Alright, after months with no bike, it finally get here. 
But, I had to get rid of the Candy Corn Paint scheme on it. Sent it to the approved Specialized powder coater, and got it done in Silver Sparkle Metallic. It looks so much better than these pictures let on. I had to tape my Gravity dropper cable for the first ride since I didn't have a way to mount the cable under the top tube. That has been remedied since these pics. This will double as my trail/occassional DH bike.
PROS:
This thing is amazing. The cornering is the first thing that stands out in my mind. Leaning into the curve just inspires the bike to carve through the turn without much effort. It is a solid feeling bike too. Hardly any if no noise at all while riding. Very stealthy. The Cane Creek Double Barrel feels unnbelievable on this thing. The rear feels glued to the ground all the while still pedaling great for this kind of bike. Even standing up it feels like there is minimal movement. Goiing down is obviously what this bike accels at. This seems to be the general consensus from all SXT owners anyway. So no surprise here. The Fox 36 RC2 Talas feels great up front even on its first ride. The damping is WAY better than the first generation 36's. Feels much more progressive. I would love to be able to adjust the internal bottom out though. I never went through full travel during the ride. Granted, I didn't hit anything big, still should be a little closer to using all the travel than I was. I even backed out the HSC, and still reached the same travel. Verdict is out on whether or not I would like a little more travel up front though. I might look into a RS totem to try at the 180mm setting, just to give it a little more aggressive feel. But, for all around trail stuff and light DH/FR the 36 will fit the bill perfectly. So, depending on if I keep the 36, I may send it in to get the internal BO moved to medium firm instead of the stock firm setting. We'll see.
CONS:
Really the only negative that I have so far, is the cable routing is a little weird how it comes to the outside of the frame for the rear brake and rear der. I made a make shift zip tie that goes throught one of the hollow pivots and put to small zip ties with loops for the cables to run through to keep them close to the frame. It just made me feel better about not getting it caught on the crank arm. Although, I don't think that would happen, it's just a mental thing for me I guess. It seemed to work great on the first ride out. Climbing on it is what you would expect from a bike like this. It doesn't kill you but it's not an XC bike. I'm use to this type of bike and don't mind the ineffieciency in climbing so that I can enjoy all the other stuff. Like many have said, it's rider preference and a toss up. BUT, it does do a surprisingly good job climbing. I am running 2.35 single ply wire bead Maxxis High Rollers tubeless and they seem to roll well. I am thinking of trying the new Specialized Eskars. From what I hear the handle great and weight about 80g less than the Maxxis, which is where the subtraction of weight can really make a difference. But, I am looking forward to gettting more time on it. So far, I love it!!!
So, here is the build:
2008 Specialized SX Trail - Custom powdercoat Silver Sparkle Metallic
Cane Creek Double Barrel 350# RCS Ti Spring
2008 Fox 36 RC2 TALAS
Chris King Headset (Soon Cane Creek 110 on the way)
DT 5.1 Wheels laced to King 20mm frt, King Stainless steel 10mm fun bolt rear
Maxxis Highroller 2.35 Single Ply Wire Bead Tires
Hope Moto V2 Brakes, 203 floating rotors - Stainless Steel Braided Lines
Shimano XTR 170mm cranks w/32T ring only (1x9)
Shimano 959 pedals
FSA Bashguard
E13 32 Special Chainguide
SRAM PG-990 Cassette
SRAM PC-991 Hollow Pin Chain
SRAM X9 R. Der. Short Cage
SRAM XO right Shifter
Sunline Handlebars 28" 31.8
Thomson X4 50mm - 0 rise 31.8 stem
Gravity Dropper 4", 2" drop with remote
WTB Laser V Ti rails Saddle
ODI Ruffian Lock On Grips
Total weight: 34.5 lbs
But, I had to get rid of the Candy Corn Paint scheme on it. Sent it to the approved Specialized powder coater, and got it done in Silver Sparkle Metallic. It looks so much better than these pictures let on. I had to tape my Gravity dropper cable for the first ride since I didn't have a way to mount the cable under the top tube. That has been remedied since these pics. This will double as my trail/occassional DH bike. PROS:
This thing is amazing. The cornering is the first thing that stands out in my mind. Leaning into the curve just inspires the bike to carve through the turn without much effort. It is a solid feeling bike too. Hardly any if no noise at all while riding. Very stealthy. The Cane Creek Double Barrel feels unnbelievable on this thing. The rear feels glued to the ground all the while still pedaling great for this kind of bike. Even standing up it feels like there is minimal movement. Goiing down is obviously what this bike accels at. This seems to be the general consensus from all SXT owners anyway. So no surprise here. The Fox 36 RC2 Talas feels great up front even on its first ride. The damping is WAY better than the first generation 36's. Feels much more progressive. I would love to be able to adjust the internal bottom out though. I never went through full travel during the ride. Granted, I didn't hit anything big, still should be a little closer to using all the travel than I was. I even backed out the HSC, and still reached the same travel. Verdict is out on whether or not I would like a little more travel up front though. I might look into a RS totem to try at the 180mm setting, just to give it a little more aggressive feel. But, for all around trail stuff and light DH/FR the 36 will fit the bill perfectly. So, depending on if I keep the 36, I may send it in to get the internal BO moved to medium firm instead of the stock firm setting. We'll see.
CONS:
Really the only negative that I have so far, is the cable routing is a little weird how it comes to the outside of the frame for the rear brake and rear der. I made a make shift zip tie that goes throught one of the hollow pivots and put to small zip ties with loops for the cables to run through to keep them close to the frame. It just made me feel better about not getting it caught on the crank arm. Although, I don't think that would happen, it's just a mental thing for me I guess. It seemed to work great on the first ride out. Climbing on it is what you would expect from a bike like this. It doesn't kill you but it's not an XC bike. I'm use to this type of bike and don't mind the ineffieciency in climbing so that I can enjoy all the other stuff. Like many have said, it's rider preference and a toss up. BUT, it does do a surprisingly good job climbing. I am running 2.35 single ply wire bead Maxxis High Rollers tubeless and they seem to roll well. I am thinking of trying the new Specialized Eskars. From what I hear the handle great and weight about 80g less than the Maxxis, which is where the subtraction of weight can really make a difference. But, I am looking forward to gettting more time on it. So far, I love it!!!
So, here is the build:
2008 Specialized SX Trail - Custom powdercoat Silver Sparkle Metallic
Cane Creek Double Barrel 350# RCS Ti Spring
2008 Fox 36 RC2 TALAS
Chris King Headset (Soon Cane Creek 110 on the way)
DT 5.1 Wheels laced to King 20mm frt, King Stainless steel 10mm fun bolt rear
Maxxis Highroller 2.35 Single Ply Wire Bead Tires
Hope Moto V2 Brakes, 203 floating rotors - Stainless Steel Braided Lines
Shimano XTR 170mm cranks w/32T ring only (1x9)
Shimano 959 pedals
FSA Bashguard
E13 32 Special Chainguide
SRAM PG-990 Cassette
SRAM PC-991 Hollow Pin Chain
SRAM X9 R. Der. Short Cage
SRAM XO right Shifter
Sunline Handlebars 28" 31.8
Thomson X4 50mm - 0 rise 31.8 stem
Gravity Dropper 4", 2" drop with remote
WTB Laser V Ti rails Saddle
ODI Ruffian Lock On Grips
Total weight: 34.5 lbs
