Specialized Camber Review
- Price Range: From £1,199.99 - From £3,320.00
- Discipline: MTB trail
- Usage: Riding a variety of trails
- Dialled trail geometry
- Fox and RockShox forks
- Lightweight frames
- No dropper post on alloy models
- Only SWAT storage on carbon
- No 27.5+ model available
Updated: 16th March 2017
Overview
The Specialized Camber is a quintessential trail bike. It’s made to handle a large variety of trails, with its accessible geometry and happy trail manners. Easily as happy riding cross country loops as it is attacking the descents, the Camber is made for those that want a do-it-all mountain bike.
Specialized designed the Camber around its Horst-link FSR suspension setup, which gives excellent downhill and climbing performance in one package. The bike is offered with frames of either carbon or alloy, 27.5” or 29” wheels, and men and women specific models to suit every budget and preference.
The Camber is built to be capable all around the mountain, going up and down with equal ease, so at the heart of every model is a lightweight frame. The entry level Camber and Camber Comp models get premium M5 alloy frames, while the Carbon Comp and expert models get a 9M carbon front triangle and M5 alloy rear.
The Women specific models get a specially tuned shock and specific components to cater for their needs. Boost spacing on the 27.5” Cambers creates a stiffer and stronger rear wheel and allows for a shorter rear end for more nimble handling. Sealed cartridge bearings in all the pivots make sure that maintenance is kept to a minimum.
On twisty singletrack, littered with roots and berms, the Camber trucked along nicely, with the low bottom bracket ensuring a ground-hugging feel where you sit right in the bike. - MBR
At high speeds, the Camber feels very capable and stable, holding its momentum over repeated hits and rougher trails. - MBR
The FSR suspension on the Camber is designed to balance climbing and descending potential perfectly. It’s able to ascend the tightest switchbacks like a goat, while being playful and capable down the mountain. The 27.5” models get 130mm travel front and rear, and the 29” models have 120mm front and rear. The FSR rear suspension offers fully active performance and is tuned to work with you, giving traction while climbing and full grip when blasting downhill and while braking.
The Shock on every model features a custom RX trail tune for refined damping performance. The base model features a capable X-Fusion O2 Pro shock while the rest of the range gets a Fox Float rear shock with Autosag, which makes setup a breeze. The Float shocks have 3-position compression adjustment so you can adapt the performance to the trail ahead, and rebound adjustment for fine tuning. For the front, the Expert gets a Fox 34 Performance fork, and both carbon and alloy Comp models get the RockShox Revelation RL.
The Camber is never short of gears, with every model sporting SRAM drivetrains with wide-range cassettes.
With advent of simpler ‘one by’ drivetrains, it’s no wonder that all but one Camber model gets a single chainring drivetrain. SRAM Groupsets are found on all the models, from a 1x10 speed NX drivetrain on the base model Women’s Camber, to a X1/GX 1x11 speed drivetrain on the Expert. The Comp 29 gets a 2x11 NX drivetrain, while all the other models get a simpler 1x10 or 1x11 speed drivetrain.
Except for the base model, every Camber gets a Race Face chainset, offering a stiff structure to enhance power transfer and handling. Shimano brakes take care of stopping duties, with large 180mm rotors in the front of the 27.5” bikes, and massive 200mm disc rotors on the 29ers for greater braking power.
Two different wheel size options are available to suit every style of riding. The 29” wheels offer better rollover for larger objects and makes the trail disappear beneath you, while the 27.5” wheels create a nimbler ride and put you more in touch with the trail.
All Camber models come with a Specialized Ground Control tyre on the rear and a Purgatory on the front, at 2.3” wide. The Ground Control rear tyre offers great grip but with less tread, which keeps the rolling speed up, while the Purgatory in front has masses of grip to find the most traction. Roval Traverse wheels adorn the Comp, Carbon Comp and Expert models, with a wide 29mm internal width for improved tyre support.
Two wheel sizes for every riding style, with Specialized Traverse wheels and grippy Purgatory tyres excellent handling characteristics
The Specialized Camber is a pure full sus mountain bike that is ideal for trail riding. It can take on any climb and near any descent, making it ideal for almost any rider who just wants to hit the trails. It is more than capable of tackling cross country tracks and even the odd enduro trail under a competent rider, making it a bike that has diversity as a priority.
SRAM drivetrains and a mix of RockShox and Fox suspension mark the Camber range as capable and well spec’d. The Roval wheels and tyres balance weight and strength for a fantastic performance ratio, never letting you down.
