2013 Specialized P. 3 Bike

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Overall the bike is absolutely nuts. top of the line products where you need them, a fantastic frame, and a bike that is shred ready from day one.

***I only rode this bike for 2 days in the bike park, this is not a thorough review***

With that said, we got along great. I got the chance to ride the 2014 P3 at Winterberg Bike Park, in Germany for a weekend in October 2013, and i really liked it. I rode it on the pumptrack, dirt jumps, and on two of the jump trails, the Bell Freecross and the Continental track.

Things I liked:

-Handled great. I'm not 100% sure what it was, but even at (relatively) high speeds it was fairly stable, and the Specialized Slopestyle tyres it comes with a grippier than they look. I managed to scare myself a few times on the faster, higher speed corners that required a fair bit of commitment, but it saved my butt every time.

- Fork is great. Rockshox nailed it with the Solo Air Argyle. Adjustable, light enough, stiff enough, no fuss. Tracks where you point it, can be set plush enough for braking bumps and similar rubbish, but also nice and firm for big jumps.

- Colour. It looks great. It's bright and in your face, but it looks sick. Not so good when covered in mud though (we had two days of consistent rain, and it was pretty muddy).

Things I didn't like:

- Price. I love this bike, but I do wonder where the extra cash goes, against a similar model from another brand. I think there's a certain brand premium turning up at Spesh the last couple of years, and yes, they make great bikes, but damn, the S on the headtube is starting to cost good money!

***As I only rode this bike for 2 days, i can't comment on reliability or durability, but I imagine its quite good, like all the Big S's park/dirt bikes have been***