[manimal]

I thinking of getting a used '05 SX frame and just throwing all of my parts from the P2 on it. i only ride my P2 for street/park and dj's and use my demo for everything else. is an SX suitable for park? i know it'll work fine on dj's and street for my level of riding but i just don't want to kill my chances at the skatepark. i just think that i'd ride an SX a lot more than i would the demo. i love the demo, it just gets cumbersome on trail rides and the sx would be better for everything other than DH.

opinions..?

ps. i started thinking about this when i saw r. leach riding trials on a short travel FS bike in the new kranked. if he can ride trials on it...then it might work at a skatepark

 

[Bicyclist]

It will really suck at the park, like really really suck.

If you already have a Demo it's not worth it. If you wanted to do DH/FR/DJ/park on one bike it would be sweet but otherwise no.

I guess you have to think about how much you ride trails vs. street/park. If you pretty much only ride trails then maybe the SX would be worthwhile.

Also, the 5th Element air shocks on the 05s SUCK! You would pretty much have to plan to replace it. The 03/04s with coils are a bit more freerideable.

 

[manimal]

thanks. maybe i'll just try and find a complete one for a decen't price and keep the P.

 

[GravityFreakTJ]

there is a nice SX frame in the South Buy/Sell sticky

 

[jonnynails]

Manimal - I have an 06'sx that I just picked up last November to possibly do some DS/4X/DJ with this coming year. It seems to be the perfect bike for it and has a great geomotry for just about any jump. What I didn't expect was how good of a bike it would be for trail riding. Very flickable and nimble and you always know what it is going to do. I can't remember how tall you are, but the only concern for me is if I'm going to do a trail ride and be pedaling while seating down the seatpost had better be long. It is a short bike from bottom bracket to top of the seat tube. That is my only complaint though. The bike seems to handle the abuse of most 6 inch travel bikes while still maintaining a nimble feel of a 4 inch travel bike and it's compatible geomotry wise with a five inch travel fork.

For more info you could pm motomike and Jeremy as I know they both have been riding the hell out of their sx for some time. Wouldn't cobbler let you try his?

 

[sanjuro]

There are plenty of 05 SX's sitting around. It was a very speciality bike, considering the limited travel of 4 inches and the very flimsy 5th Element Air shock.

The other big negative is lack of upgradility. I believe it not possible to increase the travel (without some jury-rig) and it is a tight fit with the shock going thru the seatpost (as is with most of the Specialized line), which also limits what kinds of shocks you can use: no coil, no piggyback reservoirs, and even some with dials and knobs.

But for a play bike, this might be a good choice, if you are going to DJ/urban. I think limited travel makes a bad choice for trail/fr.

 

[Bicyclist]

You CAN run a coil; Bikenweed has a Vanilla on his 05.

 

[be-radd]

i have an sx which i use for mianly all mountain, DJ's, and some DH and XC and it has served me great. like jonnynails said it rides the same stuff that 6 inch bikes rides but way more nimble.there really fun to ride street on and do stair gaps and what not. i will say as far as riding at a skate park it sucks unless you just like to pump around, hardtails are deffently more fun to ride at parks. but it's deffently a great alround bike that can have a pretty light build, i got mine down to 29 lbs with mostly a all mountain build. sorry for the spelling errors im pretty drunk righ tnow

 

[manimal]

Manimal - I have an 06'sx that I just picked up last November to possibly do some DS/4X/DJ with this coming year. It seems to be the perfect bike for it and has a great geomotry for just about any jump. What I didn't expect was how good of a bike it would be for trail riding. Very flickable and nimble and you always know what it is going to do. I can't remember how tall you are, but the only concern for me is if I'm going to do a trail ride and be pedaling while seating down the seatpost had better be long. It is a short bike from bottom bracket to top of the seat tube. That is my only complaint though. The bike seems to handle the abuse of most 6 inch travel bikes while still maintaining a nimble feel of a 4 inch travel bike and it's compatible geomotry wise with a five inch travel fork.

For more info you could pm motomike and Jeremy as I know they both have been riding the hell out of their sx for some time. Wouldn't cobbler let you try his?

yeah, i'll ask moto or jeremy, cobler just sold his to andy devault. it's hard for me to "try it out" because not many people that have one around here are anywhere close to my weight so i wouldn't get a true feel for it.
my main concern is it's rideability at the skateparks. i can go the cheap way and just get the frame but i'd lose the P2 for parks, or i could save up a while and just buy a used one complete and keep the p.

 

[jonnynails]

yeah, i'll ask moto or jeremy, cobler just sold his to andy devault. it's hard for me to "try it out" because not many people that have one around here are anywhere close to my weight so i wouldn't get a true feel for it.
my main concern is it's rideability at the skateparks. i can go the cheap way and just get the frame but i'd lose the P2 for parks, or i could save up a while and just buy a used one complete and keep the p.

Damm, Andy was fast enough on his big bike in slalom. Now everybody is screwed I haven't tried it at the skatepark here so I can't comment on how it is there, but it sounds like other people didn't like it for the parks. I would say it's a great bike to have in your quiver if you can swing it and still keep the P2. The sx would be perfect for Dark mtn. and probably the Greenville Super D's if your going to do them plus be a great play bike. I've had a blast with mine at places like pee wee's/hobby park/catawba/dark mtn.

 

[Salami]

it's hard for me to "try it out" because not many people that have one around here are anywhere close to my weight so i wouldn't get a true feel for it.
my main concern is it's rideability at the skateparks. i can go the cheap way and just get the frame but i'd lose the P2 for parks, or i could save up a while and just buy a used one complete and keep the p.

Come down to Charlotte and you can try mine out. Air suspension front and rear so it would be fairly easy to make changes. I got to say as much as I love mine I think it would suck for skatepark riding. First and almost most important to me would be the wheel base. I believe it is pushing 44" (43.5" maybe?). Even with my limited park skills and experience I have found the shorter the wheel base the better for park riding.

I gotta agree that the bike works great for just about ALL other riding other than hardcore DH. Taking mine out to Wilson's in the A.M. to break in my new Pike.

 

[Peete]

yeah, i'll ask moto or jeremy, cobler just sold his to andy devault. it's hard for me to "try it out" because not many people that have one around here are anywhere close to my weight so i wouldn't get a true feel for it.
my main concern is it's rideability at the skateparks. i can go the cheap way and just get the frame but i'd lose the P2 for parks, or i could save up a while and just buy a used one complete and keep the p.

Peter really disliked his SX to the point he stopped riding it. We did a trade w/ Aaron for his P2 and Peter enjoys the HT more. Peter's main problem was he could not lock out the rear no matter how much air he put in the shock. I rode his bike and thought the rear was way too stiff but it felt slow to pedal. Also had a problem with the shock that Progressive took care of and then the swingarm cracked, which Spec took care of.
As big as you are a coil shock will probably be too soft. I'm not far behind you in that department. I had a 800# spring on my Tazer and it still bobbed. I bought a Swinger air and it pedals awesome now.

Keep the P2 and get a dual ring for the DH bike so it will be a little more versatile.

 

[revmonkey]

not to sound crazy, how bout you tear down the demo and put the parts of that on a newer generation SX tiial frame? you'd be sacrificing some travel, but it'd be a lot nimbler and more multi-use. you'd still have 6.6" of travel, which is quite a lot. that way you lose a bit of DH-ability, but you gain more trail capability/freeride, and you keep your p.2 to boot.

 

[corey_freerider]

manimal, my friend is selling his SX... check it out here. http://www.ridemonkey.com/classifieds/showproduct.php?product=3576&cat=24 about 4 months ago he traded his demo for it and i think he was alot happier with it. i wouldnt recommend a sx for street though. i would talk to him about it, hes actually going through the same thing you are right now. he just bought a blk mrkt riot hardtail for street.

 

[manimal]

manimal, my friend is selling his SX... check it out here. http://www.ridemonkey.com/classifieds/showproduct.php?product=3576&cat=24 about 4 months ago he traded his demo for it and i think he was alot happier with it. i wouldnt recommend a sx for street though. i would talk to him about it, hes actually going through the same thing you are right now. he just bought a blk mrkt riot hardtail for street.

wow, that is a super nice rig your friend has. but i'm definitely keeping the demo for now. i can and do trail ride it a lot but if i had to choose between it and a slopestyle bike, i'd choose the demo because i am kryptonite for smaller bikes on a real DH course(remember, i'm 225lbs). i think i'll just save up and get a med travel bike mid season, that'll probably allow me to race the demo for another season after that since i won't be riding it as my main bike and wearing it down.

i appreciate all of the comments in this thread, you have all been very helpful

 

[GravityFreakTJ]

for what its worth manimal i LOVE my Enduro. i ride it xc all the time to