Sea Otter 2015 | Specialized Presents 27.5″ Rumor
At the Sea Otter Festival, Specialized introduced a new version of their womens bike the Rumor, now available with 27.5″ wheels. The well-know trailbike is now available in both 29″ and 27.5″ sizes.
“Women are getting after it and riding a variety of trails – our rider feedback reflected a desire to have the Rumor available in both 29 and 650b due to the vast array of trails women are riding, so we’re excited to add this bike to our trail family,” said Amy Nelson, Women’s Mountain Product Manager.
The Rumor 650b offers 130mm of travel and is designed to handle tight and twisty turns with grace, provide quick handling over steep and technical terrain, while remaining agile and responsive.
Specialized claims to have put a lot of effort into tailoring the geometry both for women and rider size. One thing is clear at first sight: the Rumor has a really low standover.
Specialized not only adjusted the frame geometry to the female needs, but also put a lot of thoughts in the spec of the bike, avoiding a buyers need to fine-tune it after buying the bike. For example, the SRAM X01-drivetrain is equipped with an smaller 30t-chainring to help on the steepest climbs.
The Specialized Rumor will be available in three different versions: The Rumor 650b is the entry level and comes with a X-Fusion O2 Pro-shock, a RockShox Sektor fork, a 2×9 drivetrain and Tektro Gemini brakes. The higher-priced Rumor Comp features a Fox Evolution CTD-shock and a RockShox Revelation fork with a 2×10 drivetrain and Shimano Deore Disc brakes.
The Rumor Expert 650b marks the upper-end of the lineup and is equipped with state of the art components like Fox Factory CTD rear shock and a RockShox Pike RC SA-forks. It also has an SRAM X01 11 speed drivetrain, the brakes are Shimano XT.
Words: Martin Stöckl / Aaron Steinke Photos: Robin Schmitt