Curtis Keene's Specialized Demo 8 - Sea Otter Day 2

140

ninjatarian (Apr 16, 2011 at 1:44)

I am loving the small ring up front. You might be able to eliminate the bash all together being that high up saving even more weight yet.

70

pperini (Apr 16, 2011 at 2:56)

dont get it..spesh always made the demo with 135mm hubs..mine for example is one of those..then they went 150mm for 2011, and now the pros ride again 135mm...come on engineers..settle down....

50

dougies (Apr 16, 2011 at 8:44)

nothing wrong with trying different options, and im pressuming this is about more than the rear axle width

110

sniperbob04 (Apr 16, 2011 at 9:19) (Below Threshold)

they atleast need the 12mm true axel cuz without true axel the rim can come off and is way less stiff

40

baca262 (Apr 16, 2011 at 10:23)

they went to 150mm because of zero dish and now they have a 135mm with zero dish which is lighter and may even be stiffer.

20

bikeaddict123 (Apr 16, 2011 at 10:27)

yeah but he says the reason is to have "more clearance through tight trails" with a 15mm difference that's 3/4 of a cm on either side of the bike! plus your bars, shoes and body stick out way more. i'd defs prefer it if they stuck to one standard

100

sniperbob04 (Apr 16, 2011 at 10:34)

lol like anyone will the the difference between 135 and 150 on the trail lol like if someone will stop and say f*ck I cant go down that trail I too wide :O

10

z-man (Apr 16, 2011 at 11:32)

Its sea ottar, people run odd setups that you wouldnt see at many other races.

40

willsoffe (Apr 16, 2011 at 11:43)

bikeaddict123, I disagree: If my rear mech or rear disc rotor clears a rock instead of smashing into it, I'd call that a good thing.

10

bunkey (Apr 16, 2011 at 17:41)

+1

82

superkeen FL (Apr 16, 2011 at 2:03)

135mm makes sense with only the 7 speeds, you will get a better average chainline. I fail to see how it being slimmer by 7.5mm on each side is gonna help with clipping rocks though, considering your back foot cranks and pedal sit right in front of it.

71

wasea04 (Apr 16, 2011 at 3:22)

It's pretty hilarious really, "150mm is the best thing to happen to a dh bike, wait no, we've decided that a 135mm rear is better after making all of you buy fancy new hubs. "

41

pperini (Apr 16, 2011 at 3:25)

2 words: market, money.

14

nouser (Apr 16, 2011 at 5:30)

they need it though, the bike industry is struggling

31

wrc21 (Apr 16, 2011 at 5:38)

Yeah, another load of crap coming from specialized. Only them can hype so much a change on rear axle overall width.

10

amht4life (Apr 16, 2011 at 7:28)

The problem is that there are so many different combinations of things that could be done for drivetrain setup. I don't want to bash the bike industry because that's a very though business to be in, but it can be very frustrating from a consumer's standpoint. It's highly unlikely that there will ever be a de facto standard for DH drivetrains, but it could be worse: sheldonbrown.com/nanodrive/index.html

30

bikeaddict123 (Apr 16, 2011 at 10:31)

"The Nanodrive MTB system sticks with 9 sprockets in back, 3 in front, because extensive research has proven that this as many as the human brain is capable of comprehending, and not everybody can even do that many." hahaha

20

willsoffe (Apr 16, 2011 at 11:44)

This new standard is good.

If my rear mech or rear disc rotor clears a rock instead of smashing into it, I'd call that a good thing.

7 speed is also good. 9/10 is overkill.

Zero dish is good.

10

bomberdave (Apr 16, 2011 at 15:01)

If you think this is a bad example of the bike industry strugglling, low down from tyepay (i dont remember how to spell it lol) is that spec will have NO 26" hardtails in the mid to high level xc/trail hardtails, just at entry level and the jumpers. time for an upgrade!

60

KennyKillsIt (Apr 16, 2011 at 1:40)

Those tires have some seriously sexy meat! Fooock, I want some of that chunder!

30

jclnv (Apr 16, 2011 at 10:29)

Hopefully the 12x135mm hub and 9T 7spd DT hub makes production. Makes way more sense than stupid 150mm hubs and 11spd cassettes. Looks like the new rear triangle works perfect with existing Demo front triangles. Hopefully they will be available aftermarket.

41

Varaxis (Apr 16, 2011 at 2:10)

So ordering name/flag stickers from Victory Circle Graphics is a big deal now?

I only clicked on this article cause I was going WTF when I saw 12/13mm rear end.

10

MooMoo2323 (Apr 16, 2011 at 8:38)

PROOF READ!!!!!!!!!!!!!

10

CrashPanda (Apr 16, 2011 at 4:15)

Well... at least they got the zero dish wheel right :-) After a couple of seasons on otherwise identical 150 rears, other with CK hub and other with Hope (which creates zero dish too), there's a thing to be said on benefits of that, if you are (un)fortunate enough to take build and care of your own wheels too.

10

foghorn1 (Apr 16, 2011 at 5:19)

I like the switch to 7 speed very much, but am thinking that the 9 tooth system may wear chains, bearings, and cogs faster. The closer you put the leverage to the centre of the axles, the higher the tension. More tension = more wear. This is fine for sponsored riders, but for ordinary folk who have to buy gear, I'm not sure about it.

10

dingus (Apr 27, 2011 at 10:56)

I'm sure pros will replace their drivetrains much more frequently than ordinary folk.

10

agolden (Apr 16, 2011 at 6:54)

I think it is awesome that specialized is innovating like this. Everyone is confused about the switch in axle lengths but they are just prototyping things as specialized normally does throughout the season. Sam Hills bike will always be just a little bit different than the production anyways

21

sniperbob04 (Apr 16, 2011 at 9:23)

Im still sold to the 12*150 rear end witch is was stiffer than the 10*135 and still stiffer than 12*135. I would do 12*135 for dual slalom and slopstyle, 12*142 for fr and 12*150 for dh

10

luckynmbr13 (Apr 16, 2011 at 8:52)

its nice to see him running a small cog set because ive always had one and people make fun of me for it... but it makes sense, why do you need easy gears on a dh bike??...

10

foghorn1 (May 2, 2011 at 5:37)

Easy gears are good for getting to those secret handshake trails..

10

tobster11 (Apr 16, 2011 at 1:59)

i'd tap that ! That bike looks seriously quick!

10

Antron (Apr 16, 2011 at 2:12)

So which is better, 135mm or 150mm?! Quit changing it!!

10

samnation (Apr 16, 2011 at 15:01)

Actually 142 makes sense because then we could have 2 standards 142X12 and 130X10 done! over! kaput! if you have a superlight XC or road bike you run what is the current road standard and then you have the 142X12 its an even split between 135 and 150 and has the stiffness that is currently being desired by trail riders the world over. I havent done the math but I also think that with a 142 you can run 6 or 7 gears with zero dish or you can run a 11-36 10 speed with dish..

10

samnation (Apr 16, 2011 at 16:04)

The syntace 142 is stupid but a well thought redesigned 142 would be good

20

samnation (Apr 16, 2011 at 17:11)

its how the 135 should have been from day one

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Antron (Apr 17, 2011 at 4:50)

But if this new 135mm is better because it's smaller and has a wider hub flange due to the 7 speed, couldn't you use that same concept and make it wider on a 150mm if wider is better. As long as it has a thru-axle, I don't really give a sh*t. I do like the convenience that the 142mm has to offer.

20

acadian (Apr 16, 2011 at 3:11)

what size frame?

10

themagicturtle (Apr 16, 2011 at 7:21)

Looks like a large to me

10

brule (Apr 16, 2011 at 8:25)

Large frame for Keene.

10

protourr (Mar 27, 2015 at 19:44)

best bike ever made right @Protour

10

benhallas96 (Apr 16, 2011 at 7:21)

head angle looks so slack!

10

connerkuhns (Apr 27, 2011 at 16:42)

Uh standard decendants will fit a 30t chainring?

11

spokedwheelfreak (Apr 16, 2011 at 4:09)

so does it mean that the front sprocket is only a 20t? nice and small

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spudlord (Apr 16, 2011 at 4:18)

nah its a 30t custom sprocket on custom cranks

10

Chamakazi FL (Apr 16, 2011 at 4:19)

No, the front chainring is 30T, the cassette is 9-20T.

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connerkuhns (Apr 27, 2011 at 1:06)

those cranks arn't custom, they are standard truvativ decendants

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spudlord (Apr 27, 2011 at 14:00)

ahh so how do you explain the 30t sproket

10

shishka (Apr 16, 2011 at 9:29)

butters

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hugslyh (Apr 16, 2011 at 15:06)

niiiccee i want that

10

apiwat (May 7, 2012 at 0:18)

Beautiful