Bike Nirvana

Yet another cycling blog

Custom Search

Specialized Pitch Comp

February 12, 2016

Specialized. Big name in the industry, well represented and has strong precence in the locality with a Concept Store.

Rewind...

Nearly a year since the purchase of the Classic Birdy, I subjected my self bullied or rather encouraged by friends to get a mountain bike, so I returned to Bikes Per Minute to look at affordable offerings. I consulted with friends by sending them photos of a few models and they throw strong preference to the Rocky Mountain hardtail bike on sale, pointing out mid-range components like Shimano Deore and SLX that it is equipped. Sadly, this bike is a tad big for me and I wanted a "perfect" fit.

Rocky Mountain

Back to Specialized, I walked through the hardtail models on their website and finally decided the Pitch Comp will be my first mountain bike.

So off to the Concept Store I go only to find out that the S (small) frame is still a bit "tight" for my liking,  so I settled for the XS (extra small) frame that happens to be on stock but wasn't assembled yet. I let them work on it while I headed to the bank in scorching heat.

I came back to the store to see the bike assembled and proudly standing on a rack. I love how it looks although the top tube has a weird angle due to the frame being XS, but hey it's a Specialized I told myself.

Pitch Comp

On payment, they surprised me with a P2,000 discount which I highly appreciated. Got the bike out and into my vehicle. Hmm, it's quite heavy...

Specialized is one manufacturer that doesn't publish the weight of their built bikes. Nevermind, I like it and was excited to ride it with friends.

The bike drivetrain came in 3 x 9 configuration with Shimano Acera rear derailleur and Altus front derailleur. The brakeset is Tektro Auriga that I thought is a good enough based on my experince with the Classic Birdy that's also fitted with a brakeset from the same manufacturer.

Off to Timberland... or is that Neverland?

Never knew anything about the Timberland trails and is related to in a different story (see Rides) but there's something wrong with the bike. Rear shifting is problematic that takes up to three cranks for the chain to engage that manifests in gears 24-28-32.

I brought the bike back to Specialized and while waiting for my turn, I sat somewhere in front with my back behind the work area. Later, I overheard somebody said "sino nagbalik nito?" (who returned this?) so I came up to the work area and I said it's mine and I repeated the problem to the tech guy. He said "wala naman problema" (there's no problem) "tingnan mo, ayos naman shifting" (see, the shifting is ok) while he demonstrates it is indeed shifting. I reiterated my experience with regards to the delay and it's at this point that he quipped "entry level lang ito, ganun talaga." (this is an entry level bike, that's expected)

Stunned, I took my bike and walked out the store with hate, and when arrived home I was able to replicate the shifting issue again. In my mind I was shouting to myself, "so this is Specialized!"

What a shitty experience, unlike that of Bikes Per Minute which have been very helpful and patient with me. It reverberates why I didn't stick with the Rocky Mountain bike and perhaps they can fit it for me. Too late.

Later on I discovered that Specialized have a bike fit service which was not even offered to me. More hate.

I hated the bike, the store, and the brand but a series of upgrades materialized.