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Posted: Mar 23, 2015 at 2:29 Quote
I have both a 2014 Spectral and a 2015 Strive CF 9.0 Race and I love them both.

The Strive is a beast and will take anything you want to throw at it, including some serious DH runs but if you main riding is XC with some occasional GNAR then the spectral is a fantastic bike. I used my spectral in Spain last year on a trip with Switchback MTB and rode it on some serious rocky and challenging descents and it ate it up. My only suggestion would be an upgrade to the forks - put on a Pike or a set of Fox 34/36 as the stock forks are a little flexy.


Kompot45 wrote:
I was thinking about buying a Spectral AL 7.0 EX but due to my indecisiveness the shipping date shifted to the beginning of August. Madder I'm being kinda impatient here, but my thinking here is that I don't want to wait till after the half of season, actually much closer to the end of it here, because I want to get something out of the new bike before the winter comes.
Anyway I'm now looking at Strive CF 8.0 Race which seems like a great bike with the Shapeshifter technology... It is quite a jump in price, but the bike will be able to take a much harder beating and is more capable, so its basically future proofing for me. It comes with a downside though, and here come my questions:
- wont the Strive be an overkill for me? I'm 173 and around 65 kg.
- how good does it climb compared to the Spectral AL? Day to day i will be doing a lot of XC-kind of riding, lots of flat terrain mixed with climbs followed by not-too-demanding descents Razz I visit our local downhill trails often though. Some jumps, drops... I would like to be able to tackle that with the new bike... And be able to take it to a bikepark or just regular mountain trails once in a while in the future.

I have a hard time deciding if its worth the hassle and the risk of the bike not being fit for the job, so if anyone could help me decide I would be grateful! Big Grin

Posted: Mar 23, 2015 at 15:54 Quote
AdamBartonUK wrote:
I have both a 2014 Spectral and a 2015 Strive CF 9.0 Race and I love them both.

The Strive is a beast and will take anything you want to throw at it, including some serious DH runs but if you main riding is XC with some occasional GNAR then the spectral is a fantastic bike. I used my spectral in Spain last year on a trip with Switchback MTB and rode it on some serious rocky and challenging descents and it ate it up. My only suggestion would be an upgrade to the forks - put on a Pike or a set of Fox 34/36 as the stock forks are a little flexy.


Thanks for your reply! Just a couple more questions, bear with me Big Grin

And how does the shapeshifter perform? Does it really make the pedaling much more efficient on flat terrain? Or to put it this way, how does the Strive with the lowered back travel compare to pedaling on the Spectral? They do have similar geometry in this mode, and the weight is almost the same (Spectral 7.0EX 12.6 - Strive CF 8.0 Race 12.7)... So whats the difference?

The Spectral 7.0 EX already comes with a Pike, so that's not a problem Smile

Posted: Mar 23, 2015 at 23:52 Quote
If I am honest, the only benefit of the ShapeShifter is on the climbs.....the Strive Climbs reasonably well anyway but its much better with the ShapeShifter on....with the additional travel you should also be able to hit things faster on the Strive (although I haven't really tested that yet). I love 'em both

Kompot45 wrote:
AdamBartonUK wrote:
I have both a 2014 Spectral and a 2015 Strive CF 9.0 Race and I love them both.

The Strive is a beast and will take anything you want to throw at it, including some serious DH runs but if you main riding is XC with some occasional GNAR then the spectral is a fantastic bike. I used my spectral in Spain last year on a trip with Switchback MTB and rode it on some serious rocky and challenging descents and it ate it up. My only suggestion would be an upgrade to the forks - put on a Pike or a set of Fox 34/36 as the stock forks are a little flexy.


Thanks for your reply! Just a couple more questions, bear with me Big Grin

And how does the shapeshifter perform? Does it really make the pedaling much more efficient on flat terrain? Or to put it this way, how does the Strive with the lowered back travel compare to pedaling on the Spectral? They do have similar geometry in this mode, and the weight is almost the same (Spectral 7.0EX 12.6 - Strive CF 8.0 Race 12.7)... So whats the difference?

The Spectral 7.0 EX already comes with a Pike, so that's not a problem Smile

Posted: Mar 24, 2015 at 12:15 Quote
Hey Guys,

I've had my Strive CF Race 8.0 in large for a couple of weeks now. Literally, the day after I got the bike I was rattling down the Scottish Enduro Series course at Innerleithen.

So I've had a few weeks to play about with it now and there's a few things I want to note and ask about.

1. I have had to put about 300psi in the rear shock (Rockshox Monarch Plus Debonair)to get 25% sag. I'm 6' 2" and weight about 85kgs. Anyone else had to load it up this much?
2. The Pike upfront has 80psi. I'm getting to grips with the low speed compression but not sure what to go for. Currently I've got it set to 4 clicks. Also, I'm running 1 token in there but pondering 2. Anybody else wanna share their setup?
3. The dropper post doesn't have enough reach for me. If I'm going up hills, the post is quite a way from the clamp and if I'm doing steep downhill, I need to get off and get my allen key out to lower the saddle otherwise it beats you in the ass every time you go over a drop. Any solutions?

Thanks, James

Posted: Mar 24, 2015 at 12:30 Quote
jimbojrt wrote:
Hey Guys,

I've had my Strive CF Race 8.0 in large for a couple of weeks now. Literally, the day after I got the bike I was rattling down the Scottish Enduro Series course at Innerleithen.

So I've had a few weeks to play about with it now and there's a few things I want to note and ask about.

1. I have had to put about 300psi in the rear shock (Rockshox Monarch Plus Debonair)to get 25% sag. I'm 6' 2" and weight about 85kgs. Anyone else had to load it up this much?
2. The Pike upfront has 80psi. I'm getting to grips with the low speed compression but not sure what to go for. Currently I've got it set to 4 clicks. Also, I'm running 1 token in there but pondering 2. Anybody else wanna share their setup?
3. The dropper post doesn't have enough reach for me. If I'm going up hills, the post is quite a way from the clamp and if I'm doing steep downhill, I need to get off and get my allen key out to lower the saddle otherwise it beats you in the ass every time you go over a drop. Any solutions?

Thanks, James

Well i dont own a strive (yet) so cant answer the first 2 questions. Bud for the third, does it come with a 125 or 150mm dropper? If you have a 125MM you can maybe upgrade to a 150MM. If not another solution is a 200M dropper. The only company that makes them (as far as i know) is Vecnum with thei movelock dropper.
You can also buy a quick release seatclamp bud then you still have to lower the post.

Posted: Mar 24, 2015 at 12:56 Quote
im running a debonair on my 2014 spectral and had to put nearly 300psi to get 33% but im about 110kg and 6ft its not unheard of to put mega psi in a debonair to get the right sag but they do go up to 350psi so should be ok

Posted: Mar 24, 2015 at 13:39 Quote
Pretty sure the reverbs are 125mm so changing it to a 150 would give you another 25mm to drop the post into the frame.

Posted: Mar 24, 2015 at 15:29 Quote
What is the max psi that you can put in the debonair? In my Monarch + it is 275.

Posted: Mar 25, 2015 at 3:18 Quote
jimbojrt wrote:
Hey Guys,

I've had my Strive CF Race 8.0 in large for a couple of weeks now. Literally, the day after I got the bike I was rattling down the Scottish Enduro Series course at Innerleithen.

So I've had a few weeks to play about with it now and there's a few things I want to note and ask about.

1. I have had to put about 300psi in the rear shock (Rockshox Monarch Plus Debonair)to get 25% sag. I'm 6' 2" and weight about 85kgs. Anyone else had to load it up this much?
2. The Pike upfront has 80psi. I'm getting to grips with the low speed compression but not sure what to go for. Currently I've got it set to 4 clicks. Also, I'm running 1 token in there but pondering 2. Anybody else wanna share their setup?
3. The dropper post doesn't have enough reach for me. If I'm going up hills, the post is quite a way from the clamp and if I'm doing steep downhill, I need to get off and get my allen key out to lower the saddle otherwise it beats you in the ass every time you go over a drop. Any solutions?

Thanks, James

I don't have a Strive but I do have a MP-D , they are known for needing very high pressures , also something that caught me out is a bit of riding is needed for the large negative air chamber ( the debonair ) to equalise out ) , that can make the initial pressure seem too high, before it balances.

Posted: Mar 25, 2015 at 9:29 Quote
Thanks for the response guys, good to know I'm not overloading my rear shock.

The issue with the dropper post is that the seat tube width is 30.9mm so I can only find a 125mm drop. Does anyone know of a dropper post that does a 150mm drop in a 30.9mm seat tube width?

Ta, JT

Posted: Mar 25, 2015 at 9:56 Quote
jimbojrt wrote:
Thanks for the response guys, good to know I'm not overloading my rear shock.

The issue with the dropper post is that the seat tube width is 30.9mm so I can only find a 125mm drop. Does anyone know of a dropper post that does a 150mm drop in a 30.9mm seat tube width?

Ta, JT

I thought the ks lev was.

http://www.jensonusa.com/KS-Lev-Integra-Seatpost

Posted: Mar 25, 2015 at 23:55 Quote
Looking at the bike check on PB for Fabien Barel's Strive CF, it looks like he is running a different lever for the shapeshifter. Anyone have an idea what it is?

Posted: Mar 26, 2015 at 1:25 Quote
had my strive a few weeks and im very impressed with it Big Grin
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