86 - AMB
models. Every bike shop should fit you up, and
Specialized have their highly-reputable ‘Body
Geometry’ fit, which takes into account your
flexibility, personal history, goals, and pedalling
action.
The Rumor is of course fitted with a women’s
saddle – the Body Geometry women’s Myth
Comp – mounted on a Specialized Command Post
dropper with a remote lever.
Before we took the Rumor out, AMB made a
couple of minor adjustments, setting up the tyres
tubeless (a very quick and easy process with the
Rumor’s tubeless-ready rims and tyres). We also
followed the instructions, printed on the shock to
set the Fox Float’s Autosag, then we were on our
way.
On The Trail
The Rumor, with its relatively long wheelbase and
29” wheels is all about stability, and is perfectly
balanced at low speed – especially when riding
in a straight line, be it across a tiny timber bridge
or down a very techy descent. This balance also
worked favourably on the climbs, and the 22/34
chain rings gave me more than enough options –
in fact for anything but arduous hills I rarely used
the 22-tooth at all, though it was very nice to know
it was there.
I did find the head angle of the Rumor, which
affects how sensitive your steering feels, a little
on the steep side at 70°, and it took me quite
some time to adjust to this through both long
sweeping corners and short twisty bends, where I
found I had a tendency to oversteer, then adjust.
The Roval Control wheelset really is a great
choice for this style of bike. Given that a female
rider is probably going to be lighter than her
male counterpart, Specialized have taken the
opportunity to spec a lightweight wheel, although
it can still take a solid beating and could handle
even extremely rough terrain without complaint.
The Ground Control tyres performed well on the
terrain we tested them on – rocky, sandy, rough
trails with plenty of tight corners. Riders looking
for more speed might choose to swap the 2.3”
front tyre for a narrower 2.1” to match the rear.The RockShox Revelation fork and Fox Float
rear shock are excellent choices for the Rumor,
providing stiff, plush travel. Although there’s a fair
bit of experience at AMB in setting up suspension
for sag, we followed the instructions on the rear
shock to test out the Autosag function, and were
a little disappointed that even after setting it
two or three times the shock still retained too
much air. Our verdict is that it’s a great way to get
started if you’re in a hurry or swapping riders, but
in reality a shop should set your suspension up
when you buy the bike and you can always tweak
shock pressure to suit your preferences as you
ride. A shock pump is an essential accessory and
really useful – you should be checking your fork
pressure quite regularly because like all valves,
they do leak (although extremely slowly).As I’ve mentioned, Specialized have shocks on
their women’s bikes tuned for lighter riders –
personally I think small bump performance could
have been even better with an even lighter tune,
but that level of customisation is too much to ask
of the world’s third biggest bike brand. Watch
instead for our upcoming tech feature on tuning
forks for lighter riders.essenTialsBRAnd Specialized
MOdEl Rumor Elite
RRP $4,399
WEIGhT 13.1kg (as tested)
dISTRIBuTOR Specialized Australia
COnTACT specialized.com/auAvAIlABlE SIzES 15.2”, 16.8”, 17.5
FRAME MATERIAl M5 hydroformed alloy
FORk RockShox Revelation
RC 29, 110mm travel
ShOCk Custom FOX Float CTd
Performance w/ AuTOSAG
ShIFTERS Shimano SlX, 10-speed
FROnT dERAIllEuR SRAM X7, 2x10, S3
direct mount
REAR dERAIllEuR Shimano XTR ShadowPlus,
10-speed, GS mid cage
CRAnk Custom SRAM S-2200,
carbon, PF30spindle,34/22
BOTTOM BRACkET SRAM PF30
ChAIn SRAM PC 1031 10sp
CASSETTE SRAM PG 1030 10sp,
11-36
huBS Roval Control 29, 15mm
thru-axle front, 142+,
12mm thru-axle rear
SPOkES dT Swiss Revolution
RIMS Roval Control 29, alloy,
TyRES Specialized Ground
Control, 2Bliss Ready,
29x2.3/2.1” (F/R)
BRAkES Shimano SlX hydraulic
disc, metallic pads
STEM Specialized XC
6-degree rise, 90mm
hAndlEBARS Specialized XC, 680mm,
SEATPOST Command Post Blacklite
SAddlE Body Geometry Women’s
Myth Comp, hollow
Cr-Mo rails, 155mmTesTeD