[4130biker]

I have heard that demo 7s use a spacer on the shock to get a shorter stroke.. I have good material to make a spacer for my demo 8, but what I'm wondering is: will it hurt my shock to "bottom" a 1/4" sooner? I would put the spacer below the regular bottom out bumper. I know getting a shorter stroke shock would do it, but I don't really want to buy one. It would be fun to try it out at 7" if it wouldn't cause any problems..

 

[dexter]

if i find mine you can have it. i did extensive testing with it on and off in whistler for an entire summer and it made no difference that i could tell.

 

[4130biker]

So no adverse effects on the shock itself? What did you make yours out of?

 

[davep]

you will need to change the spring accordingly......

 

[CountryBoy]

What do people think of putting a 2.5" stroke shock on a demo 8? Lower bb and slacker ha. How much travel would it get? I was thinking 7.7 just like a Demo 7. I was tinking of getting a 2.5 x 8.5 vivid for my demo 8.

 

[dexter]

slacker and lower? my demo with 888 and 2.35 rear and 2.5 front minion sits super low, i clip my pedals all the time (would measure it but its in pieces right now) and the head angle is sitting close to 64 degrees with a decently low front end. i grew up racing on fast slack bikes (dh9, sinister 9, etc) and this bike is pretty damn slack in the ha department, i think any major slacking of it would result in a pretty crappy ride except for at world cup speeds

 

[DirtyMike]

Other than changing the spring to match, Companies like Push make travel reducers that go on the shaft of the shock to limit the travel. As long as you dont remove the bottom out bumper, you wont have any adverse problems with teh shock.

 

[4130biker]

Thanks for the input guys. I don't think I'll need to change my spring since mine is a 2.5/2.75 from fox. I'm only going to space out a 1/4" of stroke.
CountryBoy- I was thinking the same thing, but agree with dexter that it would be too slack. I'm working on making new shock shuttle plates to account for the shorter eye to eye, and I'm going to try my dhx air (8.5x2.5) off my enduro for kicks as well.
In 08', specialized listed a "conversion" that did exactly that- switched to a 2.5 stroke dhx air and made up for the length with different plates. Has anyone seen one of these on a bike? I haven't...

I found the link, and it only shows up for the base model-- look at the very bottom of the page:
http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?arc=2008&spid=34369

 

[DirtyMike]

Well the reason you would want to change the spring isnt stroke, its your sag will be different with the reduced travel. IE you need a little heavier spring, depending on your bodyweight though, probably wont be a big issue

 

[4130biker]

AHA! That makes sense about the spring now! Thanks, Dirty Mike. Just an update on the "travel reducers"-- I was going to machine one out of plastic, but it turned out my local hardware store had the perfect nylon washers- no machining required, just a slot with a hacksaw so they can be stretched around the shock. .125" thick each, as well.

 

[DirtyMike]

Let us know how they work out, I have a feeling though they will destry themselves as you bottom on them, not because the Nylon isnt strong enough, but because with the slit, there probably going to deform right off the shock

 

[4130biker]

I will let you know how they work.. That's a good point. If they are deflecting, I might never even know (or they might just get hammered). Maybe it would be good to have a one-peice, or even aluminum spacer..

 

[4130biker]

Update: I just found out through my shop that specialized is not making the 7" shock shuttles for the demo 8.. It was a prototype thing, but it is not in production currently. It would be sweet if they did make them...

 

[4130biker]

Update again, if anyone was curious. I was able to reduce travel by using nylon washers without any damage to the shock (dhx 5). The washers even survived without damage. However, it was difficult to even tell the difference in travel. I did go up to a heavier shock spring, but wound up just using that without the spacers on my demo.
The dhx air on the demo sucked instantly. Sat on it once and took it off; it was that bad. It sagged through most of it's travel at full (air spring) pressure. Someone probably knew that would happen, but I found out the hard way!

 

[demo 9]

I have the washer/spacer that came off a spesh demo 7. Anybody who wants it can have it for the price of a stamp. PM if interested.

 

[Nagaredama]

Cheap and easy stroke reducer.

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=253577&highlight=manitou+spring+vanilla

 

[igz-]

Oooo

I like that gasket idea for sure....

But didn't he have to take apart his shock to slip those spacers over the shaft though?

 

[Nagaredama]

Oooo

I like that gasket idea for sure....

But didn't he have to take apart his shock to slip those spacers over the shaft though?

Just cut the gasket with scissors from the outside to inside and then bend it to fit the shaft. My buddy did it on his ROCO and it works perfectly.