Specialized are one of the biggest mountain bike manufacturers in the world and also one of the oldest. My first ride on a Specialized bike was in the Alps a few years back on the BigHit, which is the predecessor to the Status and it really impressed me. So there were high hopes resting on the Status.
The Status 1 is the smaller brother of the Status 2, and although Specialized brand it as a ‘park bike’ the Status makes a spot-on UK DH bike.
A UK Downhill bike is a sort of mini downhill bike. Many of the UK tracks are shorter and aren’t as intense as their Euro/Yank counterparts, so they don’t always require a full-on 200mm £4000 monster. Also, in many cases the long travel is too much and riders are actually quicker on a shorter travel bike (fact).
Like its predecessor, the Status has favourable angles (64.5 degrees head) and gives a nicely balanced ride for both beginners and experienced bikers. It does feel comfortable in corners, but it’s not too difficult for experienced riders to push the limits due to the choice of forks. However, with a price tag of just £1800 you don’t expect a full-on Fox 40 up front and the X-Fusion does a pretty good job. (from looking at it, it looks a lot like a Rockshox Lyric from last year - and thats no bad thing!)
In short, the Status 1 Is a great… no I might go as far as saying ‘THE’ perfect off-the-peg rig for anyone looking to get into downhill riding. It’s comparatively light, has great angles, comes in Monster Energy black and green (to match the rest of your kit) and you might even find yourself kicking the asses of your mates on bigger 200mm travel bikes.
The Status is easily upgradable to make it more DH ready, so if you progress in to the sport an upgraded fork and brakes will see you way past the entry level and onto the race scene.
