First Look: 2014 Specialized Camber - Short Travel Shredder

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First Look: 2014 Specialized Camber - Short Travel Shredder
By iceman2058
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<b>The big S never rests. The Camber is already a successful bike in its Trail catalog, but the boys from Morgan Hill have been busy adding several new models to the line up.</b>
<b>And quite the line up it is. We spent three days in the company of select world MTB media, riding bikes from Specialized's 2014 "Trail" category, and we were impressed. New Camber models, SWAT technology, and rad new tires await you in these slides!</b>
<b>First up, Camber goes carbon! The short-travel, 29er-only Camber offers a 70 degree HA, 335mm BB height, 110mm travel, 1131mm WB (medium), and 449mm chain stays.</b>
<b>And - there's an Evo version of the Camber now too. 69 degree HA, 333mm BB height, 120mm travel.</b>
<b>Taking its design cues from bigger brothers Enduro and Stumpjumper, the new carbon front triangle is not only aesthetically pleasing...</b>
<b>...it brings considerable performance improvements as well. The new concentric seatstay/shock pivot adds stiffness to an already stiff frame.</b>
<b>Sam Benedict, MTB Product Marketing Manager (in audio) has to be pried off his Camber!</b>
<b>EVO. Three letters that translate to Lots. Of. Fun.</b>
<b>New for 2014, The Camber Evo gets tweaks that include more travel, a slacker headangle, and lower BB.</b>
<b>Yep - 29ers are just no fun at all.</b>
<b>You say "trail bike", Sam says "pin it". Don't be fooled by the short travel, the Camber uses its big wheels and sorted geometry to rip down stuff that looks like it should cause a lot more trouble than it does...</b>
<b>Introducing SWAT - Storage, Water, Air, Tools.</b>
<b>A Z-cage waterbottle holder with slick integrated multi-tool.</b>
<b>Unclip and slide your tool out...</b>
<b>...and you'll find a set of standard wrenches including this very innovative take on an 8mm allen for emergency trailside repairs.</b>
<b>The top cap holds a surprise...</b>
<b>...in the form of a chainbreaker tool (you need to combine it with the multitool for it to be fully operational). Pretty nifty!</b>
<b>Specialized is also updating its "Grid" casing for 2014. Opting for tubeless ready as opposed to full UST saves weight, while still retaining pretty much the same sidewall puncture resistance.</b>
<b>Pick your poison. The new 2BR casing is available with a wide range of tread, width, and weight options - Butcher, Purgatory, Ground Control, and Fast Trak.</b>
<b>Big thanks to the big S for having us over - when "trail" bikes are this capable, 2014 is looking like an exciting year for mountain bikers!</b>
First Look Intrographic Camber.png?VersionId=AlDjTUT4s8nKJVM.mnldLO

Join us in Charmes, France, for the unveiling of Specialized's 2014 Trail line. We spent 3 days examining and riding the bikes, wheels and tires that make up this category of equipment. The shortest travel bike in this category, the Camber sees both a new carbon and an EVO version introduced for 2014, and there's nifty new SWAT technology as well as rad new tires to discover too (also check out the 2014 Stumpjumper First Look feature here, and join us for ONE Lap to see the bikes in action).

The Camber is a short travel trail bike, designed for riders who need to get there and back and have a good amount of fun on the way. With its svelte looks and modest travel, we were surprised at just how capable the Camber is, especially in the Evo version. Tale of the tape below:


By The Numbers

2014 Specialized Camber Pricing

Model US MSRP
SW CAMBER FSR CARBON 29 $9,250
SW CAMBER FSR CARBON 29 FRM $4,250
CAMBER FSR EXPERT CARBON EVO 29 $6,000
CAMBER FSR EXPERT CARBON 29 $6,300
CAMBER FSR COMP CARBON 29 $3,800
CAMBER FSR EVO 29 $3,000
CAMBER FSR COMP 29 $2,600
CAMBER FSR 29 $1,850
2014 alloy Cambers are starting to ship now, and should be in stores late July/early August. Carbon Cambers are expected to be available in early September.

Photos by: Johan Hjord and Emmanuel Molle - www.specialized.com

8 comments

View replies to: First Look: 2014 Specialized Camber - Short Travel Shredder

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DaveMK
11 years ago
Wow, after the effort that specialized made to design a Enduro 29 with short chainstays, I was expecting the 2014 camber and stumpy 29ers to get similar treatment, guess not.
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iceman2058
11 years ago
The explanation for this is provided in the Stumpjumper First Look feature we launched earlier today. In short, Specialized's testing showed an improvement in stability as a result of "normal" length chainstays, both while pedaling and descending, that was ultimately favored for this category of bikes (the stays are still "reasonably" short...).
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Nicholast
11 years ago
Pretty stoked for the SWAT technology. I despise packs and forgo one whenever possible. Instead, I ride with a bottle in the cage and a CO2 & multi-tool wrapped by a tube then strapped to the downtube by a toe strap. That combo keeps the weight low, minimal and off my back. I would love to have my multi-tool integrated in the cage so my tube only wraps my CO2 and I don't have to worry about an expensive tool slipping out.
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b-kul
11 years ago
im pumped for swat too. just need to figure out a good way to mout my phone to my bike now.
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scarface
11 years ago
I find the best place to mount your phone when riding is somewhere in the house. If you leave it charging you have the added benefit of finding it ready for the test of the day when you come back from your relaxing ride out there....
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b-kul
11 years ago
its not like im on it. its just good to have in case of an emergency plus i use it for gps.