http://www.ambmag.com.au - 87“Specialized iS, in part, to
thank for mountain biking
aS we enjoy it today.”Specialized understand saddles really well, and
with their range of Body Geometry saddles have
cottoned on to a concept that’s been staring us
in the face for decades – it’s width that makes
a saddle fit. Rather than offering a range of
different models – some wide, some narrow,
some in the middle – Specialized have up to three
different widths available in every model – so if
you’re a racer but you have wide sit bones, you
no longer have to buy a saddle that a commuter
would rejoice in, and so on.
each time I use them. A quick word of caution.
Speciaized’s Command Post has a frighteningly
rapid action. I made sure I was well out of the
way when I pushed the return lever after techy
descents!I was thrilled with the cockpit setup on this bike.
The bars were a perfect width, the brakes and
levers a sensible choice that performed well. Just
a quick word on the grips, however, which are
narrower for smaller hands: In my experience a
lot of women, and especially those starting out,
can experience significant hand pain – after all,
your hands take a lot of your upper body weight
and cop a lot of feedback from the trail. In my
opinion the cheapest and simplest way to deal
with this is just to buy foam grips rather than look
for women’s versions – foam grips weigh nothing
and absorb a lot of vibration, are cheap and easy
to replace, come in lots of colours, and are very,
very comfy. The only thing left to do then is sit
back and wait for your callouses to develop.our take
For more than a year now I’ve tested a women’s
bike for nearly every issue of AMB, and this one
pulled me up short. All the bikes I’ve tested,
I realised, were either quite similar to those I
was used to riding, or vastly different. All were
designed with a specific style of riding in mind,
and this made reviewing easy.I agonised for days over why the Rumor was
designed the way it was: why not make it racier?
Why not make it beefier like the Evo model? And
while I went through the seven stages of bike
testing grief during the course of this review, I’ve
finished it up humbled by the Rumor’s versatility.
The fact is that for a woman looking to have a
go at a variety of trail types, the Rumor has her
covered. Anyone with a specific discipline in mind
may look elsewhere, and indeed there are many
choices in Specialized’s vast women’s range, as
well as from other brands.Like a lot of riders, there’s no reason why a bike
should be bound to any particular discipline. Over
the last five or ten years mountain bike parks,
gravity-assisted flow trails, and enduro riding have
developed hand-in-hand with bike technology that
tempts riders further and further from their old
comfort zones. The Specialized Rumor is a great
all-rounder and will take you just about anywhere
you want to go on two wheels.The Rumor comes specced with the very comfy
Myth Comp women’s saddle at 155mm. If this
is too wide, your dealer will probably be quite
happy to swap it out for a narrower Myth Comp.
I’ve mentioned Specialized’s Body Geometry fit –
buying a new bike is the time to get a proper bike
fit. Don’t miss this important opportunity to make
sure your ride is perfect for you.
It’s been a real pleasure this year to test and ride
bikes with dropper posts – I don’t have one on any
of my own bikes, but I like them more and more
three thingS you liked
about the bike- Well-balanced and great precision
- Incredibly thoughtful spec
- Versatile all-rounder.
three thingS you would
change about the bike- I found the head angle a little too steep and
took some getting used to - Both the Autosag function on the rear
shock and the spring rates of both shocks
need a bit more tweaking for light riders - Tubeless conversion is a simple quick and
easy upgrade.