# 2018 Specialized Pitch 27.5



## bronco5 (Oct 25, 2013)

Anyone else looking at XS Specialized Pitch for a kids bike?

https://www.specialized.com/us/en/men/bikes/mountain/menspitch650b/129259

68.5 HTA, 74 STA, 380 reach, 562 stack, internal cable routing. Seems like a pretty nice frame. $450 for a complete bike.

I think it has a straight 1.5" head tube (need to confirm) which would be good for fork upgrades assuming the lower cup can be changed.

The stock build is obviously going to be a pig, but I'm looking for a bike my son can ride to school every day and occasionally hit the trails. Over time I'd probably put on a Revelation or similar fork, 1x10 or 1x11 with a decent crankset, and a lighter wheelset.

Also considering building a Tideace M001, but I'm not crazy about sending a carbon fiber frame to school every day.


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## DigitalBoy (Dec 28, 2016)

A friend of mine has the women's xs one for his daughter. Pretty decent for the price. But not a hardcore trail shedding machine of course. Perfect for multi use though.

I'd look at the women's version too. Comes in colors other than pink... Has lower standover and maybe reach which is great for kids. Their online specs however are identical for men and women on the website which I struggle to believe when you even just look at the pictures. You can see the different top tube geo. Worth checking out for sure.

db


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## bronco5 (Oct 25, 2013)

My title is wrong. The 2018 Pitch are the ones that are in the shop now with revised builds/frames. 

I think they're a pretty good bang for the buck for entry level bikes. Headtube is 44mm straight so it could take a tapered fork with an external bottom cup (would add some stack height). 

Salesman said the handlebar is narrower and saddle is women specific, otherwise mens/womens bikes are the same. 

The only XS at my LBS was a women's model. It had a 35mm stem. The men's S frame had a 45mm stem.


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## DigitalBoy (Dec 28, 2016)

Maybe the frames are identical and they just pictured an xs on the women's page and a med or something on the men's page. Would make sense. All I can tell you is the women's xs has that lowered top tube per the picture. Maybe the men's xs is the same.

It looked pretty decent honestly. Not super light, but not a pig. Not a fan of the 3x but does give plenty of gear range for both road and trails if you're looking for an all-rounder.

db


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## bronco5 (Oct 25, 2013)

Mens/womens frames look identical in person. The older Pitch (2017) top tube doesn't drop like the new ones.


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## clark (Mar 26, 2006)

bronco5 said:


> Anyone else looking at XS Specialized Pitch for a kids bike?
> 
> https://www.specialized.com/us/en/men/bikes/mountain/menspitch650b/129259
> 
> ...


I just bought a small women's comp as a guest bike. Low stand over with no bosses on the seat tube will accommodate wide range of heights. I gave my Giant STP to my nephew and discovered I now have no introductory bike. $650US gets you 9 speed and Shimano hydraulics as well as a 30 mm stanchion fork with some specialized damping circuit. It is about 30 lbs, so 8 lb less than the STP build. Already has rubber on the chainstays for chain slap.

Upgrade sequence for me, since not a kids bike is:
1. S-works Tubeless Fast Trak 2.2 tires for a lighter faster smoother ride. They are $30 right now, so if I can sell the bulletproof nice looking new controls for $15 each, I will be out $30.
2. Replace the smooth spinning Stout triple crank with an outboard bearing LX Hollowtech II crank set as a 22-36 double with FSA clear bash guard. For safety, maybe weight and a little less free spin in the crank.
3. Replace the the fork with a step cast factory (boost axle) for weight and stiffness reasons. $300 plus lower cup plus the wheel I already have.

(The expert at $750 has 32mm stanchions... Seemed like a good fork.)

Anyway, I think the bike can:
1) get to mid twenties for $1100 out of pocket, (I have too many parts laying around)
2) be very fast and forgiving
3) give people a credible path into the sport, as the base bike is very good at $650.

https://www.specialized.com/us/en/womens-pitch-comp-27-5/p/128967

Plan is to put Specialized Roll comfort bike bars on it, along with a cart, and use it for grocery shopping, then change out the bars based on trail (and rider) on the weekends.

It will be lighter than the STP (and the Scott plus bike I'll be riding), so people should not feel slighted.


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## thesmokingman (Jan 17, 2009)

clark said:


> I just bought a small women's comp as a guest bike. Low stand over with no bosses on the seat tube will accommodate wide range of heights. I gave my Giant STP to my nephew and discovered I now have no introductory bike. $650US gets you 9 speed and Shimano hydraulics as well as a 30 mm stanchion fork with some specialized damping circuit. It is about 30 lbs, so 8 lb less than the STP build. Already has rubber on the chainstays for chain slap.
> 
> Upgrade sequence for me, since not a kids bike is:
> 1. S-works Tubeless Fast Trak 2.2 tires for a lighter faster smoother ride. They are $30 right now, so if I can sell the bulletproof nice looking new controls for $15 each, I will be out $30.
> ...


I would skip that bike and any other cheap big brand bike that doesn't come equipped with 90% of the spec that you would eventually spec it out to. These bottom end bikes end up being way too expensive once you are done modding it. You might as well have bought a $1100 bike to begin with. It's base at $650 is not cheap and the spec leaves a lot to be desired. Sorry for the differing opinion. For just over 600 after corp discount (thread still on slickdeals), you could have gotten a Ziva Comp ready to go with Sram NX 1x11 w/ 11-42t drivetrain, 32mm air fork, 32mm wide rims (or i26) so you can go wife tires though the stock Clement are decent XC tires, and on and on. And the Ziva is just a hair over 26lbs stock! About the only thing needed to be done is have it built up properly.

https://www.raleighusa.com/ziva-comp-23739#bike_specs


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## clark (Mar 26, 2006)

thesmokingman said:


> I would skip that bike and any other cheap big brand bike that doesn't come equipped with 90% of the spec that you would eventually spec it out to. These bottom end bikes end up being way too expensive once you are done modding it. You might as well have bought a $1100 bike to begin with. It's base at $650 is not cheap and the spec leaves a lot to be desired. Sorry for the differing opinion. For just over 600 after corp discount (thread still on slickdeals), you could have gotten a Ziva Comp ready to go with Sram NX 1x11 w/ 11-42t drivetrain, 32mm air fork, 32mm wide rims (or i26) so you can go wife tires though the stock Clement are decent XC tires, and on and on. And the Ziva is just a hair over 26lbs stock! About the only thing needed to be done is have it built up properly.
> 
> https://www.raleighusa.com/ziva-comp-23739#bike_specs


The corp discount is a great find!

At list, this is a comparable price and bike:
https://www.raleighusa.com/ziva-11084

I must agree, your method is better if you can find what you want.

That bike is not as low or as slack or as forgiving as desired, but my path is financially un rewarding.


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## thesmokingman (Jan 17, 2009)

^^The Ziva Comp is an XC bike so its geo will be geared for that. I built 4 of these recently for the local hs mtb team I wrench for so I know them pretty well. The frames are really quite nice with the hydroformed tubes and squared rear triangle with thru axle. There's nothing extraneous on that frame nor is there on the parts kit. The Tektro mineral oil brakes grab surprisingly well and are pretty reliable. The hubs are loose bearing so you'd want a set 23mm spanners to service them. All in all its a sweet bike for 629 shipped and it is literally ready to hit the trails since you don't have to swap any parts. The pedals are alu and pinned Wellgo, saved us from having to replace them. If slack is really an important aspect, you've saved enough to drop in a slacking headset. Pic below is running my kids DMR pedals since I didn't have the stockers for the pic taking.












bronco5 said:


> Also considering building a Tideace M001, but I'm not crazy about sending a carbon fiber frame to school every day.


Strip off anything removable and apply liberal 3M cover equals bike rack safe. Here's my kids ole Tideace turned into a rigid SS for school and around town duty. I use security skewers for the wheels. He doesn't run the lock on it anymore instead carries it in his backpack. On top of the 3M, I also use 3M reflective pin striping which adds a huge amount of reflectivity at night on top of his night lights.


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## clark (Mar 26, 2006)

It is a really good bike independent of price, and the welds do look better...


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