Cargo space in the down tube: did anybody ask for this? Having a huge hole in a down tube does not add to stability and hardly counts as useful innovation. Specialized is clearly running out of ideas.
They did! It's all about having the option to not ride with a bag, as a lot of people don't like to. You can take all your ride essentials with you on the bike, with allen keys on the bottle cage, chain break in the stem cap, and a spare tube and C02 cartridge in the down tube. No need to strap this all to the frame or carry it on your back! They have done extensive tests to make sure it does not affect the rigidity of the frame, ride characteristics, or strength.
This is some handy stuff but pushing this into the foreground is like buying a car based on the size of its glove compartment. Could be handy but ... I would assume that Specialized has done good testing but still; if I had a choice between a larger down tube than can tolerate a huge hole and a smaller, presumably lighter one, without a hole, I would prefer the smaller one. There was a time when Specialized could sell bikes based on actual innovation, e.g., suspension. Clearly these times are gone.
