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Specialized DEMO's

4K views 78 replies 22 participants last post by  chooofoojoo 
#1 ·
Sweet bikes. i love the way they look...
does anyone know how they ride like what are the disadvantages and or advantages.
and would you rather get a demo 7 or pay about 400 bucks more and get the Demo 8 and why?
Any help would be appreciated
thanks
 
#4 ·
I don't know how they ride, but the testers over on NSMB have been really impressed. They have been on the previous model Demos/SX Trails and say the current rendition is the best.

http://blogs.nsmb.com/team/archives/2006/09/demo-7-first-ride/

Personally I would like to go with the D7 because of the 1.5 head tube, and the fact that you can take out the retainer and give it the same amount of travel as the 8. 1.5 looks like it is here to stay, and there are benefits with running the bigger steerer.
 
#7 ·
im testing a demo 7 right now, i just raced it in bootleg canyon, im real impressed with it for a race bike, and im sure it would be a sick free ride bike, its quick, light, smooth, and pumps over the rock real well. the over sized single crown fork is un-real. and how they come set up, sick! im getting an 8 real soon for racing the big stuff. the seven can do everything, but if you want to huck some big stuff probubly wanna go for the 8.
 
#8 ·
We have 4 nine pros here in iran .I have rode them on trails I fell nothing on Dh courses .Also on rocky technicals they are so smooth you would feel like having no problem doing that section.
All of that is for the rear travels progressiveness the FSR system. You even don’t need a rear disc float on it the system gives you the same characteristics .
Their a little heavy but the sweet handling has solved everything.
 
#10 ·
Depends on what you want it the bike for.

Like what Rover said above, if you are racing get the 8. If you are FR go for the 8.

Try and throw a leg over both of them if you can. Forums cant convey how a bike actually feels when it is based on personal experience.

I love my Demo 9, and considered the Demo 8 but after trying it a bit I know I made the right decision for my riding style and how the bike feels. It's all personal preference.

Personally I would go with the 7 over the 8 because you get just as much travel after you remove the retainer and you get the big headtube which gives you more fork options.
 
#11 ·
I've been for 4 rides on my Demo7 so far and would have to say I'm really impressed. I have mine setup with a dual-ring up front (and front derailluer), bike pedals very well though one thing I would say is the BB is quite low so pedal strikes are fairly common (I'm running the lower BB setting).

You can remove a spacer (1/8" piece of plastic) from behind the shocks bottom-out bumper which gives the bike 7.7" of travel (the Demo8 has 8.4").

Coming from a VP-Free I'm really liking the short chainstays, low stand-over, and flickable feel the bike has (plus the cable routing is a sh!tload better ...). The Totem and 1.5" setup feels stiff as a stiff thing but the jury's still out on the fork as I haven't ridden it enough yet, so far so good though.

It's early days but I'm really pleased so far and don't feel any regret at all for the change.
 
#12 ·
mforest said:
im testing a demo 7 right now, i just raced it in bootleg canyon, im real impressed with it for a race bike, and im sure it would be a sick free ride bike, its quick, light, smooth, and pumps over the rock real well. the over sized single crown fork is un-real. and how they come set up, sick! im getting an 8 real soon for racing the big stuff. the seven can do everything, but if you want to huck some big stuff probubly wanna go for the 8.
YOU <link

And as you can see, you can race on a Demo 7. It is just a lower travel bike that can be raced.
 
#13 ·
MonkeyBidnezz said:
Depends on what you want it the bike for.

Like what Rover said above, if you are racing get the 8. If you are FR go for the 8.

Try and throw a leg over both of them if you can. Forums cant convey how a bike actually feels when it is based on personal experience.

I love my Demo 9, and considered the Demo 8 but after trying it a bit I know I made the right decision for my riding style and how the bike feels. It's all personal preference.

Personally I would go with the 7 over the 8 because you get just as much travel after you remove the retainer and you get the big headtube which gives you more fork options.
yea ill see if i can find a bike shop that will demo me one... hahahah demo a DEMO
but thanks for all the help... how do you take the retainer out?
 
#14 ·
mforest said:
im testing a demo 7 right now, i just raced it in bootleg canyon, im real impressed with it for a race bike, and im sure it would be a sick free ride bike, its quick, light, smooth, and pumps over the rock real well. the over sized single crown fork is un-real. and how they come set up, sick! im getting an 8 real soon for racing the big stuff. the seven can do everything, but if you want to huck some big stuff probubly wanna go for the 8.
How much does the 7 weigh?
 
#24 ·
Ojai Bicyclist said:
By replacing the stock shock w/ an 8.5 x 2.5 and buying Demo mounting hardware (the sizes have been posted on Ridemonkey).
The stock shock is a 8.5" * 2.5" but has a 1/8" spacer in there so they qoute it as 8.5" * 2.375" (or typo 2.75"). Remove the spacer and you have 2.5" and 7.7" of travel (don't even need to remove the shock from the bike to do this).

There is enough room (and the suspension can move far enough) to handle a 2.75" shock which would take the bike up to just over 8" of travel but it will steepen your head angle and raise the bottom bracket some in doing so. In the 7.7" setting the bike feels pretty darn plush :)
 
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