Specialized “test the best” Apeldoorn

by Tanja · October 29, 2013

Not often do you get the chance to ride the top-of-the-line bikes, and happily I took the invite to participate in Specialized’s Test the Best event, in my hometown. Another change to play with the Camber I thought… I wasn’t the only one. The Camber was perhaps the most popular bike!

But nothing was lost, the alternatives were plenty! While my friend could fit the large Camber, I had a go on the women-specific Rumor Expert. Basically an alu Camber. With smaller bars, no tru-axl in front and no hydraulic stealth post (but at least it comes stock with a dropper post). The rumor turned out to be the bike of the day for me!

Rumor Expert

They try, they really try to keep the girlie stuff to a minimum, it has a blueish grey coat with a few ornaments that are somewhat girlie. The frame is the high end M5 hydroformed alloy and has a low standover height. This is actually pretty okay, it doesn’t degrade the bike’s handeling or appeal. It’s just right. Just like the riding position on the Rumor: just right! I won’t mind a slight wider bar and prefer hydraulics for my dropperpost and a thru-axl for my forks. But it climbs very well and descends with confidence and fun! I didn’t want to give this baby back!

It almost made me reconsider buying a Camber, only the price kept me from it. A Camber Expert (and really the only model that fits my profile) costs roughly € 3800,- A Camber Evo (alu with sligh less components like forks (but with 15mm axl) and wheels) will cost you € 2600,- and gives you a handsome budget to upgrade and a Camber Carbon Comp (the one I like most visually) comes at € 3200,- but you’ll have carbon and some budget for better wheels and a dropperpost. So yeah… still not inclined to buy a women-specific bike.

Epic baby!

Of course, when you have a change to ride an Epic sworks, you must! You simply must tread yourself to such amazing riding, stiff and fast. I actually fitted a small Epic and it didn’t feel like a “bike with big wheels”, just like the Rumor; everything made sense but one little thing…. it’s a work…. and no play! The Epic is all business and serious, full on efficiency and light as… well whatever it light!

Speaking of light…

Why stop there? The cyclocross Crux was a size too big but the Tarmac wasn’t (*insert wicked grin*). The road-testtrack was actually pretty fun, maybe more fun then the offroad track. Did I think the Epic was all business and no comfort? The Tarmac tops that! Everything comfort is scarified for weight loss purpose. And I could feel why. High carbon rims… maybe not my tast, I’ll stick to low rims in stead but as a whole… this is one sexy bike.