Bracket Height (in): 13.2in
- Chainstays (in): 16.5
- Seat Tube (in): 19in
- Top Tube (in): 24.6in
- Wheelbase (in): 45.4in
- Tires: Specialized The Captain 2.0in, Aramid bead
- Front Wheel: Specialized hubs on DT Swiss X420SL rims with 15g stainless steel spokes
- Rear Wheel: Specialized hubs on DT Swiss X420SL rims with 15g stainless steel spokes
Value Rating: Value is the real story here as the Camber Pro delivers a bike that feels like it's worth so much more
5 out of 5 Stars
Overall Rating:
4.75 out of 5 Stars