bloody specialized! great bikes but bought by people who work in accounts called keith. they are the ford focus of the bike world, they're everywhere! with that many bikes out there, why do people always go for a safe option? and why would you want to spend a couple of grand on a bike only to see everyone else riding the same thing when you go out? why not spend that couple of grand and spec a bike from scratch and get some exclusivity along the way. common-cal's, boring boardmans and specialized? dull.

You're my hero

...because some people buy bikes because, um, they just want to ride a bicycle?

Azi, exactly.

It's tubes of metal welded together. Not some divine tool of the gods designed to elevate you to new levels of consciousness.

Get out and ride and stop posing on your niche machine ;-)

agreed Azi,

The important thing is to ride, what do i care if people have the same bike as mine?

Same for clothes, i ride whatever is comfy... these magazines are trying to introduce some sort of fashion on MTB, oh come on! what's it for? Worry about the pleasure you get riding and the adrenaline and not the way you look what others are riding.

Keep your dosh for after ride beers and take your missus out for dinner so she stops moaning about the dirt bike on the leaving room.

Leo

I've heard that car wax polish is good to make the bike stay clean...

Bobbyfett

..probably because it's the 'safe option', just as you have stated. I'm not a big fan of Spesh, but have had 07 and 08 Stump Jumper Experts and the back end was so good, I could bearly feel it working on quite nasty down-hills but looked down and saw it working flat out. What it did was really quite amazing.

I love my 'Spesh and won't have a bad word said against it.

Keith

Accounts

Agreed with the positive comments about Specialized.

There is a reason they are so popular. They constantly pushing the envelope of technology and sponser some of the best riders out there.

I definately agree about building a bike totally custom (as all 7 of mine are), but

give respect where respect is due. They have smart marketing and it works.

hang fire! i stated at the start that they're good bikes and i'm not knocking them! and i understand why people buy them, i ride with a mechanic at the local spesh shop at the fort in birmingham. ask your mrs what she woud feel like if she's off to some fancy party and she's just dropped a fair few quid on a pair of shoes, then she gets to the party and everyone else is wearing them. thats what owning a spesh would feel like!

and sorry about the delay in defending my corner, i've been out riding!

p.s. - rrice - kudos to you!

Specialized sponser advert ...o_0

I can't say I've ridden any of the above bikes except the pitch which is a fantastic machine especially for the price and a deserved winner. And I am sure the other bikes are all very good..

HOWEVER.. 2 boardmans and 2 specialized bikes in a small line up? Hardly seems like a balanced selection of what has been quite a good year for mtbs..

Not a mention of a ost equipped lapierre (3,5 or 7 series - take your pick), or perhaps the giant anthem? Or indeed the continually brilliant orange 5's that winning the trail bike of the year since whenever..

Sorry but it does strike a little of brand bias.

Dont buy a bike at Halfruds, their bikes maybe ok, but the people that put them together are muppets with no brain!

Am I missing something, or is this the list of most popular reviews as rated by readers of this site via the little stars? It simply reflects the fact that people comment on bikes they've riden, and lots of people have riden reasonably priced, well spec'd and positively reviewed Speshes and Boardmans. Anyway, I'm with the people who backed the Pitch. I'm off to play on one in the snow tomorrow, and I can't think of a bike I'd rather take.

Bobbyffet, you're now thinking like a woman and even putting yourself on their shoes. The thing for me is what I ride and how I ride. I don't care much about the others and their choices.

I have a spesh stumpjumper expert 2007. when I see someone in a trail centre with one i think: 'this guy might had thought the same as i did when he bought it'.. if it's a carbon is 'same way of thinking, more money'...

i have a colleague who used to ride a stump carbon, now he's got a £5K Santa Cruz Blur carbon. he hand picked the best bits for his bike. Good job but I still kick his butt up or down hill with my 2nd hand, £1.2k 3 year old stumpjumper.

leofat, its the rider, not the bike that gets you to the top first.

if you stuck oli beckinsale on an apollo and raced him to the top of a climb are you saying you would win on your spesh?

to re-iterate my point (again) - Spesh make wicked bikes, i just dont want one because they are too common.

To be riding a unique bike these days you either have to spend many thousands of pounds on a specific high end model or buy into a brand that no one wants.

Marin, Lapierre, Orange, On One and even Ibis bikes are everywhere these days.

Or, you could go to a specialist shop and have a bike custom built for you.

I have a custom built Hewitt road bike and actually I love it when I see others with one. I don't think, 'Oh, no that guy has the same bike as me" I think, "Oh look another Hewitt, now there's a guy who knows the value in having a bike set up exactly for themselves."

I have since bought a single speed Specialized Tricross for winter commuting and it's a really good bike, I like it a lot. However, it's just not the same as getting on a bike that you know has been put together just for your unique geometry.

There's nothing clever or special about buying a 'different' bike just because it's not very popular. There is something clever about buying a custom built bike if you can - even if it is custom built from a standard frame.

SDK - i ride a pace 305, i see one or two around and usually end up comparing spec with them. i coud have spent the same on a factory build with a different brand and save me having to trawl websites looking for the place that sells the crank i want for cheapest, however, i love doing it! its a great way to get to see products that you may not have heard of, you get what you want and most importantly, it keeps the mrs off facebook for a few hours!

Is one of the reasons Specialized are so common because they are the only brand available in the shop? I'm pretty sure that here in Derby all the bike shops sell Specialized and not much else

oh no, my names not Kevin, I don't work in accounts and I ride an FSR, Carrera, Merlin and there's an Inbred on the way. I expect all I'll do is sit in the garage and argue with myself about the fact that I shouldn't be riding any of them.

I agree with bobbyfett - and before anyone has a go, I too think that Specilaized make a good bike, but come on !! 2 bikes out of the top 5 and 1 in the road bike section too for both Spesh and Boardman ! Please, wake up and smell the (corporate advertising) coffee - this can not be considered as an objective and non biased journalist opinion can it ? What about Lapierre, Trek, Giant, Santa Cruz - they have all come out with some amazing kick ass bikes this year that would have most of these for breakfast, so how come they havent been commented on ?

Et Tu Titus, 'bol' put it right on his post: there are more people buying bikes on this price range. People who buy Specialized and Boardman are greater in numbers, commenting more, voting and reviewing more. Therefore the 2 brands are on this list.

Mind you for the price of a Santa Cruz or a Cove frame you can easy get a whole bike that does the job too.

Another spesh rider. Had my 09 rockhopper for over 12 months and loving it. I ride as many road miles as off-road, if not more, and it hasn't let me down once.

Pissing myself at bobbyfett's comment about shoes!!

Why do so many riders think that it's a f*cking fashion parade out on the trails!?

had the fsr xc raced at kirroughtree done an excellent job

i have a boardman ltd edition also hardtail not had a chance to proper ride it with this crappy weather

why are Specialized so popular?

because they make bl**dy good bikes for the money!

as one of the biggest bike manufacturers, they offer VERY good "bang for your buck" (value for money)

and have the financial resourced to have a big R&D / Engineering department and skilled manufacturers (Giant and Merida) that can create what the R&D guys design, and bring it to YOU (the customer) at an attractive price

you can go custom...pay twice as much...or buy a Specialized / Trek / Giant and "tweak" the spec. to customise it as you go ;)

Let me make this clear before everyone starts shouting at me I HAVE NOT GOT A PROBLEM WITH SPECIALIZED. However I do think that how ever good value they are for performance and amazing value Giant is unbeatable and I can't understand why they are so unpopular. I've never been on a ride and seen less then 5 Specialized bikes but I never see Giants. I just bought a STP 0 09 and its amazing for 800 quid. Only thing I will change are the grips :D. Anyway, someone please tell me why the unbelievable value Giants are so unpopular?

Specialized bike, black North Face Jacket for going out, X factor for entertainment :-)

Rob.Chapman- its because everybodys bought specialized!

Think thats it....Speci and Board are good value and are good bikes hence why they sell so well.....just like Ford !

Have to say although they are great bikes, their both dull...and yeh not exactly exclusive !

You wouldn't buy a Lambo supercar if it looked like a Ford now would you?

Each to their own...I personally hate riding what everyone else rides...thats boring, and come on the world would be one dull old place if we all looked the same !