I have now put the first 100 km on my new Specialized Camber Comp 29er and it’s certainly served me well as my first mountain bike. Coming from a road background, I may not know the ins and outs of specifically how different mountain bikes feel, but the Camber has made the intro to mountain biking easier and tons of fun.
I opted for the Camber because of its versatility between having full-suspension and still having the geometry to climb well enough. The main thing I wanted was 29 inch wheels and I couldn’t be happier. I know there are several mistakes on the trail that are nullified by the suspension and larger wheels. Jumping into the mountain bike market with a full suspension 29er might not be the best for everyone, but I’m glad with my decision as it has made the transition very pleasant.
The Camber has given me yet another toy to have so much fun on and I plan to continue fitting mountain bike rides into my base training for road season. I bought the bike to help me improve my technical skills and bike handling and so far it’s inspired more and more confidence on the trails each time I take it out for a ride.
I got the bike set up tubeless as a no-brainer and have since converted it to 1x and added a Crank Brothers Highline dropper post. I haven’t had the chance to ride with these modifications yet, but will likely post a review of the Highline and maybe my thoughts on the move to 1x as well.
As a new mountain bike rider, I’m no expert on bikes and their features, but I’ve definitely enjoyed my first few weeks with the bike and look forward to riding it more once school settles down. I bought the mountain bike to improve my technical skills and handling on the road and after a handful of rides, I’m seeing slight improvement and certainly feel more comfortable maneuvering on both bikes.
I’ve made a few purchases over the past few months, and I hope to eventually get reviews of certain things up on this blog as I find more time amongst my tight schedule, despite training taking a significant amount of my time now that road season will be here again before I know it.