[marlopez]

i just ordered an 04 sx and should get it sometime next week. im looking at the manual now and it says theres "travel chips" that adjust the shock travel. 2 of them keep the travel at 3.5", 1 at 4", 0 at 4.5". where are these chips? it doesnt say where they are in the manual.

i want my travel at 3.5" will that make my HA, and SA the steepest?

i basically want the steepest HA and SA and low travel.

also, what is this i hear about flipping the linkage over? and what does that do?


and what travel makes the lowest BB height?

thanks
-mario

 

[Enduro]

Reducing the travel is being done by adding bottom out bumpers to the shock as far as I know, so it will not affect your HA.

I think math2014 can tell you anything about this bike...

 

[math2014]

Ok here is the deal,

Those black plastic spacers that act as travel reducers are located on the shaft of the shock. You need 1 to get 4". HA and SA remain unaffected by adding or removing any of those spacers.

If you notice the linkage plate says 69deg HA on one side and 68 on the other... by flipping it you get the named HA that can be seen on the TOP side of the link.

Finally, BB height is unaffected by travel.

Yannis

Enjoy this great frame ... and join the SX mafia.


Since you want the steepest HA/SA and lowest travel keep everything as it was out of the box.... they are factory set at steep HA/SA and lowest travel.

 

[marlopez]

sweet. thanks!

 

[E.T.]

Mario,

I rode/raced the supercross throughout the 04' season but had a Fox Float AVA R instead of the Vanilla R. I do know though that the Vanilla that comes stock is a 6.75x1.75 for 4.5" of travel. I personally had a 6.75"x1.5" air shock for 4" of travel. This combination matched a 4-5" travel fork perfectly. As for the link, you can flip it, imagine half of a kickflip on a skateboard to change the head-angle and BB height. The mounting hole is slightly off center to achieve this change. I always ran mine at the lowest BB position. You sound like you are inbetween the two settings. You want a low BB height and a steep head-angle. The way to accomplish this would be to run the link in the lower BB setting, reduce your rear travel down to 3.5 by installing the travel limiting chips onto your shock (this has no effect on geometry just total travel), and then run a sub 4" fork to steepen the head-angle and give you the twitchy quick handling that you are looking for. If you are going to be racing or Dirt-jumping 4 in the rear and 4-4.5 in the front with the low bb setting is the way to go. I hope this helps...

 

[math2014]

and then you got strange people like me that want the bike with 150mm forks and more than 4.5" of rear travel .

BTW most riders in Europe, are using the SX purely as a medium FR/DH rig, putting boxxers, sliders and jnT forks on them,.... and in the UK non has broken yet...

 

[marlopez]

e.t.,
ya this bike is strictly for djing, 4x, and ds. its gonna have a vanilla rlc on the front. so itll have about of 5" in the front. thats why im thinking i should have the BB at the higher position, otherwise the bike will be a lot more slack.
what do you think?

 

[E.T.]

Mario,

4-4.5inches is best in the front. It will still works awesome with a longer travel 5" fork. I competed the whole season on a Float 130 (5.1" travel) fork until Mammoth. I also dirtjumped it all over the place and it was awesome. The headangle with a 5inch fork is in no way too slack, it is actually very nice. I changed the travel on my float to 110mm (about 4.5") to help with gate starts and that it did. In my opinion (and many other racers who ride SX's) the low bottom bracket position is always the way to go. It corners better and gives the bike a low center of gravity. People who experimented with the higher BB position quickly switched back. On a side note: I thought that I would inform you about 3 things that will make your build go much better. 1st off, make sure the section of shifter cable housing that is routed under the BB is extra long. If it is too short, when you go through the travel it will yank on your cable and cause it to rapidly shift into an easier gear and then back. Also I found that a 113mm Truvativ BB with a BB cup mounted chainguide gives you a perfect chainline. My chain is perfectly straight in 5th gear (out of 9) I also run zero spacers underneath my stem (I have a 50mm Thomson) paired with a 2 inch rise bar makes a sweet handling front end. Follow these guidelines and your bike will turn out sweet!

 

[marlopez]

thanks for the tips. im definitely gonna reduce the travel on the vanilla to 4". what are the pros and cons of having 3.5, 4, or 4.5 in the rear?

 

[beaverbiker]

dont listen to E.T. he has no idea what he is talking about. drop that fork down to 80mm and get a shorter air shock in the back to get 3.5"

 

[marlopez]

im no curtis beavers. i went to kmart today. the jumps are maintained the first 2 doubles are gone and thers a bigger on there. and the 3rd jump that was there is a big table top now

 

[DVNT]

im no curtis beavers. i went to kmart today. the jumps are maintained the first 2 doubles are gone and thers a bigger on there. and the 3rd jump that was there is a big table top now

K-Mart has jumps?

Is that in the Martha Stewart Section?

 

[Brian Peterson]

Mario,
You talking about the K-mart jumps in Ventura?

Brian

 

[marlopez]

Mario,
You talking about the K-mart jumps in Ventura?

Brian

nah in slo

 

[punkassean]

SX's come with heavy springs, so even in the 4.5 setting they feel like a hardtail until you really lay the smack on it. Get a TALAS fork, it's lighter than a Vanilla, as strong and you can tune the travel/ride height on the go for any situation.

Out of curiosity, why not wait till the end of the month for the '05? It is much lighter and (hopefully) equally strong.

 

[marlopez]

Out of curiosity, why not wait till the end of the month for the '05? It is much lighter and (hopefully) equally strong.

i don't have the money for a new one. the one i bought is practically new with a sick build for a relatively low price

 

[math2014]

The new SX Trail frame is weighted at ..... 6lbs WITH shock!!!!!!!

The 03/04 SX is 8.5lbs, so i dont really think that it can be made stronger by reducing 2.5lbs of frame weight....

 

[punkassean]

i don't have the money for a new one. the one i bought is practically new with a sick build for a relatively low price

Werd, I got confused because you said you "ordered it"...

i just ordered an 04 sx and should get it sometime next week. im looking at the manual now and it says theres "travel chips" that adjust the shock travel.

The new SX Trail frame is weighted at ..... 6lbs WITH shock!!!!!!!

The 03/04 SX is 8.5lbs, so i dont really think that it can be made stronger by reducing 2.5lbs of frame weight....

Just because the new bike is lighter doesn't mean it can't better utilize materials and equal the strength of the heavier older bike. Specialized doesn't want these things breaking. Are you sure your weight quote for the SX is really for the trail with a progressive coil-over not for the SX with a progressive air which is one of the lightest shocks out?

 

[DVNT]

The 03/04 SX is 8.5lbs....

What size? My short weighed about 7 with the seat post.

 

[math2014]

What size? My short weighed about 7 with the seat post.

i got a medium

someone either here or in nsmb posted some frame weights about a year ago and iirc it was either 8 or 8.5lbs.

 

[math2014]

Just because the new bike is lighter doesn't mean it can't better utilize materials and equal the strength of the heavier older bike. Specialized doesn't want these things breaking. Are you sure your weight quote for the SX is really for the trail with a progressive coil-over not for the SX with a progressive air which is one of the lightest shocks out?

My bad, 6lbs for the air shock model...

 

[punkassean]

Werd^ that's still really light though with a coil, probably only 1lb more...

 

[DFoxracing]

sx's suck

 

[DFoxracing]

pinkbike rules

 

[punkassean]

sx's suck

my buddies buddy had one...it was super flexy
















































plus, they never offered them in rootbeer...

 

[math2014]

the SX is indeed crap, but i am a crappier rider than the bike so we fit together

 

[gmac]

Lets see some SX pics. I've only seen like one of them as stock/oem.

 

[math2014]

here are some

i hope it works

soon to be with a 150mm fork

 

[Weaver]

cut that seatpost!!!

 

[math2014]

... and put a Z1 150mm fork?

 

[Weaver]

... and put a Z1 150mm fork?

thats your call... im gonna be running a talas on mine... float on it now

 

[marlopez]

alright, i got my bike today. i don't know if the travel chips are on the shock or not b/c i dont know what they look like. can anyone show me what they look like and where they go? it doesn't seem like anything is on there.
-mario

 

[punkassean]

look at the shock-shaft and see if there is anything between the seal and the coil-mount. If the shaft is totally exposed then there are no chips, if there are black clip on thingies then there are chips.

 

[marlopez]

ive had the bike for a week now. and i love it. ive been riding 8 days straight over thanksgiving at bmx tracks and dirt jumps. the bike is so stable i love it.
as for the travel chips. there arent any on the shaft, so i guess i have 4.5" but the spring is so stiff plus the propedel so there is no bob. i think i will probably leave it at 4.5"
otherwise, what are some reasons to lower the travel if it doesnt change geometry?

 

[whoopnar]

Get an Fox AVA. You get more adjustability and plus you lose a pound or two. It makes it easier to whip your rear wheel around.

 

[Mr. Furious]

I might be crazy....

Specialized says the shock on the '04 SX is a 6.5" eye-to-eye and a 1.5" stroke..

A Swinger 3-way Air comes in a 6.5" x 1.5"
And the 3-way Coil comes in a 7.5" x 2.0"

What would you try on your SX?
Going to a 7.5" eye-to-eye mess up the geometry more than a degree, or would extra sag help compensate?

 

[punkassean]

I'd stick w/air. There is no need for a coil on that bike. Most guys run the AVA floats or you could get the new Float RP3. I like the Swinger 3-way as well. You could go to a 6.75x1.75 maybe but I'd stick to the stock specs, if you want more get a link/shock kit or get the '05 SX Trail. Or get an '04 regular Enduro w/5".

The only coil shock I'd try on one is a Ti sprung Romic maybe! and that's a big maybe.

 

[math2014]

The stock shock on SX is not 6.5 x 1.5. Thats incorrect even if it comes from Specialized.

The correct measurements are 6.75 x 1.75". Hence going to 7.5" x 2" shouldnt be a bit deal especially if you flip the link to the slacker settign.

 

[marlopez]

is it just me or is it impossible to find a 6.75 x 1.75 air shock? ive been looking for a while. everything i found is 6.5 x 1.5. how would that be if i flipped the linkage to the 69 degree side?

i currently am running it w/ the 68 HA and 12.1 BB height.

 

[Mr. Furious]

I don't think there is one... I was looking at a swinger 3-way air and found out that the specialized website isn't correct so the swinger won't be an exact fit :mumble: