Inclag
05-19-2007, 06:07 PM
So after spending a little time on the Demo 7 and getting in a some days at the mountain and racing it I'd figured I would post a review to try to help answer most of the questions people had about them. Keep in mind I'm reviewing this as a race rig.
Before going into detail about how this bike rides, I have to say that the attention to detail and finish of the frame are second to none. Hooray for technology as the welds are perfect. The monocoque top tube weld on this frame makes the one on my previous Intense M1 look laughable. Also, all the hardware and fasteners are machined aluminum and anodized. Very nice touches. Personally I like the paint scheme on this frame, and it has been durable thus far, however I wouldn't have minded a nice powder coat or ano finish as the clear coat on the frame will likely wear and dull a bit over time.
Geometry
Headangle - Depending on AC 64-65 degrees
BB Height - 13.9"
Travel - 7.7"
Chainstay - 16.7"
Wheelbase - 47.3" (Large)
Tob Tube - 23.5"
Fit
I'm 6'3" and a little lanky. Up until recently I've ridden bikes with 24"+ top tubes so this was a bit of a concern of mine however the Demo has a long front to center so it turned out to really be a non factor. The BB height is about as low as I feel comfortable riding without having to constantly be aware of my pedal stroke and after some ridetime I'm pleasently surprised with the short chainstays. The one thing that I would likely change would be for a little slacker seat tube angle.
Parts
My build varies a bit from the stock build. Suspension bits are handled by a Marzocchi 888SL ATA and Roco WC. The cheap stock pedals were replaced by Lo Pro Mag 2's and the craptacular stock cassette was ditched for a 12-27 Ultegra. The Gamut P40 was replaced by a P30, and currently the bike weighs in at about 41lbs. I'm hoping to shed an easy ~3lbs more a little later going tubeless and running EX1750's.
Ride
Suspension
I'm running around 40%+ sag with the rear shock (I'm a firm believer that the Demo's ride better with more sag) and 72psi in the fork and 90psi in the PAR. The suspension and quality of travel on this bike completely blows away the suspension on any previous bike I have ridden. With the fork I was running slightly lower pressure and was having serious arm pump issues my first real time on the mountain. Adding about 10psi made a night and day difference. One thing I particularly like about the fork is that the low speed compression adjustment is really noticable but doesn't seem to affect the high speed performance like previous boxxers and manitous I have owned. The real treat has been the Roco WC. I'm absolutely amazed at how this shock performs. I've had plenty of bikes that have had more travel than this one, and yet the rear is so smooth and eats up and tracks over everything.
Pedaling
The Roco does cycle a bit more when pedaling compared to other shocks and running the sag I do doesn't lead to great pedalling, but being a bit light and not oozing 9-10"'s of travel it doesn't have that wallowing feeling of other downhill bikes. It moves when you step on the gas. I guess you could call it "lively".
Handling
To be quite honest maybe I don't know what the term "freeride" means any more. I got this bike for downhill racing. It is long, slack, and low and that isn't really the best for freeriding unless you do mostly lift assisted riding or you are into the whole barhuckflipspin phenomena. For downhill it handles like a champ. The chainstay length sticks out like a sore thumb, but I can't believe how much of a non-factor it has been. I have found that it seems best when you remain centered when cornering which was a slight learning curve since my previous two bikes required me to weight the front a little more. Also, I'm a bit of a plow rider (likely an understatement) and yet I find myself being able to move this bike around easier than any previous ride.
Negs
Well I wouldn't be against a nice high quality powder coat. Also, the seat tube angle I find is too steep. Everything about this bike screams DH. It is in a nice pedal friendly position, but c'mon.
The stock cassette is junk and the bearing in the specialized rear hub already needs to be replaced.
Overall I'm really impressed with the total package. My training regemine this winter...well there really wasn't one and I'm riding faster now than I ever have.
Boo my dark image, maybe I'll get a better one
http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/7585/bikebe1.jpg
Before going into detail about how this bike rides, I have to say that the attention to detail and finish of the frame are second to none. Hooray for technology as the welds are perfect. The monocoque top tube weld on this frame makes the one on my previous Intense M1 look laughable. Also, all the hardware and fasteners are machined aluminum and anodized. Very nice touches. Personally I like the paint scheme on this frame, and it has been durable thus far, however I wouldn't have minded a nice powder coat or ano finish as the clear coat on the frame will likely wear and dull a bit over time.
Geometry
Headangle - Depending on AC 64-65 degrees
BB Height - 13.9"
Travel - 7.7"
Chainstay - 16.7"
Wheelbase - 47.3" (Large)
Tob Tube - 23.5"
Fit
I'm 6'3" and a little lanky. Up until recently I've ridden bikes with 24"+ top tubes so this was a bit of a concern of mine however the Demo has a long front to center so it turned out to really be a non factor. The BB height is about as low as I feel comfortable riding without having to constantly be aware of my pedal stroke and after some ridetime I'm pleasently surprised with the short chainstays. The one thing that I would likely change would be for a little slacker seat tube angle.
Parts
My build varies a bit from the stock build. Suspension bits are handled by a Marzocchi 888SL ATA and Roco WC. The cheap stock pedals were replaced by Lo Pro Mag 2's and the craptacular stock cassette was ditched for a 12-27 Ultegra. The Gamut P40 was replaced by a P30, and currently the bike weighs in at about 41lbs. I'm hoping to shed an easy ~3lbs more a little later going tubeless and running EX1750's.
Ride
Suspension
I'm running around 40%+ sag with the rear shock (I'm a firm believer that the Demo's ride better with more sag) and 72psi in the fork and 90psi in the PAR. The suspension and quality of travel on this bike completely blows away the suspension on any previous bike I have ridden. With the fork I was running slightly lower pressure and was having serious arm pump issues my first real time on the mountain. Adding about 10psi made a night and day difference. One thing I particularly like about the fork is that the low speed compression adjustment is really noticable but doesn't seem to affect the high speed performance like previous boxxers and manitous I have owned. The real treat has been the Roco WC. I'm absolutely amazed at how this shock performs. I've had plenty of bikes that have had more travel than this one, and yet the rear is so smooth and eats up and tracks over everything.
Pedaling
The Roco does cycle a bit more when pedaling compared to other shocks and running the sag I do doesn't lead to great pedalling, but being a bit light and not oozing 9-10"'s of travel it doesn't have that wallowing feeling of other downhill bikes. It moves when you step on the gas. I guess you could call it "lively".
Handling
To be quite honest maybe I don't know what the term "freeride" means any more. I got this bike for downhill racing. It is long, slack, and low and that isn't really the best for freeriding unless you do mostly lift assisted riding or you are into the whole barhuckflipspin phenomena. For downhill it handles like a champ. The chainstay length sticks out like a sore thumb, but I can't believe how much of a non-factor it has been. I have found that it seems best when you remain centered when cornering which was a slight learning curve since my previous two bikes required me to weight the front a little more. Also, I'm a bit of a plow rider (likely an understatement) and yet I find myself being able to move this bike around easier than any previous ride.
Negs
Well I wouldn't be against a nice high quality powder coat. Also, the seat tube angle I find is too steep. Everything about this bike screams DH. It is in a nice pedal friendly position, but c'mon.
The stock cassette is junk and the bearing in the specialized rear hub already needs to be replaced.
Overall I'm really impressed with the total package. My training regemine this winter...well there really wasn't one and I'm riding faster now than I ever have.
Boo my dark image, maybe I'll get a better one
http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/7585/bikebe1.jpg