Specialized Bike Reviews: Are They Really Worth the Money?

Specialized Bike Reviews for 2021

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Looking to treat yourself with a Specialized bike? An S-Works, to be specific, and spice up your life? That’s a great decision that we support with a Specialized bikes review to make sure you know what bike to buy.

Specialized bikes are among the best out there, dominating the cross country, trail, downhill, and enduro scenes. When life gives you lemons, throw them away and have a great day riding your Specialized bike.

Bikes have been known to reduce depression as you get to explore the world out there on two wheels. Here’s a candid Specialized bikes review.

Best Specialized Mountain Bikes

1. Specialized Pitch

Specialized Pitch

Specs

  • Fork:80 mm/100 mm travel
  • Wheel Size: 27.5”
  • Frame Size: S, M, L, XL
  • Frame Material: Aluminum
  • MTB Type: Hardtail XC bike

Specialized Pitch is the company’s entry bike which means it’s pretty affordable. An affordable bike comes with lower-quality components.

However, if you are using a bike for light rides and soft terrains and not so into professional riding, this bike is right for you.

The entry-level pricing gives you a quality bike at a fraction of what you would have spent on a mid-range or high-level bike.

This bike is suitable for those who have no idea about what discipline to follow, and they can ride it as they find their rightful path.

There are four different Pitch models, namely, Pitch, Pitch Sport, Comp, and Expert. All these models have different component finishing. The Pitch is a great bike to ride around your town and on soft terrain.

2. Specialized Rockhopper

Specialized Rockhopper

Specs

  • Fork: 80 mm, 90 mm, 100 mm travel
  • Wheel Size: 27.5”/29”
  • Frame Size: XS, S, M, L, XL
  • Frame Material: Aluminum
  • MTB Type: Hardtail XC mountain bike

If you are starting on Mountain biking and looking for a budget bike, but specialized has won your heart, Specialized Rockhopper is your type of bike.

The Rockhopper is as good as the name sounds. This budget bike can hope on rocks, depending on the size of the rocks we are talking about.

The bike is not suitable for jumping over tall or large rocks. Hardtails are not built for that. The frame sizes are diverse to fit every rider’s height. The 27.5” wheelers start at extra-small, while the 29ers begin at a small size.

Rockhopper features a series of bikes, including the Sport, Comp, Elite, Expert, and Pro. The Hopper is more trail-focused as it’s an XC bike.

If you want to upgrade to a 29er without spending a fortune on it, then the Rockhopper series will offer you several options while they show mercy to your bank account. 

The Rockhopper also comes in women’s versions. Why not celebrate your anniversary by getting your queen one of those?

The Rockhopper is the right bike for you if you are a beginner and planning to join XC and test your skills. It’s a bike that’s favored by smooth trails. The bike is not convenient to ride on rough and steep terrain, and it’s not great on the downhills.

3. Specialized Chisel

Specialized Chisel

Specs

  • Fork: 80 mm/100 mm travel
  • Wheel Size: 29”
  • Frame Size: XS, S, M, L, XL
  • Frame Material: Aluminum
  • MTB Type: Hardtail XC bike

Specialized Chisel is the real budget-oriented XC hardtail bike. Do you want to chisel out in the woods on a budget-friendly bike?

Then Chisel is your do-or-die bike, and it is super light and fast. This bike is for those looking for an aluminum XC bike within their price range and will not limit their fun.

The Chisel can make many riders happy, whether they are new or experienced with racing. The bike’s geometry is borrowed from the S-Works pedigree to give riders great comfort and total control.

Budget bikes try to balance the quality of components with the higher-priced aluminum bike having the best features that can withstand the abuse from the trails.

The Chisel is more expensive than the Pitch and the Rockhopper because of its components, such as the 1x drivetrain and air-sprung quality forks.

The bike also features smart weld technology. This bike is suitable for a beginner looking for the perfect bike to put them into the sport and those looking for an entry-level XC bike.

There are three versions of Specialized Chisel, namely the Chisel itself, Comp, and LTD Frameset. Whoever, if you want to hit the descents fast, you better leave your Chisel at home.

4. Specialized Fuse

Specialized Fuse

Specs

  • Fork: 100 mm/130 mm travel
  • Wheel Size: 27.5”+/29”
  • Frame Size: XS, S, M, L, XL
  • Frame Material: Alloy
  • MTB Type: Hardtail Trail bike

Specialized Fuse is a hardtail bike that is capable of many things that many hardtails can’t. It can go downhill, but it’s best suited for trails and XC events.

What’s more, the bike either comes with 29” or 27.5”+ wheels, which means you can pop in wider wheels for better traction.

The 2.6-inch wider tires will make your riding on snow, rocks, and slick claymore enjoyable. The rear wheel also maintains excellent traction when you are climbing to provide you with effective climbing.

Other great features of this bike are short chainstay and long slack geometry, making riding more fun.

The bike’s fork is packed with 130 mm of travel to ensure the front wheel cushions every obstacle.

On the rear, every Fuse comes with a dropper post. The height of the post depends on the size of your bike.

This is your type of hardtail if you are deeply into them. Aluminum frames are suitable for absorbing impact, and the Fuse even comes with an aggressive geometry.

This is also the only Specialized hardtail that comes with plus-size tires, so consider it if you have those interests.

However, this bike is not suitable for descents. Try to maintain your speeds in such conditions. Also, avoid technical terrains as much as possible.

5. Specialized Epic Hardtail

Specialized Epic Hardtail

Specs

  • Fork: 100 mm travel
  • Wheel Size: 29”
  • Frame Size: XS, S, M, L, XL
  • Frame Material: Carbon
  • MTB Type: Hardtail XC bike

The Specialized Epic is Specialized’s bridge between a hardtail and full suspension. In this small paragraph, we are going to cover the Epic Hardtail. It’s also the company’s best XC race hardtail, and it’s lighter and faster than a rocket.

When you get this bike, it will definitely be the apple of your eye.  Epic Hardtail features a larger seat tube diameter than the older model and is compatible with most dropper posts.

The hardtail version Epic steals some of its geometrical features from its sister, the full-suspension Epic, to make it the perfect weapon of destruction within the XC lines. It gets a slacker head angle and spacious cockpit to give the rider enough room to do their thing.

Epic Hardtail is as inspiring as the Epic full suspension, and it loves moving as fast as you pedal. If you appreciate lighter hardtails, are looking for a bike with reduced vibration, and don’t ride on steep descents, then Epic Hardtail is going to be your favorite bike.

6. Specialized Epic

Specialized Epic

Specs

  • Fork: 100 mm/120 mm/130 mm travel
  • Shock: 100 mm travel
  • Wheel Size: 29”
  • Frame Size: S, M, L, XL
  • Frame Material: Carbon
  • MTB Type: Full Suspension XC Bike

Specialized Epic full suspension is simply known as Epic. It’s such an epic bike for real, so to say, and the latest model is lighter than the previous, and it’s more forgiving on descents.

The suspension kinematics are thoughtful and well-engineered. The “BRAIN” suspension system is Specialized technology that increases the suspension’s efficiency based on the rider’s input and the trail type. It’s present in Epic.

There’s Specialized Epic and S-Works Epic. Their frames are identical, and only the components that defer here and there.

Overall, the bikes look similar even with the riding feel. There’re different sub-brands under the Epic flagship of bikes.

You can choose between Specialized Epic, Expert, and Pro, or take the S-Works version, which is the most expensive on the list of Epics.

Specialized Epic is a good buy if you have nothing to lose with a race weapon. Forget about the switches to lock your suspensions when you want to climb or ride on a softer terrain and vice versa. Your Epic will adjust them on its own. This is the bike to ride just anywhere.

7. Specialized Stumpjumper

Specialized Stumpjumper Evo Comp
Stumpjumper Evo Comp

Specs

  • Forks: 140 mm/160 mm travel
  • Shock: 130 mm/150 mm travel
  • Wheel Size: 29”
  • Frame Size: S, M, L, XL
  • Frame Material: Carbon/Alloy
  • MTB Type: Full Suspension XC and Trail bike

The first Specialized Stumpjumper was produced in the ‘80s, and if you compare the vintage model with the latest one, it looks like night and day.

The model was the first mass-produced MTB. That tells you the level of demand that’s there for the Stumpjumper.

It’s not only the most popular model they have, but it’s also Specialized’s quiver killer. Every brand must have a quiver killer, which is a bike that rides at rocket speed.

The 2021 model came with a lot of changes, including the suspension design. Instead of the Horst-link design used before, the 2021 model came with a single-pivot system.

Other noticeable changes about the Stumpjumper are the progressive geometry with a slacker head angle and seat angle.  The bike is no longer available in 27.5. Sorry to the affected.

The bike’s geometry can be switched with the flip chip’s help and carries a multi-tool in the headset known as SWAT.

The Stumpjumper is for the type of person who wants a bike that lives up to its name by jumping stumps and can climb and descend hustle-freely.

This is going to be a bike you’ll appreciate on how fast it rolls, and you can try different terrains with it.

8. Specialized Enduro

Specialized Enduro

Specs

  • Forks: 170 mm travel
  • Shock: 170 mm travel
  • Wheel Size: 29”
  • Frame Size: S, M, L, XL
  • Frame Material: Carbon
  • MTB Type: Full Suspension Enduro

Enduro riders are not left behind. Specialized have the Enduro, which does what the name suggests.

The linkage design of the Enduro is inspired by Specialized Demo, which is a downhill bike that we will review next. The enduro bike offers more travel and SWAT integrated downtube storage like the Stumpjumper’s.

The geometry of this bike makes it fast on descent. The rearward axle allows the bike to run over impacts without hanging, thus giving the rider the confidence to ride faster.

The chainstays of the latest Enduro bike were pushed further behind to allow the rear wheel to cushion over obstacles more easily.

The forks get 170mm travel and 29” wheels so that you can jump over rocks to ensure that your bike rides without losing momentum.

The bike also has an anti-squat feature which prevents the bike from wallowing down as you climb and you utilize every pedal stroke.

What caught my eye is how the bike resembles a Demo downhill bike. I had to ride Enduro to have a feel of how it rolls after the massive changes to the geometry, and I loved it all the way.

However, I feel like the seat angle should be a little bit steeper, like a finger tap steeper. If you have been looking for a bullet to load on your gun and take the shot, it could be no other but the Specialized Enduro, and you can be sure that it’s a shuttle all the way down.

The bike will go as fast you spin. Riding the bike on smooth and flat trails will be limiting its capabilities.

9. Specialized Demo

Specialized Demo

Specs

  • Fork: 200 mm travel
  • Shock: 200 mm travel
  • Wheel Size: 29“ front/27.5” rear
  • Frame Size: S, M, L, XL
  • Frame Material: Carbon/Alloy
  • MTB Type: Full Suspension Downhill Bike

The current Specialized Demo was first released in June 2020, and it has been one of the winning bikes in the downhill races.

By default, the bike comes with a 27.5” wheel on the rear and 29er in front. I’m not sure what they were thinking mixing the wheel sizes.

Why I’m saying so is because the rear of the Demo features a flip-chip to allow you to run a 29” rear, while you can easily change the front wheel from a 29” to 27.5”.

What was the essence of that? The bike comes with an adjustable geometry, allowing you to use other wheel sizes, which is excellent.

Surprisingly, the formula won many Downhill World Championships and World Cup Finals overall in the year it was launched.

Everything we said about the Specialized Enduro, especially the features on the rear were inspired by Demo. Even though downhillers rarely pedal, Demo features an anti-squat to use every stroke of the pedal efficiently.

Specialized believes it hacked it when they created a shorter head tube and bb height to achieve a golden ratio, stability, and agility. The bike is indeed a masterpiece and a winning ticket for every downhiller that wants to go for the cup.

This bike is suitable for those trails where you can ride fast, undisrupted. Whether the terrain is steep, technical, or rocky and with roots crossing the road, the bike will definitely live to the task. It doesn’t matter whether there are large jumps on the trail. The Demo will conquer them.

The bike comes in two versions, Expert and Race. They also have an alloy frameset that you can build a bike with.

Related: Where Are Specialized Bike Made?

Specialized Warranty

Specialized has a global guiding principle which states that the rider is the boss. The company stands behind what it sells.

One benefit riders enjoy is the lifetime warranty for their frames against defects on the Specialized branded frames and forks and chainstays and seat stays on full suspension bikes.

The Roval wheels also get a lifetime warranty. The frame paint and graphics get a two-year warranty.

Here’s the best offer we haven’t seen with other bike makers. A second or later owner of a Specialized bike gets a two-year warranty for the bike but only if they buy the bike from a retail shop.

After-Sale Service

Specialized has a Rider Care team which is available 24/7 to take care of your queries. They will help you with anything concerning your bike and any services required.

You will also get answers about tracking your new bike or returning an order covered in the Specialized return policy.

History of Specialized

Specialized is one of the oldest and best-selling bike brands in the world.

Founded in 1974 by Mike Sinyard, the company is still active in Morgan Hill, California. Sinyard was a passionate cyclist who competed in Europe and had to sell his Volkswagen for $1,500 to participate in an event.

Between 1976 and 1981, he was importing frames from Italy, building bikes, and exporting them.

Specialized went international in 2009. Since then, the company has never looked back, and they have been building almost all types of bikes, including road bikes and all disciplines of mountain bikes.

S-Works is a luxury line within Specialized, just like AMG is for Mercedes Benz. They also manufacture shoes, clothing, and helmets.

Final Remarks

Specialized has some of the best bikes in the world, especially the Stumpjumper. If you are looking for an all-rounder bike, this is the model to buy. Ask us any questions, and we’ll try to help.

Photo of author

Written By

From riding to school since the age of 13, attending BMX races and events with his dad to himself conquering 50+ trails across the globe. For Rob, his Giant Stance 29 2 2020 is the friend that makes everything better. He is also a proud member of the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA).

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