Specialized Status First Look | All new, all mountain, affordable trail bike

Today we can, finally, tell you about the new Specialized Status – a bike we’ve had under us for the past two months.

Since the ‘launch’ campaign for this bike has been going on since May you may in fact already be familiar with this bike from following certain Instagram accounts. The idea apparently was to use influencers to create a ‘movement’ with the youth around this bike. You can assume from that that Specialized are aiming this bike at the more youthful and ‘agro’ end of the market, to which this 49 year old rider takes exception.

It’s quite a special bike though, which may not be that apparent until I get to the price. Let’s start with the basics then.

This is an alloy, long travel, full suspension, mullet bike. I’ll unpack that for you.

It’s made of Specialized’s M5 aluminium, which means it’s not particularly special and it’s mass produced in Taiwan, so not particularly boutique. It’s got an FSR rear end and offers up 160mm of travel front and rear through a Fox Rhythm 36 fork and a DPX2 rear shock. These are the lower end OEM versions of fork and shock, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

There’s a 29r full Specialized house branded wheel up front and a 27.5 version at the back – AKA Mullet.

Groupset wise we are looking at predominantly SRAM NX Eagle and there’s an X-Fusion, internally routed dropper post.

So far nothing particularly ‘special’ in all that line-up. Certainly nothing particularly high end but it’s a very robust collection of parts that hints at what this bike is actually for. But if that’s all a hint then it all becomes very clear when you look at the geometry numbers, the headline of which is the 63.2 head angle. This is a bike for having a lot of fun on. It’s not built for efficient conquering of long all day rides or climbs. For want of a better term, it’s a park bike.

But still, that doesn’t really make it a stand out bike, does it?

You may think differently when you learn it costs just £2399.

Don’t get me wrong – that’s still a lot of money but in this context it’s getting you a lot of bike that more typically you would expect to pay considerably more for. I know there are cheaper bikes that on paper look like they’d do the same thing, but with a Fox 36 and DPX2 and this geometry, internal routing, tried and tested suspension setup and from a major brand – that’s a hard find. There’s no doubt in my mind that this is a lot of high quality bike for the money and I think Specialized are going to sell a lot of them.

And they’ve made an interesting marketing decision when it comes to buying one too. If you want one, at least here in the UK, then this is it. There’s just one model. One spec. One price – and you are looking at it. You can pick one of the five available sizes and there are some colour options, but that’s it.

In other parts of the world there is a shorter travel, more ‘trail-y’ version, but that’s your lot. And you can’t buy it online from Specialized either. Because the rollout of this bike began some weeks ago you can touch one right now at your local Specialized dealer.

First Look Video Review

In the video I quote the price as £2299 – This is incorrect. We were notified of a price increase after the video was shot to £2399

I’ve been riding it for a couple of months now and my early first look thoughts are in this video, but we’ll have a full review in print and online in an upcoming issue of Singletrack magazine.

Specialized Status Geometry

Specialized Status Spec List

• FRAME // M5 alloy chassis and rear-end, Mixed wheel Trail Geometry, threaded BB,12x148mm dropouts, sealed cartridge bearing pivots, replaceable derailleur hanger, 160mm of travel
• REAR SHOCK // FOX FLOAT DPX2 Performance, Rx Trail Tune, EVOL Air sleeve, 3-position adjustment, 230x60mm
• FORK // FOX FLOAT 36 Rhythm, GRIP damper, two position Sweep adjustment, 15x110mm QR axle, 44mm offset, 160mm of travel
• STEM // Alloy Trail Stem, 35mm bar bore
• HANDLEBARS // Specialized, 6061 alloy, 6-degree upsweep, 8-degree backsweep, 30mm rise, 800mm width
• GRIPS // Deity, Knuckleduster, Black
• FRONT BRAKE // SRAM Code R, 4-piston caliper, hydraulic disc, 200mm
• REAR BRAKE // SRAM Code R, 4-piston caliper, hydraulic disc, 200mm
• REAR DERAILLEUR // SRAM NX Eagle, 12-speed
• SHIFT LEVERS // SRAM NX Eagle, trigger, 12-speed
• CASSETTE // SRAM NX Eagle, 12-speed, 11-50t
• CHAIN // SRAM NX Eagle, 12-speed
• CRANKSET // SRAM NX Eagle, DUB, 170mm
• CHAINRINGS // 32T
• BOTTOM BRACKET // SRAM DUB, BSA 73mm, Threaded
• RIMS // Roval Traverse, 29 front, 27.5 rear, hookless alloy, 30mm inner width, tubeless ready
• FRONT HUB // Alloy, sealed cartridge bearings, 15x110mm thru-axle, 28h
• REAR HUB // Alloy, sealed cartridge bearings, 12x148mm thru-axle, 28h
• SPOKES // DT Swiss Industry
• FRONT TYRE // Butcher, GRID TRAIL casing, GRIPTON® compound, 29×2.3″
• REAR TYRE // Butcher, GRID TRAIL casing, GRIPTON® compound, 27.5×2.3″
• SADDLE // Body Geometry Bridge Comp, hollow Cr-Mo rails, 143mm
• SEATPOST // X-Fusion Manic, infinite adjustable, two-bolt head, bottom mount cable routing, remote SRL LE lever, 34.9mm, S1-S2:150mm, 5:170mm

Status Gallery

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Mark Alker

Singletrack Owner/Publisher

What Mark doesn’t know about social media isn’t worth knowing and his ability to balance “The Stack” is bested only by his agility on a snowboard. Graphs are what gets his engine revving, at least they would if his car wasn’t electric, and data is what you’ll find him poring over in the office. Mark enjoys good whisky, sci-fi and the latest Apple gadget, he is also the best boss in the world (Yes, he is paying me to write this).

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