After introducing the women’s Myka 29er last year, Specialized’s combined what they learned about making small geometry work with big wheels with their own product managers’ and sponsored riders’ desires for something a little higher end.
Enter the 2012 Fate 29er, a full carbon, race-ready 29er hardtail made just for women. While it falls just shy of getting the S-Works moniker because it’s not using their top of the line 11R carbon, the frame is under 1200g and designed for competition. Big S is claiming it’s the first women’s specific carbon 29er, and they went to the trouble of tweaking the component spec to match the frame’s ambitions. Get the scoop after the break…
The frame is designed with a very short stack height at the headtube (seriously, look at it) and a low standover height thanks to a dropped top tube with reinforced seat tube buttresses. They’re claiming it’s tough, t00, being “trail capable, race ready” for everything from World Cup racing to weekend group rides.
The low stack height comes via an integrated headset and custom Rockshox SID set at 80mm travel with Specialized BRAIN tech inside. The smallest 15″ frame gets a custom 51mm fork offset, too, while the 17″ and 19″ get standard 46mm crown offset. Specialized says the geometry was tweaked to make all sizes handle the same regardless of fork crown offset.
Comfort comes from the smoother rolling large wheels combined with a women’s specific carbon layup, shaped seatstays and a narrow 27.2 seatpost. Grip size, stem length and handlebar width are all mixed up based on frame size to make a very size-specific package.
The frame is laid up with women’s specific tubesets and wraps using their FACT IS 8M carbon fiber. Cable routing is internal, and the frame features a tapered headtube and oversized BB.
The bike will come spec’d with their Roval 29er wheels, Renegade 2Bliss tires, XX chainrings with custom gear ratios, Shimano hydraulic disc brakes and Specialized saddle, handlebar, stem and post. Pricing and availability TBD…we’ll update as we get it.
UPDATE #1 – Bikes pictured are not built to final spec. They were assembled as close as they could with parts on hand for the pre-hype catalog sheet but do not represent what you’ll see on the showroom floor.
UPDATE #2 – The Jett is going to be an alloy version of the Fate, and we should have some info on that soon!
