Specialized Demo 8 Review-Why is this bike everywhere this year?

I was asking myself that question early last season, when I saw a few of my buddies on their new frames. What makes them so stoked on their new rides, I wondered? Since I wasn’t happy with my new bike (we’ll leave it un-named in all fairness to the manufacturer) I’d just gone out and bought. I had bought it as I saw so many walk out of my old shop and figured this bike will kick ass. Well it turns out that I’m pickier than that and just couldn’t adapt to the new steed. (Or maybe I’m just a slow learner?)While I was at KBC one day last spring Matt Hunter was our shuttle driver, so I asked if I could give his Demo 8 a go for a run or two and he more then happily lent it to me. Well one run was all it took for me to see this was way closer to what I was looking for in a frame then what I’d already gone and bought. Note to all readers, if you can spend a little time on a bike or two before buying them, do it. This will help alleviate any post purchase stress. I like slack bikes, lots of stand over and I’ll be damned if I have nothing but good things to say about a Horst Link too. Matt’s bike had me sold. I needed to get a hold of a test sled.


I returned to the Pinkbike HQ with the Demo 8 on my mind and thankfully a big brown box showed up shortly there after and out popped my new summer steed. Yeah!!


I built it up with all my own goodies that I’ve learned to love and find it hard not to build a bike up without these parts.
-Magura Louise FR brakes-my fork has blown up on these puppies and they kept stopping me, unlike other brakes that if you touch the rotor with your fingers, you’ll never stop properly again due to getting greasy finger prints on them.
-Chromag Bar-bars are hard to screw up, but once you find a sweep and feel you like, stick with it.
-SDG Bel Air Ti Saddle-I’m a fan of running a nice XC saddle on my big bikes as they sometimes need to be pedaled.
-MRP System #3 Chain Guide-I’ve owned the rest and now I have the best. I spent years being heckled by my old mechanic Cam about how I ran all these different guides and that I really just needed to get the right one already. Well I now have it.
-Saint Cranks-These puppies are so stiff, a breeze to take off and put on. I can’t get over how simple cranks have become and how good they are.
-Maxxis Minion 2.7 front tire-confidence is a must.

The rest of my build was from what I had here, what I picked up in my travels and bits that I wanted to test on the frame.

Here’s a run down of what technology and facts are behind the frame and then I’ll tell you what all that means on the trail.


1. Fully Independent, thanks to a Near-Vertical Axle path.

-through careful placement of the 4 bar linkage pivots, the axle travels in a near vertical path, so chain force is always perpendicular to wheel movement. As a result, the suspension is fully independent:
*Chain loads have virtually no effect on suspension-even under heavy pedal load, the suspension is virtually unaffected by chain force, yielding fully active suspension even when pedaling.
*Rear suspension motion has virtually no effect on pedal stroke-there is no suspension-induced pedal “kickback” or “drop away”, so there’s no rider energy wasted on “monkey motion”.


2. Fully Active, Even when braking.

-Many suspension systems “top out” or “squat” when the rear brake is applied, virtually turning the bike into a hard tail. Through several key design elements, FSR fully isolates the rear brake from the suspension, remaining fully active and responsive to the terrain, regardless of braking forces.

3. Tuned Leverage Ratios to handle Big and Small impacts.

-The shape of every FSR spring curve from beginning to end is carefully designed to provide correct sag and full usable travel without harsh bottoming. It’s a design that can handle a wide variety of impacts without requiring changes to suspension settings.


So now that you know what FSR is all about, you’re probably asking yourself: “ok everyone says their design is the greatest, I want to know if it works?” Well so did I. Since my local trail network is one of the smoothest known to man kind, I had to take this bike out in search of braking bumps at the local resorts. It made it to Whistler, Silver Star and Sun Peaks as well as many non ski hill riding areas and one thing was certain, the braking was working through all kinds of rutted out areas and stutter sections. The rear end tracks so well in the shuddery stuff that you adapt to letting it go a little more, because you know that control is only an index finger away.


The Demo came equipped with a Manitou 4way Swinger rear shock to eat up the bumps and hits. The 4way is specifically valved to work with the Demo, so you are getting a tuned shock that performs properly with your ride. All you need to do is get the spring weight, sag and air pressure set up and you are good to go. No need to worry about leverage ratios not working with the shock here. The fine folks at Answer Products ended up sending us a Ti spring to test with the frame too. The Ti spring is a huge weight savings over its Chromoly brother, and offered a more reactive ride at slow speeds. Another hidden gem that came with the frame was the new Syncros Derived seat post. I put my seat on it, tightened the 2 bolts and it was as good as any high end post I’ve used in the past and the bolts are 6mm, none of this 4 mm crap that floats around the seat post industry.



When not riding the Demo at a resort where everything is gravity fed, you will find your self having to pedal it around, thank goodness for the seat post quick release. The Demo 8 is a sleeker version of the Demo 9 and is noticeably more nimble on the trail, but still it is no “epic” ride contender. Keep this bike pointed down and it will love and reward you with great times. Other great features over the 9 aside from the weight savings is the ability to run a 135x10 mm rear wheel, a lower B.B. height due to less travel=lower center of gravity. The rear wheel spacing allows those of us out there that don’t have the extra cash after doughing out for this frame to run what we have, which for most of us is a 135x10 mm rear wheel. Specialized also had this to say about the 135 X 10 mm spacing: “the 10mm x 135mm rear end is stiffer than most 12x150mm rear ends because of the extra triangulation found on the Demo chain stay. Also the rear end uses our ASYM (asymmetrical) design (shared w/ the BigHits and P.-series bikes), which means that the wheel is moved 6mm to the right, the rim 6mm to the left, which gives you a better chain line, and allows for equidistant spoke angles and lengths on both sides. This makes for a stronger wheel build, allows more clearance at the front derailleur and knobbies when running 2 rings up front, as well as providing for more clearance between the rear derailleur cage and spokes in the largest cog.” The lower center of gravity is best felt at speed and through corners as the bike just sits down and relaxes. Basically it’s telling you that everything is gonna be alright.


I chose to run my Demo 8 in the slacker of the two geometry options as were most people I encountered this summer with a Demo 8 under them. There were 2 draw backs here that I noticed; lower BB meant more pedal strikes on the ground. The second being that the frame is so rigid at the lower setting, riders kept replacing DU bushings that weren’t actually worn out. Because the frame can’t flex left to right when you crank down on the shock mounting bolt, there is this ever so slight amount of play that is mistaken for DU slop. Tolerances should be closer in ’06 from what I hear.


After a few great months aboard the Demo 8 it was time to return it, what a sad day at the office. I had a taste of a great bike and look forward to the ’06 offering. I’m sure that after reading this article, you’ll start to remember all the Demo 8s you saw on the trails this past riding season and there’s a reason for it. This is a great bike, you can run it with a 6-7” single crown for tech tricks and burly trail riding or build it up with a set of Monster Ts and huck yourself off all the road gaps in Kamloops. It’s a versatile ride that begs to be pushed and will help intermediate riders hone their developing skills and keep the veterans ahead of the game as well. Just look at what Kyle Strait and Matt Hunter do on there 8s!!

For more information please visit. Specialized.com


Happy Trails,

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