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Specialized SX review

kidwoo

kidwoo

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Aug 25, 2003
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joelalamo45

Monkey
Jun 25, 2007
741
1
Idaho Springs, Colorado
300psi... like you said, it took some getting used to. feels more like a 6" bike, which I'm cool with. I have the long frame, which I wanted so I wouldn't ever have to worry about toe scrub on barspins. The added bonus is that I can do legit (bars almost 270) turndowns. Are you running your Fox 36 at 100mm? I'm toying with the idea of running my 66 ATA at 140mm with less air so it rides around 120mm.
 
kidwoo

kidwoo

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Yeah it's 100mm for sure. I'm taking it out on some shuttle trails tomorrow with the pressure backed off and some dh tires.

I don't know what size cranks you're running but I don't think I could hit my feet with my front wheel on a barspin if I tried. Even the short ain't that short.

I think it would feel pretty sweet with a fork in the 120-140 range.
 
G

gratiflying

Chimp
Apr 12, 2007
70
0
G

gratiflying

Chimp
Apr 12, 2007
70
0
joelalamo45 said:
300psi... like you said, it took some getting used to.
Click to expand...
have the rebound/shock internals been reworked at all? or stock setup with 300 PSI and a fair amount of rebound dampening?

propedal?

appreciate it... i've had my 09 SX for 2 weeks now and just trying to get it dialed...

_____________
TR450
Nomad
SX 4X
Big Top 29r
'52 Schwinn
 
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C

C_S

Chimp
May 14, 2004
32
0
Clovis
Interesting. So, kidwoo, done with the hardtail then?

Is this what happens when you get old? Ditch the hardtail for a a little squish, just in case.
 
C

C_S

Chimp
May 14, 2004
32
0
Clovis
kidwoo said:
Fvck no. I just bought that thing ride woodward yo.
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Whew, good to know. My faith in humanity can be restored.

And hey, next time you drive by on your way to Woodward, let me know. I can't ride the jumps but it would be fun to shoot you guys huckin yer meat.
 
ServeEm

ServeEm

Turbo Monkey
Feb 21, 2006
1,013
0
SacTown
That SX sounds like a lot of fun. Was looking for a short travel, killswitch and le pink were in my sights.
 
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gratiflying

Chimp
Apr 12, 2007
70
0
yo SX owners... anyone notice that a Sram rear derailleur hits the FSR pivot on the chainstay when in 11, 12T cogs?... unless a bunch of B tension or whatever it's called is dialed in?... not that i pedal much on this bike but i just threw on a 11-23 cassette and the RD fit sucks with all the B tension... anyone try shimano?
 
HAB

HAB

Chelsea from Seattle
Apr 28, 2007
11,580
2,006
Seattle
Any updates on the trail bikey experiment? My old Bottle Rocket with a shortened shock, 110mm fork, and -1.5 degree head cups was the most fun bike I've ever ridden on fast, smooth, twisty trails with some jumps and whatnot, but the suspension sucked balls when it was chopped down like that, and it didn't pedal worth a crap. I'm on a Banshee Spitfire now, which is beyond awesome for the slightly more XC oriented stuff, but I'm pushing the suspension a bit more than it really wants to be on some of the more aggressive stuff I'm riding. Thinking about trawling for a used SX frame to put the parts from one of my hardtails on to be more of a jump/ play bike that's still sort of pedalable, like the Bottle Rocket was. Thoughts?
 
kidwoo

kidwoo

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Aug 25, 2003
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HAB said:
Any updates on the trail bikey experiment? My old Bottle Rocket with a shortened shock, 110mm fork, and -1.5 degree head cups was the most fun bike I've ever ridden on fast, smooth, twisty trails with some jumps and whatnot, but the suspension sucked balls when it was chopped down like that, and it didn't pedal worth a crap. I'm on a Banshee Spitfire now, which is beyond awesome for the slightly more XC oriented stuff, but I'm pushing the suspension a bit more than it really wants to be on some of the more aggressive stuff I'm riding. Thinking about trawling for a used SX frame to put the parts from one of my hardtails on to be more of a jump/ play bike that's still sort of pedalable, like the Bottle Rocket was. Thoughts?
Click to expand...
I'm working on the second part right now. I've gotten a good bit of riding in on it with a few different setups. Long story short is that I really like it in the woods. Part two should be up pretty soon. I'll post it up here when it goes live.
 
HAB

HAB

Chelsea from Seattle
Apr 28, 2007
11,580
2,006
Seattle
kidwoo said:
I'm working on the second part right now. I've gotten a good bit of riding in on it with a few different setups. Long story short is that I really like it in the woods. Part two should be up pretty soon. I'll post it up here when it goes live.
Click to expand...
Awesome, looking forward to it.


I really do miss that Bottle Rocket. :(
 
HAB

HAB

Chelsea from Seattle
Apr 28, 2007
11,580
2,006
Seattle
Nice, thanks. I think those air volume reducers may be *exactly* what my Spitfire needs. I suspect that I'm pushing the bike a bit harder than it's really meant for at times, and I've been bottoming the rear end hard a lot more often than I'd like. The alternative is running so much pressure that it rides like ass most of the time. The stock RP23 just can't keep up with the Lyric up front.

Since I'm cheap and poor and in Australia, I think I'm going to DIY this one. Any chance you could measure/ estimate how much volume any of those spacers are taking up?
 
kidwoo

kidwoo

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Aug 25, 2003
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Aw man.....you going to make me take one out of a shock? ;)

I guess I could drop one in some oil in a graduated cylinder to get the volume.

Just do what I did with the stock shock at first. Pump a shltload of slick honey into the top of the air reservoir. But then again, a tube of slick honey is already half the cost of one of these kits.......
 
HAB

HAB

Chelsea from Seattle
Apr 28, 2007
11,580
2,006
Seattle
Nah, I figured you might have one or two sitting around not in a shock. Doesn't the kit come with 3?


So you did what, take the air can off, and poured some slick honey in there? I can do that.
 
kidwoo

kidwoo

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Yeah look at the pic I have in the review of the spacers installed. Before I got the spacers (last autumn) I filled the same space with a bunch of slick honey. It did change the behavior a good bit. Just fill it up behind the big flat stainless washer in there.
 
HAB

HAB

Chelsea from Seattle
Apr 28, 2007
11,580
2,006
Seattle
Thanks, makes perfect sense.

I wonder if it would work to just take some thinish plastic sheet, say 1-2mm thick, cut a carefully sized rectangle out of it, and slip it into the air can, so that it wraps to the outside of the can out of the way of everything else...
 
kidwoo

kidwoo

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What you describe is EXACTLY what a guy who lives here in tahoe started doing with his trail bike (a turner 5 spot) to do essentially the same thing. The only problem is that those bikes came with a larger volume air cannister where there's room to do that. The shocks that come with this frame are the smaller cans so there's not as much space to do it in. That top cavity is about the only place I'd feel comfortable taking up space. You might interfere with the shock trying to wrap it around the inside of the body.

He used p-tex sheets btw. The same stuff you buy to do patch work repairs on snow skis and boards.
 
HAB

HAB

Chelsea from Seattle
Apr 28, 2007
11,580
2,006
Seattle
Oh, awesome. The Spitfire has a kinda small air can too, I'd have to open it up to have a look and see if it would actually have a chance of fitting or not. That's something else to investigate though.

Thanks again for the info.
 
ZoRo

ZoRo

Turbo Monkey
Sep 28, 2004
1,224
11
MTL
Woo, read the other part of your review. Great stuff.

Are the measurements on the geo chart on spec's website accurate? The large would have a 419mm c-t seat tube?? That could really translate into a bike that could limp upward decently!
 
kidwoo

kidwoo

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Aug 25, 2003
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My experience is that specialized's website doesn't have accurate geo measurements. If you like low BBs, that tends to be good because they're usually lower than published. Their top tube measurements are useless. Everything else seems to be at least 'ball park'.
 
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