I have heard from a "super reliable source" that Specialized will be emerging in a large way with 29ers in 2008(not just a rigid SS, probally geared and FS), and their is speculation that the 2008 bikes may make an early debut.
the Big "S" is coming
- Thread starter Angus
- Start date
I hope they are different from their current crossroads bikes.....those things blur the lines and don't really serve any one purpose too well.
although I guess they are selling well at bike shops so maybe the Big S knows a lot more about what they are doing than I do. Because the name of the game is to sell as many bikes as they can right?
although I guess they are selling well at bike shops so maybe the Big S knows a lot more about what they are doing than I do. Because the name of the game is to sell as many bikes as they can right?
Trust me these new bikes are go to be "REAL" mtb's they are going after Fisher and Orbea for the racer's market....
We've all known they've had protos of 29er FS bikes built and tested for a while. Interesting to hear a timeframe on bringing them to market. Honestly, they can't afford not to bring them to market, especially in the racing/endurance segment.
I just hope we get a good producting 5-6" 29er out of them, but that's more of a longshot...
I just hope we get a good producting 5-6" 29er out of them, but that's more of a longshot...
Specialized has always been a Fox related company, although they are going it on their own with their in house shocks as of late.
However, this company isn't dumb, (they just seem that way) and I would bet my money that they are waiting to get Fox forks on the front ends of these new 29"ers. Probably an exclusive for a year, like Fisher/Reba in '05.
Think about it......Fox is a hugely anticipated 29"er fork and the only company that has 'em for a year is Specialized, (just giving an example here, don't get excited just yet!). So what if they are late to the party, they will eat up market share just because of the fork. And also, they would sway 26"er hold outs much easier if they could offer a Fox fork on a 29"er.
I have thought for a few years now that Specialized was crazy for not making a bike for the tire(s) that they had. Now it turns out they just might be crazy.......crazy like a "fox"!
However, this company isn't dumb, (they just seem that way) and I would bet my money that they are waiting to get Fox forks on the front ends of these new 29"ers. Probably an exclusive for a year, like Fisher/Reba in '05.
Think about it......Fox is a hugely anticipated 29"er fork and the only company that has 'em for a year is Specialized, (just giving an example here, don't get excited just yet!). So what if they are late to the party, they will eat up market share just because of the fork. And also, they would sway 26"er hold outs much easier if they could offer a Fox fork on a 29"er.
I have thought for a few years now that Specialized was crazy for not making a bike for the tire(s) that they had. Now it turns out they just might be crazy.......crazy like a "fox"!
My money wouldn't be on Fox shox. My money would be on a specialized-branded 29er fork from their newish in-house suspension design team. All their FS bikes up to the Enduro SL now run on Specialized brand rear shocks instead of Fox, and the Enduro SL uses their house brand dual crown fork, so it's pretty obvious they're moving *away* from Fox and not towards them. I would guess next year will see even more new suspension products from Specialized, and I could certainly see them coming up with a proprietary fork, or forks, for 29ers... that's their strategy for cornering the market- owning the product forever, not just a one year exclusive on it...
Specialized has never really designed/made their own suspension products, they are outsourced. The various original Futureshocks from the early 90s were made by Rockshox on the Rockshox assembly line.
The Brain, Triad, Maverick's fork, new Futureshock e150, AFR shock, and the like are designed by Mike McAndrews who has worked for RockShox, Fox, Maverick, and Specialized.
The Brain, Triad, Maverick's fork, new Futureshock e150, AFR shock, and the like are designed by Mike McAndrews who has worked for RockShox, Fox, Maverick, and Specialized.
And Fox has always made all of their own suspension products? IIRC, Fox has had other companies manufacture the suspension equipment they've designed, in the past.
From Specialized's perspective, the only difference between a Mike McAndrews designed Fox Rp3 that's actually made in Taiwan by a third party, and a Mike McAndrews-designed Specialized rear shock made in Taiwan by a third party, is the markup they have to pay to Fox...
From Specialized's perspective, the only difference between a Mike McAndrews designed Fox Rp3 that's actually made in Taiwan by a third party, and a Mike McAndrews-designed Specialized rear shock made in Taiwan by a third party, is the markup they have to pay to Fox...
I still say it's gotta be a Fox branded shock, or this whole Specialized 29"er thing will go down in a fiery ball. The masses of 29"er nutcases are frothing at the mouth for a Fox branded fork, and as long as the perception is that Fox makes it, it won't matter a hill of beans if your Aunt Betsy designed it.
If Specialized does indeed hold to their self branded fork line in a 29"er edition, it will be viewed with a skeptical and hyper-critical eye. Unless it's got near zero maintenance and near zero failures with next to perfect performance it won't even begin to be in the same league as a 29"er Reba fork, which in a short two years has become the de-facto standard for 29"er fork performance. (Not sure what that means to you 26"er folks out there, but there it is!)
On the other hand, if it's a Fox branded product, there is going to be a lot of "brand blindness" going on in which the products percieved value will overcome some shortcomings, if any, just because it's a Fox Shock.
Couple this with the perception in the 29"er world that Specialized is somewhat of a carpet bagging "johnny come lately", and it might become apparent that they have an uphill battle on their hands that an "unproven" front fork won't help. Again, these guys from Morgan Hill aren't stupid, it just looks that way sometimes, and I know they are aware of how they are percieved in the 29"er world.
And then we hear that Mike Sinyard himself is saying that they will "....never produce a 29"er.." and yet we keep hearing these rumblings of future 29"er product coming to market. Perhaps they really are coming, but if your head "cheese" is coming down so hard on the format, then you may not be so quick to test the waters with your own R&D money tied up into a fork that will be seen as a questionable product by your core market. Why not slap somebody elses product on the front of your bike and let them take some of that risk? A product that you know will be anticipated with great fervor by your core market. A product branded as a Fox Fork. We know Fox is in fact working on a 29"er fork, or all of this would be a moot point.
Okay, that's my case for the Specialized 29"er to have a Fox fork. My opinion, your's may vary.
If Specialized does indeed hold to their self branded fork line in a 29"er edition, it will be viewed with a skeptical and hyper-critical eye. Unless it's got near zero maintenance and near zero failures with next to perfect performance it won't even begin to be in the same league as a 29"er Reba fork, which in a short two years has become the de-facto standard for 29"er fork performance. (Not sure what that means to you 26"er folks out there, but there it is!)
On the other hand, if it's a Fox branded product, there is going to be a lot of "brand blindness" going on in which the products percieved value will overcome some shortcomings, if any, just because it's a Fox Shock.
Couple this with the perception in the 29"er world that Specialized is somewhat of a carpet bagging "johnny come lately", and it might become apparent that they have an uphill battle on their hands that an "unproven" front fork won't help. Again, these guys from Morgan Hill aren't stupid, it just looks that way sometimes, and I know they are aware of how they are percieved in the 29"er world.
And then we hear that Mike Sinyard himself is saying that they will "....never produce a 29"er.." and yet we keep hearing these rumblings of future 29"er product coming to market. Perhaps they really are coming, but if your head "cheese" is coming down so hard on the format, then you may not be so quick to test the waters with your own R&D money tied up into a fork that will be seen as a questionable product by your core market. Why not slap somebody elses product on the front of your bike and let them take some of that risk? A product that you know will be anticipated with great fervor by your core market. A product branded as a Fox Fork. We know Fox is in fact working on a 29"er fork, or all of this would be a moot point.
Okay, that's my case for the Specialized 29"er to have a Fox fork. My opinion, your's may vary.
While I think your idea of an exclusive on a Fox fork *would* be a great business strategy, I don't forsee Specialized doing that at all. The last thing they want to do is underscore the value of the Fox brand or play that up as a marketing angle when they're moving their other products away from Fox. You don't win PR points by saying "our stuff is better than the Fox that was on our bikes before," then turn around and say "you should buy this new one from us *because* it's got a Fox." As a big-picture brand marketing strategy, it would be highly hypocritical.
The big S wants people to buy they're bikes because they're Specialized, not because they've got Fox suspension on them, and I think any marketing strategies they design will be based around upping their own brand, and not inflating the importance of a different brand.
The big S wants people to buy they're bikes because they're Specialized, not because they've got Fox suspension on them, and I think any marketing strategies they design will be based around upping their own brand, and not inflating the importance of a different brand.
I expect that the 29"er folks will pan the bike then. As a group, the 29"er folks are all about getting a Fox shock in 29"er size. Specialized branded shocks? Hardly anyone has heard of those, they have no track record, and (again) they'd have to be pretty stellar to eclipse the already great Reba, or White 29"er forks, for that matter.
So at the risk of being seen as "hypocritical", I would suggest that Specialized NOT put their own branded shock on a 29"er and go with anything else that has 29"ers stamp of approval, or in a best case scenario, a Fox branded fork.
It's all about selling units. I'm saying they would sell far more units with a Fox shock instead of anything else and especially their own branded shock. (Again, a shock that no one has heard of in the 29"er ranks and has no track record to speak of)
If there were to be a 29"er from Specialized, which would you think would sell more units? A bike with a Fox or a bike with a whatchamacallit?........a what?........Specialized fork? Huh.........never heard of it!
So at the risk of being seen as "hypocritical", I would suggest that Specialized NOT put their own branded shock on a 29"er and go with anything else that has 29"ers stamp of approval, or in a best case scenario, a Fox branded fork.
It's all about selling units. I'm saying they would sell far more units with a Fox shock instead of anything else and especially their own branded shock. (Again, a shock that no one has heard of in the 29"er ranks and has no track record to speak of)
If there were to be a 29"er from Specialized, which would you think would sell more units? A bike with a Fox or a bike with a whatchamacallit?........a what?........Specialized fork? Huh.........never heard of it!
I think that it is hilarious that people are so pent up about what Fox is doing.
Who cares?
So they don't make a 29er fork. Big deal. Their 26" forks, not to mention their rear shocks aren't exactly mindblowing, with the exception of how much they cost.
And the fact that you have to have an account with them to get any kind of service.
Over the years, I have had lots of Fox product. It is well executed, but that is about it.
While it will be great to have another choice in the fork market, waiting for this choice is not the right thing to do.
Waiting = not riding.
There are plenty of viable products on the market right now for front end cushiness, and even the most expensive of them are in the neighborhood of what Fox sells their current line up of high end forks at.
Sorry for the rant. I was listening to NOFX all day, especially the song "Dinosaurs will Die"
Who cares?
So they don't make a 29er fork. Big deal. Their 26" forks, not to mention their rear shocks aren't exactly mindblowing, with the exception of how much they cost.
And the fact that you have to have an account with them to get any kind of service.
Over the years, I have had lots of Fox product. It is well executed, but that is about it.
While it will be great to have another choice in the fork market, waiting for this choice is not the right thing to do.
Waiting = not riding.
There are plenty of viable products on the market right now for front end cushiness, and even the most expensive of them are in the neighborhood of what Fox sells their current line up of high end forks at.
Sorry for the rant. I was listening to NOFX all day, especially the song "Dinosaurs will Die"
Hey G, that's pretty good thinking, but you read the boards and you see the banter. People are clamouring for this Fox stuff. I agree that it's not going to revolutionize the format if we get a 29"er fork out of them, but I think you'd have to agree that alot of people are ready to pounce on this.
I keep reading this all the time. "If Fox would only come out with such and such travel Terra-fantasmagorical-travel-illogical-adjustamatical-all mountanous 29"er dream fork, we would be on it like a fly on poop!"
I've ridden Fox products and I have worked with two guys that have raced the stuff and I can vouch for the strange service and finicky maintenance procedures of the shocks, but that's what I meant when I posted earlier about "brand blindness", where a certain product has a fan base that believes so strongly in the brand that the quirks and foibles go unnoticed, or at least unspoken in public, for the most part. I think Fox has a bit of that going on.
Anyway, NOFX or not, I see where you are coming from and I agree. Ride today, forget about Fox, Specialized, and all of this rumor-mongering. So.........I'm shutting up now!
I keep reading this all the time. "If Fox would only come out with such and such travel Terra-fantasmagorical-travel-illogical-adjustamatical-all mountanous 29"er dream fork, we would be on it like a fly on poop!"
I've ridden Fox products and I have worked with two guys that have raced the stuff and I can vouch for the strange service and finicky maintenance procedures of the shocks, but that's what I meant when I posted earlier about "brand blindness", where a certain product has a fan base that believes so strongly in the brand that the quirks and foibles go unnoticed, or at least unspoken in public, for the most part. I think Fox has a bit of that going on.
Anyway, NOFX or not, I see where you are coming from and I agree. Ride today, forget about Fox, Specialized, and all of this rumor-mongering. So.........I'm shutting up now!
I don't know- I guess around here, no one's waiting for Fox, although we *are* waiting for a good 5" travel thru-axle fork (29er Pike!). Even XC guys on 26's are choosing Reba WC's over Fox (just yesterday saw a Titus Racer-X exogrid 26 at my LBS with a *gasp* Reba on it!), so the local 29er crowd isn't exactly heartbroken over a lack of Fox 29er XC fork...