"You can leave the throttle completely on this bike. No other bike is as good. Not even the Trek comes close. I rode it extremely fast and safely - despite the broken fork," says Fischi, his eyes shining. Yes, Specialized has succeeded in reincarnating the classic Demo. The sinfully expensive S-Works model relies on steel suspension elements at the front and rear. And now the Boxxer Team fork is leaking oil from the seals. The spokes of the rear wheel are also coming loose and need to be re-centred. The downhill chase takes its toll after just a few days of testing. Bitter at a price for which you could buy a freehold flat in some countries. Nevertheless, all the testers are enthusiastic, whether park freeriders or race purists. On the demo, you feel like Aaron Gwinn when you're charging downhill, and the explosive voice of World Cup presenter Rob Warner literally booms in your ears. Fantastic suspension, confident in any terrain, great riding position - you realise it's not easy to hold back the euphoria once you've sat on the Demo. The bike is trimmed for chasing seconds, feels big and long in M and a little bulky in tight turns, yet the bike also has the necessary amount of playfulness that park freeriders want.
CONCLUSIONThe new Demo impresses with its superior poise. No wonder Aaron Gwin is now riding to the front with it. Super!
Strengths Rear triangle, high speed, safety
Weaknesses Wheels, fork defect
MANUFACTURER INFORMATION
Distribution Specialised Europe, www.specialized.com/de
Material/sizes Carbon/S,M, L, XL
Price/weight without pedals 8999 Euro/16.2 kg
MEASURED DATA
Front/rear suspension travel 200 mm/200 mm
Rear suspension system Four-bar linkage
EQUIPMENT
Fork/damper RockShox Boxxer Team/Öhlins TTX 22 M
Cranks/gears SRAM XO/SRAM XO1
Brake system SRAM Guide RS DH
Impellers Roval DH system wheelset
Tyres Specialized Hilly Billy DH 2.5 (vo.), Specialized Slaughter DH 2.3 (hi.)
Dimitri Lehner
Editor
