For an all around free-ride bike that can still hold its own on a DH course would you go for a VP-Free or a Demo series? Don't open your mouth unless you have actually ridden one please. I know how smart you little 13y/o kids think you are.
The first thing I noticed about demo9 (haven't tried the 8) is the weight. Besides that it pedals ok and the weight isn't very noticieable in higher speeds.
And for the vp-free, think about that the bikes has long top tubes in the geometry but are lighter bikes. They use vpp which makes the bike more pedalfriendly and absorbs stuff better. I own a v10 bike and yes, you feel the difference of vpp and fourbar.
I would go for vp-free if you're first choice is to have a light more allround bike but demo-series if you don't care about the extra weight but need a more industractable frame (limited lifetime warrany on demo).
I can't really tell you what to get, but I can tell you to ride both. I just picked up a Demo 8, and I am still astounded at how confidence inspiring and FAST it is. I haven't ridden a V10, but it isn't marketed as a FR bike, more of a race bike. What you said you wanted to do with the bike is exactly what the Demo 8 is designed for. I wouldn't get a Demo9 because of the weight. I rode one and it felt super tall and heavy compared to my Demo 8. Hope that helps.
BTW, you should carefully check out the craftsmanship on a Demo frame sometime. It's pretty crazy. Lots of cold forging and manipulation. Plus the Demo has a lifetime warranty. I've had a bike warrantied through Specialized and it was easy and fast.
I am totally stoked on my Free. I have heard good things about most of the demo bikes. But I am going to stick to the local company. =] It does great on the hills around Santa Cruz.
I love my free and think it will more versatile for you, but I don't have much time on a Demo. Both are pretty sweet.
People always exaggerate the bb height and head angle on a free, but I think they they need to put down the pipe. My large free with an 8" 888 (with go-ride flat crowns) measures out to a 65.5 degree head angle and 15" bb height. That's plenty slack and only slightly higher than most, and they run a little more sag. Mine rocks at places like Northstar and Whistler with no complaints, and I think it does better than something more slack or low in tight techy situations. You can run a shorter fork and lighter wheels for a more all-around rig. It's purpose built and not just a shorter travel V10. You can run a full seatpost. Expect to replace bearings every year but otherwise be stoked. I don't race DH too often and like to get off the ground. My setup is not the best at straight up, "get-down-the-mountain-first" DH, but it is more athletic than a DH bike and works great for big mountain riding, jumping, shore style, etc. I have no excuses on a DH run. I am biased but anyway those are my thoughts...
The main thing that steered me away from a VP-Free is the nut-crunchingly high stand-over, compared to a Demo. In addition the Demo has what I call "mini chainstays" - which are basically made smaller due to the ingenious design of the drop-out linkage. It also has the "cobra-sleeve" reinforcement welded around the head tube, and you can change the ride height / head tube angle by moving the shock mount in the frame to a higher or lower position. It's a 135mm spacing at the rear so building a wheel for it is less expensive than the 150mm spacing for a VP-Free.
I rode a VP-Free with Fox 40's round the French Alps all Summer and I believe it is quite possibly the perfect bike for big mountain riding. It is great on the technical stuff, stable on the fast wide open terrain and genuinely ridable up hill (slowly) thanks to the ability to run a full length post. It is totally bombproof as last season I managed to kill 2 GT DHI's and this season I didn't even break a spoke on the VP! The only thing I noticed was that it didn't sit down in berms as much as other bikes I have owned, the head angle is plenty slack enough!
Demos are also very nice but I think the ability of a VP - Free to perform the roles of both a freeride and downhill bike is second to none - plus Santa Cruz are wayyyyy cooler!
I agree with Zark. Lower CG for the Demo series, lower standover, lower BB, and slacker HA. Weight shouldn't really be a huge issue so just decide if you want a shorter or longer chainstay length to freeride with or do more DH with (Demo 9 vs. 8).
The demo8 bb aint that much lower than it's mentioned in this thread. Actually it's even higher on the high/mid setting.
I would say:
demo has lower center of gravity but HIGHER bb
demo has shorter chainstays but LONGER wheelbase
demo has STEEPER headangle in high/mid setting but slacker in low/mid
demo has over 2" lower standover height (but specialized doesn't mention on what forklenghts their calculations come from)
demo has shorter TT lenghts on their sizes than vp-free.
Vp-free weight: 9.3 lbs (4,16 kg)
demo8 weight: 11.5 lbs (5,14 kg)
Demo geometry sounds nicer but weights 1 kg more! That's a lot!
Another thing people haven't mentioned is stiffness. The Demo is awesome in that you swing your hips and the rear of the bike does the same. It's really controlled in its sliding because of its stiffness.
The demo8 bb aint that much lower than it's mentioned in this thread. Actually it's even higher on the high/mid setting.
I would say:
demo has lower center of gravity but HIGHER bb
demo has shorter chainstays but LONGER wheelbase
demo has STEEPER headangle in high/mid setting but slacker in low/mid
demo has over 2" lower standover height (but specialized doesn't mention on what forklenghts their calculations come from)
demo has shorter TT lenghts on their sizes than vp-free.
Vp-free weight: 9.3 lbs (4,16 kg)
demo8 weight: 11.5 lbs (5,14 kg)
Demo geometry sounds nicer but weights 1 kg more! That's a lot!
I say Demo8 for DH, overall it seems like a better dh rig; I've owned a vpfree and really liked it. I will say that the vpfree felt really nice at speed but when it got real steep and nasty, I've ridden other bikes I felt more comfortable on.
I'm biased, but I love my Demo. Both great rigs, but the D8 is better suited for DH than the VP Free. I personally didn't like the 8 as much as the 9 because I'm a pretty big guy at 220 so the weight isn't as much of an issue as it may be for some.
Think about it. You see more guys riding DH on a demo 8, and very few on a VP-Free. Yet there are just as many freeriding on a demo as there are on a free. Word on the streets is that the demo kicks balls.
i have a ridden the demo8 at whistler and have only a limited couple of pedals on the vpfree
i like both rides
the demo8 is more of railing bike that sticks to the ground, i found it harder to get it off the ground, i guess shock setup had something to do with it, also ive been told you adjust to it and can get it up(hmmm thats sounds a bit wrong) easier after a while
the vpfree was more of a lively bike and more popable
for what youre saying i'd choose the demo8 and run it in the slack angles most of the time especially during racing,
thats another bonus on the demo is the geo adjustibility
really though i think you should be happy with both bikes, youll adjust accordingly to each one
He asked about an all-around freeride bike that can handle the occasional DH. A lot of people are focusing purely on the DH capability. If all-around freeride means pedaling, jumping, tight techy stuff, etc., a DH bike is not the answer.
Good point, OGRipper. You should then check out the Specialized SX Trail line. Just under 7" of travel and designed to be an all-around bike for DH and FR.
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