This is a bike that wants you to loft your front wheel at every opportunity
angle and long 1,292mm wheelbase. To continue the trip down memory lane, Specialized has referenced the old Big Hit’s mullet wheels – a 29er up front and a 27.5in behind – to keep the chainstays short and avoid the wheel buzzing your bum on steep descents.
HOW IT RIDES
The Status 160 comes together to form a bike greater than the sum of its parts. Just like the best Specialized bikes it’s a really comfortable ride that just seems to cosset you from the trail, egging you on to charge into singletrack.
The Status is absolutely not boring to ride though, this is a bike that wants you to loft your front wheel at every opportunity and take creative lines down hill. The mullet back end and relatively long front centre means it’s ludicrously easy to manual and wheelie, and the DPX2 lets you dip into its travel and hold it there.
Faster and rougher trails had the Status chattering a little as the chain slapped about, despite the guide and decent chainstay protector, but the bike never felt out of its depth, in the Surrey Hills at least. The overall effect is a very plush feel that works best on rough trails and flat-out descents. I started off with 195psi in the shock for my 80kg weight but slowly crept up to 210psi, reducing the sag to around 25 per cent and producing a tighter feeling bike that sits higher in its travel. You can get away with this on the Status 160 thanks to the supple suspension and because the bike has such a low bottom bracket height – you need to prop it up a little to stop your pedals smacking stumps and roots. That, or run it in the high geometry setting which raises the BB height by 9mm.
At the front end the Fox 36 Rhythm does a decent job leading the way. I’ve never been a huge fan of this OEM fork, it plunges into the travel too readily, but adding volume spacers makes a huge difference. It does provide good grip on the Status, but it would have been a bold and exciting move for Specialized to spec the Marzocchi Z1 Coil for that extra bomber performance.
There’s plenty to love about the Status, the Deity grips are good, the short stem and 800mm bar are spot on and the Specialized Bridge saddle is really excellent. X Fusion’s Manic dropper post is decent and the lever is excellent. The tyres could do with a little more girth though, the 2.3in Butchers simply don’t cut it on a bike like this, and while they don’t kill the ride they certainly don’t let you reach its full potential. It could also do with longer chainstays to better balance the front
Frame M5 alloy, 160mm travel
Shock Fox Float
DPX2 Performance Fork Fox Float 36 Rhythm,
160mm travel
Wheels Roval
Traverse 29in (f),
27.5 (r), Butcher Grid 29/27.5inx2.3in tyres Drivetrain SRAM NX Eagle 1x12
Brakes SRAM Code R, 200mm rotors Components Specialized 800mm bar, Alloy Trail 40mm stem, X-fusion
Manic 170mm post, Specialized Bridge Comp saddle
Weight 16.1kg (35.5lb) Sizes S1, S2, S3, S4, S5
Size ridden S4 (Low) Rider height 6ft 1in Head angle 62.0° Seat angle 69.6°
BB height 333mm Chainstay 427mm Front centre 839mm Wheelbase 1,266mm Down tube 753mm Top tube 623mm Reach 462mm end, and ideally grow with the sizing of the bike, but all that costs money.
In my mind, the Status 160 is the old Pitch’s natural successor – built to be fun descending, for not a lot of cash, it’s got a lot of things right. In recent years Specialized has made great high-end bikes but few of the more modest offerings have impressed us. The Status 160 changes all that.