Equality has slowly become established in everyday life. Not yet in biking. Or how can it be explained that most manufacturers only offer women's models up to 2,500 euros? Why shouldn't women be allowed to spend thousands of euros like men if they are so passionate about the sport of biking? This question seems to have been asked at Specialized. And the Americans provide the answer with their new women's top model "Safire S-Works". The tastefully designed Lady-Fully costs 6,599 euros. It is based on the new "Stumpjumper" chassis, which has already won its laurels in the BIKE test (BIKE 1/08). The "Safire" has 120 millimetres of travel front and rear, an all-mountain-compatible geometry and finally a continuous seat tube for low saddle drop. Strictly speaking, the "Safire" is a bike in the "All Mountain Sport" category according to our scheme. In other words, it is somewhere between a marathon and an all-mountain bike and, at 10.5 kilos, is also suitable for racing, if a woman is considering it. At 2,388 grams, the chassis is fully in the green zone and is stiff enough (64 Nm/degree, STW 26.8). The wheels are particularly impressive on the scales (3,123 grams complete) if you can actually seal the Specialized tyres with the sealant provided. We didn't manage it and had to fit inner tubes, which increased the weight a little.
What makes this bike so special as a lady version? It's not the design. Men like it too. Is it just the thin grips and the wide lady saddle? No, there's more to it than that. The frame has fewer carbon fibre layers, so it weighs less than the men's version. The geometry has been shortened, the standover height reduced and the frame sizes customised. The riding position is more upright than on the "Stumpjumper" and the Americans have also tweaked Specialized's own suspension components. Lower compression damping ex works is better suited to the lightweight target group. As with the "Stumpjumper", the fork and shock can be ridden completely open if desired, or you can switch on the automatic lockout, which then reacts automatically to bumps.
CONCLUSION: When looking for the best bike, women can hardly avoid Specialized's top model. It is light, fast and has top suspension.
Photos: Robert Niedring, Daniel Simon
