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Not one to sit on the sidelines, Specialized pushes the envelope with its new Demo 9 freeride bike |
Words and photos by Stuart Kernaghan
Recently, Specialized invited cycling journalists from around the world down to its headquarters in Morgan Hill, California for the 2004 product roll-out. I was one of the lucky bunch to get a sneak peak at everything from new bikes to tires, clothing, and tools, as well as tour the facilities and meet a bunch of great people who are totally committed to cycling.
Over the next couple of weeks, nsmb will be running a series of articles showcasing Shore-friendly '04 products from Specialized. Be forewarned - some of them might have you throwing your bike buying-budget out the window.
This week, we feature Specialized's brand new freeride bike, the Demo 9 - Demo as in demonstrating what you can do on the bike, and 9 for 9" of rear-wheel travel. Cam wrote about the Demo 9 a while back (before the bike's official name was even unveiled), but we weren't able to show you much at that time. Well, now we can show you everything, including what was under all that masking tape.
Specialized has been pushing hard in the freeride arena over the past few years, and has made some major inroads. One look at the names the company has signed - good Canadian kids like Tippie, Berrecloth, and Hunter - and the money that has been invested into the BigHit line will tell you that. But the freeride scene isn't static. What was big five years ago - hell, what was big five months ago - isn't quite as scary (or impressive) as it used to be. With wilder stunts, bigger drops, and sketchier lines came the need for a bike that could handle everything that was thrown at it without missing a beat. And that was precisely why the folks at Specialized dreamed up the Demo 9. |
 The very first Demo 9 frame, made of steel (click to enlarge) |
The complete package, with Marzocchi 888 forks (click to enlarge) |
Rather than Super Sizing the BigHit, Specialized's design and engineering teams went back to the computer and started from scratch. The goal was to build a bike that got more travel than the 8.1" BigHit DH, but that could also be pedalled uphill thanks to two chainrings and a front derailleur. Finding some place to attach a front derailleur wasn't a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but being able to climb on a bike like this really required a full-length seatpost. And that necessitated some major revisions in Specialized's existing full-suspension freeride frame design. |
Another thing Specialized wanted to do was lower the bike's centre of gravity and bring it further under the rider. All of that set off a rather substantial chain of events, and the interrupted seattube assembly of the BigHit went out the door. But that was only the start of things. The four-bar linkage underwent a complete make-over as well to incorporate the new sub-seatstay shock positioning and add rear-end stiffness. What you're left with is a bike that looks substantially different than anything Specialized has ever produced. The Demo 9 has considerably more standover room than a BigHit, as well as an uninterrupted seattube, and it showcases three patents you won't find on any other bike: a forged headtube, modified FSR four-bar rear suspension, and a rear derailleur protector. |
A radically different configuration for FSR (click to enlarge) |
According to Brandon Sloan, product manager for the company's high-end mountain bike line-up, forging allowed Specialized to create a headtube with a greater welding surface area, which translates into greater strength through an area of the bike that takes a lot of punishment. (The headtube was obscured by tape when the bike was up at Whistler because the patent hadn't been secured at that time.) The end result of the forging process is aesthetically striking as well as functionally stronger. When I asked Sloan whether that technology will ever show up on BigHits, he didn't rule it out.
 The patented forged headtube (click to enlarge) |
 Super-beefy headtube junction (click to enlarge) |
 Rear thru-axle with derailleur guard (click to enlarge) |
The rear derailleur protector is another proprietary development. It actually started out life on the BigHit three years ago, but it didn't make it past the testing stage. So how does it work? "There's a replaceable derailleur hanger that doubles as the thru-axle cap; the rear derailleur bolts onto the hanger. The guard then ties the rear derailleur knuckle to the rear thru-axle." The axle was optimized for this particular bike, and it works in conjunction with the derailleur protector. Specialized ships the Demo 9 frame and complete bikes with 12mm and 15mm thru-axles (it's compatible with both) in case you decide you don't want to run the 12mm Ringle hub that's included. |
In addition to the 12mm / 15mm axle, there are some other rather significant discrepancies between the Demo 9 rear hub system and another thru-axle hub we've talked about on nsmb: the Saint rear hub for standard 10mm dropouts. Unlike the 135mm spacing on Saint hubs, Specialized pushes the rear end out to 150mm. Sloan is unequivocal when asked why the extra 15mm: "Big bikes with proper tire / front derailleur / suspension / chainrings / crank / chainline [setup] and most importantly 16.7" chainstay length will never work with 135mm." The 150mm spacing results in a 48.5mm effective chainline, which produces very smooth shifting in all situations. |
Yes, that says ISCG on the bottom bracket (click to enlarge) |
Cartridge bearings all the way around (click to enlarge) |
Sloan made some other interesting choices when he was putting the Demo 9 together, deciding to spec the Manitou Swinger coil shock rather than the Progressive Fifth Element because he thinks it has a livelier feel. Manitou also offers a range of different shocks with varying levels of adjustment rather than just one high-end model. The Demo 9s come stock with 26" wheels, but you can also run a 24" if you're set on that. 26" wheels push the bottom bracket on the Demo 9 minutely higher than the BigHit, at 371- or 390mm with a 26" wheel and 374mm with a 24" wheel, compared to 362- or 387mm on the BigHit. |
The rest of the component spec is what you'd expect for a bike like this: Marzocchi's new 888 forks, Swinger 6-way shocks on the top-of-the-line Demo 9 DH bike and DH frame, and a 4-way on the Demo 9 Pro model, Hayes discs, LX and XT drivetrain bits, 36-hole Mavic rims, and Specialized's new 2.6" Roller tires. Each bike is available in small, medium, and large sizes with toptube lengths of 578-, 597-, and 613mm, respectively. Chainstay length is 16.7" on each bike, giving wheelbases of 1130-, 1148-, and 1164mm. Headtube angles are a slack 66.3 / 68.2 degrees, and the seattube measures out at 61 / 63.1 degrees. Weight on a medium Demo 9 DH is reportedly 43 lbs.
Colour selection is limited, but most people should be happy with the choices. The DH bike and DH frameset are available in anodized black (shown below) and the Pro is a brushed titanium finish (above). Costs for the Demo 9 bikes and frameset are still being worked out, but expect them to be on the upper end of the current BigHit price spectrum. Luckily, you've still got a couple of months to save up before the Demo 9 hits shops in December.
Brief Riding Impressions
I was fortunate enough to get a chance to take the same Demo 9 that many of you saw up at Whistler - minus the tape around the headtube - for a spin in the dry and somewhat dusty Soquel Demonstration Forest when I was down in California.
The trail we rode wasn't exactly conducive to really opening it up and pushing the bike to its limits but it didn't take long to discover that the Demo 9 handled very nicely and didn't display any of the sluggishness or pedalling idiosyncrasies that can come with a 9"-travel bike. This bike will be at home in steep and technical terrain, and the tougher things are, the better. |
This bike will look familiar to some of you (click to enlarge) |
The Demo 9 is a modified four-bar design (even though it looks like there's more going on than that), and it showcases all of the positive traits that the Horst Link is known for: fully active suspension whether you're braking or pedalling. The Manitou rear shock, assisted by full cartridge bearing pivots, provided an amazingly smooth ride with extremely progressive travel that felt near bottomless, and I can see it being a real blessing on major hits. Combine that with the short chainstays and you've got a bike that is very manoeuvrable, even when things get tight and twisty.
One short run wasn't nearly enough to see what the Demo 9 can do, but it did give me a glimpse of what's inside this two-wheeled Pandora's box: the potential for some seriously sick riding on a bike that can go up as well as down. The Demo 9 as a complete package was extremely impressive, both in terms of what has been achieved technologically and aesthetically, and the attention to detail is easy to see. I'm definitely looking forward to taking it for a spin on the Shore the next time Sloan makes his way back up here; riding it on home turf will be the true test. Keep your eyes peeled for the Demo 9 on the trails - it won't be hard to miss. And expect to see a couple of good Canadian kids on Demo 9s going bigger than ever.
UP NEXT: The BigHit (no, it's not going anywhere) and the Enduro, for those times when you don't need quite as much travel.
