It seems like that time of year. No sooner have I published a list of 2008 Mountain Bike models comes news of more products on the horizon.

This time it’s the Specialized Pitch, a model that looks set to form a solid part of Specialized’s future sales as it offers many of the advantages of their higher end models in a significantly more affordable format.

Value for money seems high – not only do you get a 150mm travel frame which borrows heavily from this year’s Enduro, but in place of the proprietary shocks and forks you get good solid branded components instead. The Pro model for example, comes with a Fox RP2 shock and Rock Shox Pike 351 forks (which means a bolt through axle) for an all in price of £1399. There’s an even cheaper Comp model available too, so expect to see a lot of these out on the Surrey Hills over the next few months.