I wasn’t planning on riding a Specialized demo this season, but it’s hard to turn down a chance to ride the 2010 World Championships winning bike for two seasons in a row . I’ve been working at Velocity Cycles for a few years now and I try to flip my bikes every season for a fresh start to the year, and for the past few years I’ve been on and off a ton of great bikes. So when the TLD demo 8 rolled through the shop doors , it seemed oh so right to ride the demo for a second season.

In late 2010/early 2011, Specialized completely redesigned their downhill bike with the idea of “long and low”, the two best words to define a good race bike and the best words to define the demo. The Demo is following the trend of longer wheelbases for more stability in racing; however it is sporting a tad shorter rear end. At 16.5″, the bike is quick and snappy out of corners despite carrying the longer “racing” wheelbase. Low. Another word to define the Demo. At either 13.5″ or 13.9″ the bottom bracket height is getting lower, and while this may mean picking my places to pedal, it also means less need for pedaling as you can carry more speed through corners.

Specialized has really upped there game while thinking out side the box to completely redesign the demo frame, changing it from a freeride /dh frame to a full on race bike. Along with most bikes these days, it has some kind of adjustable geometry. The way they achieve this adjustable geometry however is quite different. It all begins with the yoke extending from the lower seat stay. Essentially this new yoke takes up the function of the rear DU Bushing in the rear shock eyelet. That is to say that the yoke rotates as the bike moves through its travel instead of the reducer rotating inside the rear shock eyelet. With some of the fastest riders in the world riding these bikes in the world cup, the new frame design quickly became one the most popular bikes for the 2011 season.

Being one of the more popular bikes last season I think it was really cool for Specialized to release some better build kits and cooler color schemes this year like the Limited Edition Troy lee Designs frame.

Specialized changed the build kits drastically from the demo 8 I and the demo 8 II. Trying to step away from fox suspension the demo 8 II and the frame sets are now coming with the Cane Creek Double Barrel, custom tuned for the demo’s suspension design feeling a little more plush and suppl then last year with the rc4. I was a little skeptical at first but soon after realized how much of a drastic change it brought to the demo. As for stock build kits the Demo 8 I weighs in out of the box at a 38 lbs, which is crazy for an out of box bike under $3800.

With my build spec it weighs 37.2 lbs
Front Tire- Maxxis Minion F
Front Wheel- Industry Nine/ Mavic 721
Front Brake- Avid X0 203MM
Headset- FSA Orbit 1.5
Fork- 2012 Fox 40
Stem- Straitline Direct mount
Bars- Chromag osx
Shifter- Sram XX 10spd
Grips- Troy Lee Design ODI
Seat – Ti Fly
Seatpost – Thompson Elite
Seat Clamp- Straitline
Rear Shock- Cane Creek Double Barrel Ti Spring
Crankset- Sram XO
Chain Guide – E13 Lg1
Pedals- Straitline Amp
Chain- Sram 1091
Cassette- Sram 1070
Rear Brake – Avid X0 203mm
Rear Wheel- Industry Nine/ Mavic 721
Rear Tire- Maxxis Minion F

I’ve been through quite a few bikes in the last few years, and it seems that every bike company tries to offer a few extras usually, a neoprene chain stay protector to keep the noise down and your frame looking good. Usually that chain stay protector lasts all of a couple weeks before the chain saws its way through it and eats up your frame. Specialized has gone well beyond that to help keep your bike quiet and looking new.They are screwed into the frame to keep them in place, made out of hard plastic and reinforced with rubber in critical chain-slap areas. This is the first chain stay protector design that won’t be ditched in favor of a carefully wrapped rubber tube sported by most DH bikes.

When I first got it , I realized the limited number of these frames and how awesome they look……almost to good looking to ride. I was wondering how it would look after a season or two. But Specialized seemed to have that under control with a protective clear downtube decal that runs the full length from the headtube all the way to the Bottom Bracket shell. Like the chainstay protector this is also a custom solution with the decal specifically shaped to accommodate the curvature and shape of the downtube. The custom decal blends in flawlessly with the bikes clear coat, enough that I didn’t realize that the cover was on until I ran my hand along the downtube. Regardless, this is the first bike that I have seen this type of protection come stock, not to mention, Specialized also provides a replacement decal for later in the season.

All things being said from the respectable stock spec list’s and weights to crazy custom builds and the refined race geometry,I think Specialized has put together a pretty good package. I am really looking forward to being on a Demo as nice as this one for the second season this year

The most important thing I would tell someone looking to pickup a 2012 Demo is to forget about the Top Tube measurement and look at the Reach measurement. This isn’t an XC bike and if you find yourself sitting down, you’re doing it wrong. Seriously though, your points of contact are the handlebars and the pedals. On the Demo the reach is much more representative of the cockpit size then the Top Tube.

Hope you guys get to try the redesigned Demo 8 and see how truly awesome of a bike it really is for yourself!

Thanks For Reading
Big Thanks To Velocity Cycles In Langley BC
Joey MacKillican

CLOTHING:

Troy Lee, Race Face, Royal, Sombrio, Specialized, Sugio, Santini, Louis Garneau, Zoot and Sock guy.

HELMETS:

Troy lee, Pro Tec, Giro, Bell, Specialized, Catlike, Louis Garneau and Nutcase.

SHOES:

Vans, Fox, Shimano, Specialized, Mavic, Louis Garneau, and Sidi.

EYE WEAR:

Gatorz, Ryder and Louis Garneau.

ACCESSORIES:

Evoc is here and Dakine is on the way.

SUPPLEMENTS:

Power bar, Clif, Bloks, Zym, Nuun and 1st Endurance.