Ex-Demo: Specialized Ruby Expert Ultegra Di2 Womens Road Bike - 51cm

The days of a fast bike being an unforgiving bike have come to an end with the Ruby Expert Ultegra Di2. Built around the principle that smoother is faster, the Ruby harnesses new tech and some of Specialized's trademark materials for a women's bike that will see you glide over the rough stuff at speeds you never thought you'd reach.

The frame on this Ruby model is among the lightest, built with the super-stiff, top-shelf FACT 10r carbon fibre. For the geometry, Specialized took some important lessons from the 2018 Ruby's predecessor, the SL4, preserving the much-loved fit, feel and position, while increasing the top-end speed and efficiency. It's not Witchcraft Sorcery, just a dedication to building super-awesome bikes.

Created in partnership with McLaren Applied Technologies, Future Shock is essentially a spring or piston in the head tube, which adds 20mm of suspension to the front end of the bike ideal for taking some of the impact out when you're hitting lumps, bumps and maybe even the odd cobblestone. By focusing more on vertical compliance than fork splay, Specialized have created a bike that preserves its beautifully smooth handling, even when you're travelling the road less ridden. Of all the bikes Specialized compared it to using their Rolling Efficiency Model, the Ruby was by far the best in class.

To do this bike justice, it needed powerful componentry, including super-swish Shimano Ultegra Di2 electronic shifting, Roval SLX 24 Disc wheels with 8070 hydraulic brakes, plus a women's-specific finishing kit.

• Featuring a Rider-First Engineered design that ensures every frame size has the same legendary responsiveness and smooth ride quality that you'd expect from a Ruby. The FACT 10r frameset is exceptional in every way, offering the ideal blend of light overall weight and targeted stiffness. Meanwhile, the all-new Future Shock "suspension" system at the cockpit delivers a revolutionary degree of comfort and control.
• The Ruby Disc fork is built from the extraordinary FACT carbon fibre for the lightest possible weight, supreme stiffness, strength, and reactivity, while a thru-axle design only stands to bolster all of the above.
• Comes equipped with a 25lbs spring installed (colour: black, weight: medium), and also includes both 13lbs (color: blue, weight: soft) and 40lbs (colour: yellow, weight: firm) springs that can be installed to match the terrain you're riding.