Specialized Expedition Sport Review

To the Point

Several years ago we decided to treat ourselves to new bikes. We picked the Specialized Expedition Sport. I love my bike!

A Closer View

I just want to mention a bit about bikes. For long distance, paved road riders, or racers, you’ll want a thin tire. If you are mountain biking you’ll want a very thick tire. Ours is not considered a Hybrid, though it is somewhere between thick and thin. It has the grooves on the tires necessary to handle gravel and sand yet the tires aren’t so thick that they will slow us down too much. Just the other day in Los Angeles I rode on a sandy bike path and the bike handled the sand without any problem.

My bike is slower than one with thin tires. It is also heavier so there are trade offs. I like the security of the tires being able to grip the gravel or slippery road. The tires are wide-stance Hemisphere 26x1.9 tires. The wheels are rust proof with stainless spokes.

The bike weighs about 25 pounds.

What sold us on the Specialized brand were some of the features. It has a Comfort Plus mattress base spring saddle. The saddle is very wide, which I like. The saddle sits on a spring so there is some give if I go over bumps. The saddle is easily adjustable with a lever that pulls out. I then can raise or lower the seat and just push in the lever.

The whole suspension of the bike is fantastic. This was another selling point. The seatpost itself is on a suspension as is the handle bar unit.

I am 5 feet 4 inches tall and got the small which is 14 inches. My husband is 5 feet 11 inches tall and got the medium, which is, considered a medium. In other brands we were looking at 15” and 17” sizes. It comes in large for men as well.

I love how comfortable the ride is because of the upright position my body is in. I do not like bikes where I have to lean over for long periods. In fact I recently read an article that if you have any kind of arthritis, which those of us over 50 probably do even if you don’t know it, having racing handles is not a good idea.

The handlebar grips are amazing. They are called Therapeutic Body Geometry Grips that help prevent numbness. When I first saw them in the store, that would have sold the bike to me. Therapeutic Body Geometry Grips have some padding in the handlebars right where the palm of your hand would be. It is as if I am wearing gel gloves. They are wonderfully comfortable to hold – even for long periods of time. My hands are prone to soreness and numbness and I haven’t had any problems because I have been holding the handlebars too long.

It has a Shimano Acera 21 speed wide range drive train with SRAM MRX shifting. This all has to do with the gears and the braking system. First the gears are amazing. I was using a bike that had the gears that had to be pulled down with a lever. Bikes in the 21st century don’t use this anymore! The gears, which are on the handlebars turn and they turn easily. Before I even bought this I “test drove” it in the parking lot and was so impressed because I had just come from a summer of my hot pink bike.

There are 3 gears on the left, 1-3 and 7 on the right making 21 gears.

There was a limited one-year warranty on the complete bike and a limited lifetime warranty on the frame and framesets. The same is true for the suspension attachments and suspension related equipment.

Cost: $329

Jo's Viewpoint

I like it!