ok so i am getting a new DH bike for the new 06 season and i was thinking and i have narrowed it down to a Demo 8 and a sinister R9. i will be racing and doing some freeride, so wat do u think i sould go for?
R9 vs Demo 8
- Thread starter sinisteridge
- Start date
you are in watertown MA? buy local. go w/ Frank.
yeah im leaning more towrds the R9 cuz i have a DNA and a Ridge so a R9 would top it all off. and yes i am in Watertown mass, how did you knownarlus said:
get a Demo 8. they are lighter, use fsr technology=no brake jack or pedal imput effect on suspension, because its a bigger company more time in design research and r+d than sinister. i have ridden both, and the r9 for lack of a better word, had a yucky feel. it was very sluggish, partially due to the weight of the bike, and the no doubt the football field size wheelbase contributed to that as well. it also pedalled funny. there wasnt a lot of bob, but i could really feel the effect of putting power to the pedals. the demo 8, though it had an odd setup, was much more lively and responsive,
also he knows your in watertown because your sig says it.
also he knows your in watertown because your sig says it.
curious, in reference to the mba article that talked about the R9 being "east coast";
When did "east coast" change from shorter wheelbases, shorter stays, higher bb height, and steeper angles to ultra slack and ultra long?
Isn't the R9 geometry basically mirroring all of the "west coast" bikes, or maybe to put it better; "everyone else".??
When did "east coast" change from shorter wheelbases, shorter stays, higher bb height, and steeper angles to ultra slack and ultra long?
Isn't the R9 geometry basically mirroring all of the "west coast" bikes, or maybe to put it better; "everyone else".??
maybe the fact that under your name it says "holdin it down in h2o town" tipped him off?sinisteridge said:
ive never figured that out either. who knows. and while i ride a ridge, i still don't understand why everyone in new england gets a chubby over every single sinister bike they see.Jm_ said:
becuase sinisters have sex appealgnurider1080 said:
-Isn't the demo8 frame about 13 pounds? The sinister is 12-13 so they are about the same weight.crazybiker300 said:
-The R9 brakes and pedals very, very well for a single pivot.
-And a smaller company does not mean that the frame isn't as good. Frank knows what he is doing as far as geometry, pivot placement, and all that jazz.
-And there has only been 1 broken R9. Ever. I have seen pictures of 2 broken demo8's on this forum alone. I am not saying that the demo8 isn't a quality bike but they just don't have the same attention to detail as the Sinisters.
-No bike is for everyone so I guess that the only way to determine which bike is right for you is to ride it. You can get all the information you want from the internet and still hate the bike. So, ride both and see what you like.
im pretty sure you are thinking about the demo 9.bballe336 said:
Unless you're taller, I would look into the Demo. The Demo is sold in 3 sizes (I think I heard they will be making a smaller R9), and has shorter stays which will be better for riding other than downhill racing. As far as weight, I'm sure you could build both around the same weight.
yeah they are making a "smaller" R9. ive been talking to frank and he says they will be ready for next season. but the demo is just a badass bike. i acaully got to test ride one for a good 2 hours today and it felt terrific. now i just need to find an R9 to cruze around on. but if i were to judge rite now i think i would go with the Demo, just because i know how it feels and i can get a killer dicount on the frameInclag said:
sinisteridge said:
What size was it? I've been able to tool around just a bit on a medium Demo and an R9 that some buddies have. I'm 6'3" and the R9 was a bike that I could definately fit on, and the Demo was definately too small for me so if you rode on a medium or small Demo, then the R9 would definately feel a lot larger.
Inclag said:
yeah im 5.7/8. but i am also 15. sooooooo.......i still got some hieght left in me. in terms of like freeride capibilities, do i think the R9 is lacking in that department. i mean i still want to be able to rip up dominion and i think the demo would be better for that, but i will also be racing. do u think that the demo is racible for sure?
Oh, definately it is race capable, that's what it is a race bike. You could race a hot dog cart if you were good enough. Same goes with the R9 and freeriding.sinisteridge said:
I guess the point that I'm trying to make is that the most important thing with a bike is fit. If you aren't comfortable on a bike, then how much fun can the ride be? Based on my limited experience just playing around with those two bikes, what I know about their geometry and size availability, and what you have said so far about yourself, I feel pretty comfortable saying that you would most likely have better luck with a Demo (especially since you are only looking at these 2 bikes exclusively). Hell, I bet if you ran this by Frank he would probably agree too.
search bud this was covered last week. a medium yeti dh9 fit me from when i was 5'7 till i was 5'10/11. i am currently on a r9 and it feels like a street bike compared to the dh9. its not that big and once you settle down into the travel it feels amazing not big at all.
There are about 4 small r9's in stock right now, and there should be one fully built on the floor over at JRA cycles. The shorties have a 22.5" toptube.
you change your mind too much....
Sunday -> Orange 224 -> SC VP-Free -> uzzi vpx -> R9 -> demo 8 -> vicous cycle
My oppinion would be to test ride the bikes you are most interested in if you can find them. Make a list of pros and cons. Make a choice and stick with it. Forums are nice to ask for oppinions and general feel for a bike, but you'll never know until you try something out for yourself. Just my $0.02...
Sunday -> Orange 224 -> SC VP-Free -> uzzi vpx -> R9 -> demo 8 -> vicous cycle
My oppinion would be to test ride the bikes you are most interested in if you can find them. Make a list of pros and cons. Make a choice and stick with it. Forums are nice to ask for oppinions and general feel for a bike, but you'll never know until you try something out for yourself. Just my $0.02...
Demo's ride alright, but they don't drift corners very well, and they get sketchy at high speeds. The chainstays are way (too) short at 16.7". Compare that to a V10 at 17.5". When I got off my Demo8 and got on a V10, it was amazing how much better the bike felt at high speeds. After reading this thread, I would assume the R9 rides similarly to the V10, long, low and slack. The Demo8 is long, but not out back, so it feels a little goofy as soon as you go fast. It manuals and bunnyhops really quickly and easily. It will be faster for a very technical course. The R9/race bike/V10 will be faster on fast stuff.
I can hate on Demo8's all day, but I do own and ride one every day. One good thing about the Demo is that the seat tube is super long, and the angles really steep, so it is really easy to push that seat up high and cover long distances quickly. A very good feature if you don't have a car, live 10 kilometers from the trail head, and aren't afraid of pedaling your bike!
I can hate on Demo8's all day, but I do own and ride one every day. One good thing about the Demo is that the seat tube is super long, and the angles really steep, so it is really easy to push that seat up high and cover long distances quickly. A very good feature if you don't have a car, live 10 kilometers from the trail head, and aren't afraid of pedaling your bike!
when u compare the demo8 to a v10....is it an '05 v10 or an older one? i'm trying to decide btw. a turner dhr, '05 v10, or demo8.bikenweed said:
I own a DHR, have owned a Demo 9 and have ridden my Friends V10. They are all different bikes. The v10 will just go, over anything, you can charge sections that can be too rough on more finesse bikes...yearoftiger said:
DHR - Corners amazing. I can go so much faster cause i can easily make the corner at the end of it...brakeless sometimes. I absolutely love this bike.
Demo 8. Somewhere inbetween, it doesnet seem as finesse as the DHR can be, yet doesent have so much travel that its a plow bike. I see it somewhere inbetween. Based on your ride style hopefully that helps.
All 3 are very fast, and each would suit you well.
thanks for ur input....so the demo is out of the choices. In terms of the dhr and the v10, which will do better for northstar riding but at the same time I can go freeriding on it? Since uve ridden the '05 v10 and have a turner, if given a choice would u trade the dhr for the v10?
Red Bull said:
Bingo.dexter said:
I make bike decisions based on extensive searching, the characteristics I'm looking for, and geometry. I purchased my latest bike without even test-riding it before hand, and it rides exactly as I wanted/expected. On paper the geometry of those two bikes are pretty different, and doing a search would quickly tell you the differences between them. Test riding a bike won't mean much if you don't know what your looking for to begin with.
Bingo.dexter said:
I make bike decisions based on extensive searching, the characteristics I'm looking for, and geometry. I purchased my latest bike without even test-riding it before hand, and it rides exactly as I wanted/expected. On paper the geometry of those two bikes are pretty different, and doing a search would quickly tell you the differences between them. Test riding a bike won't mean much if you don't know what your looking for to begin with.
I think he came here because he doesn't know what he's looking for...Banshee Rider said:
i wasnt saying the company was not as good as specialized, but first off, the demo 8 is primarily a Downhill bred race bike, it has been slimmed down and weight saved wherever possible. most of the time it is broken when it is hucked poorly, like large drops to flats, etc. that is where the demo 9 shines, commonly people still thinking demo 9 when they have the 8 under them. the 8 II weighs approx 42 lbs built up wheras the r9's are usually in the high 40'sbballe336 said:
crazybiker300 said:
They are? Dexter's is 40 lbs or so, Mine is 42, FTW's is 44 ish...
No, Demo's are heavy for a race bike. My frame is over 12lbs with the steel spring. That's two pounds heavier than my old M1 with a steel spring. My mostly stock Demo8 is still at 44lbs. It doesn't feel heavy on the trail, but it is not light. Those smaller numbers are either lies, exagerations, without pedals, or some very expensive bikes. It's a good bike, but down fall suspect to all the Specialized hype. Marketing goes a long way in this world.
i dont judge a bike on marketing/hype. usually i'm the one running the "unconventional" setup. aka:road stuff on mtn bikes.bikenweed said:
The R9 is a race bike as well. The demo8's sure don't look very slim to me. And those frames are 12-13 pounds and no where as burly as an R9. If the bike can't stand up to Hucking how will it stand up to a racing environment? Racing is just as rough on bikes as FR. And the R9 has held up to both racing and FR.crazybiker300 said:
Also the Demo8II isn't 42 pounds. That's straight up garbage. It's probably more like 45. And most people's R9's are in the same weight range as demo8's.
Have you ever ridden a demo 8?? Maybe you should listen to this kid because I know for fact that the bike shop he works at has had a couple demo 8's through it. They have weighed them on a bike shop scale and it comes out to around that. The R9 can be built up light, but it's still is a bit on the hefty side. I have ridden a R9 at the shop I work at and again on a bit more aggressive test ride. I test rode the reps bike and we weighed it to be about 45-46 lbs on an average build. (Still a bit more room for improvement weight wise and you probably could get it down to about 43-44) I have complete respect for Frank and what he does and I would probably buy one of his frames for a different application. This argument is just about weight, but I ask you to do some research before you spill out whatever comes to mind.bballe336 said:
let me clarify:bballe336 said:
both bikes are race bikes.
the demo is very burly, both hucking and DH. it is however, not designed to take the force of the demo 9, which is where most people break them
my point was it is slimmer than the demo 9, not overall in the biking world
most of the breaking problems have been corrected for 2006
the demo 8 is definately in the 42-43 lbs depending on the size, the demo 9 was heavier by about 2 lbs
the r9's DO run in the higher weight range, but can be built light(tubless, fox 40,)but you cant fix a heavy frame,
we have a new demo 8 on the way to the shop. when it comes in i will take a picture of the scale so you can see it for yourself
where did you get your weight on the r9 frame? i think its more than that. but the 12 lbs is accurate for the demo frame
ya i dont know about that, ill look into the exact weight, the sinister rep lives a stone throw away