STATUS: QUO

Specialized has a history of great budget bikes; the new Status 160 hopes to continue the tradition

The Specialized Pitch is a rather average-performing entry-level hardtail, unremarkable in every way except the name. But when the Pitch first launched more than a decade ago it wasn’t a hardtail at all – instead it was a brilliant full-suspension bike, a 150mm-travel all-mountain machine with a coil fork and a ludicrously low £1,300 price tag for the Pro version. We loved it.

We’re hoping this new Status 160 is the natural successor to the old Pitch then, and on the face of it the bike’s attitude is about right. Just like the Pitch, the Status 160 is made from M5 aluminium and uses Specialized’s excellent FSR suspension design, with its signature pivot on the chainstay. It’s a far simpler design to the through shock, multi-pivot system used on the Enduro, or even the sidearm design from the Stumpjumper, but this helps keep the price down.