Review: Specialized S-Works Carbon Demo 8

Unsurprisingly when one of the most successful and fastest downhill bikes of all time, the Demo 8 from Specialized was given the infamous "S-works" treatment and a carbon version of one of the all time great downhill bikes emerged from the factory to be raced by what was the old Monster Energy Specialized team of Sam Hill and Troy Brosnan. There was a considerable ammount of hype around the bike. 

It was only going to be a matter of time before a version of was released to the public and the queue of people who wanted a piece of the action was ever growing...

Angus got his mits on the bike for an afternoon to see if it would live up to expectations.

Why run a Carbon frame…

Surprisingly it’s not actually all about the weight… The S-works Carbon frame is 0.9lbs lighter than its alloy brother but that won’t be the only thing you feel when riding the bike. The carbon front triangle has some different and improved characteristics in bump compliance and stiffness.

Downhill is a funny game… Not only is it lead by performance and the desire to go faster and faster through more technical terrain. It’s guided strongly by what’s fashionable at the moment and a constant impulse to imitate the fastest guys on the planet riding the world cup downhill circuit.

This phenomena was witnessed when the world cup guys starting running far wider handlebars. 3 months down the line the entire domestic DH scene were running wider and flatter bars. Sam Hill and Troy started running a carbon Demo… Everybody wanted to get a piece of the action!

The S-Works Carbon Demo is one of the most desired bikes out there and thus it will bring you serious bling points at the race track!

First Impressions

Wow… This one certainly has the wow factor! It’s one of those bikes that just looks like it’s fast and wants to win races. The stealth black colour scheme broken only by the gold trim on Cane Creeks Double Barrel shock, Renthal’s Fatbars and the Rockshox Boxxer Stanchions is understated but that doesn’t matter. A downhill connoisseur would be able to distinguish this from the standard aluminium Demo 8 from a mile away.

Smooth weld-less lines and curves are formed by the unidirectional Fact11 Carbon front end which has a certain raw quality that you can’t quite put your finger on.

Low down on the seatstay is also home to one of the prettiest pieces of engineering I think I may of ever seen on a bike. Where the top magnesium linkage meets the seatstay is all made from one effortless curve of carbon fibre that I don't think any photo could do justice. Seeing is believing. 

A few Technicalities

You may of thought the S-Works Carbon Demo was an exact copy of the alloy version just made from carbon. You would be wrong… The carbon version features a 5mm lower bottom bracket and a 1.8° slacker actual seat tube angle even though the effective angle is still 76°.

It gets yet more complicated! The S-Works Demo 8 Team Replica has a 135mm rear end spacing and uses a super cut down 6 speed 9/26 cassette with a 32tooth front chainring to make up for the 5mm loss in BB height.

Effectively there are 3 different S – Works Demo 8’s that are all referred to by the same name but actually differ slightly. Whether that be the carbon the front end is made from, if it uses an aluminium or magnesium linkage and the rear end spacing…

The model we have was a frame only kit so features the same Fact 11 carbon front end with magnesium linkage as the team replica but has 150mm rear hub spacing to allow a greater range of downhill specific hubs and wheelsets to be used.

The Build

The bike we have here as I have said previously was a frame only so this isn’t a spec that you can buy off the shelf but interestingly it is reasonably similar spec to one that you can purchase.

The bike features a Renthal cockpit compromising of 38mm rise Fatbars with Renthals Integra stem and the brilliant medium compound lock on grips. The hits are taken care of by Rockshox Boxxer forks and the incredibly tuneable Cane Creek Double Barrel shock!

A 10 Speed Sram X0/X9 set up is charged with the shifting duties and Avid’s Code brakes for the stopping. Truvativ Descendant cranks are paired with an E thirteen LG1+ chain device to ensure you can always get the power down through to the wheelset that consists of Mavic’s EX729 rim’s laced to Hope Pro 2 hubs running a Specialized Clutch and Hillbilly tyres.

The colour scheme is strictly stealth with the full carbon/black paintjob!

The Ride.

From the very first time you step on the bike it just wants to go fast. The instant you get off the brakes, start spinning the pedals and point it down the hill it comes to life.

The first time I got a ride on the bike was at an uplift at the Forest of Dean. For those of you who have never been, from the drop off to the start of the trails is a short 3 minute pedal along the flat and up a tiny fire road climb. Like all downhill bikes by the time you get to the start of the trails your almost ready for a rest but man was it worth the extra slog compared to the trail bike I had been riding previously that day!

Once its up to speed the bike comes to life and transforms from a wallowing beast into a nimble, fast and absolutely planted machine that can swallow anything from small bumps to axle high square edge hits.

This thing tracks the ground better than anything I have ever had the privilege of throwing my leg over. Off camber roots, drops and small gaps were no longer on my mind as I just let the 200mm of plush travel take care of it all. The bike enables you to take your mind away from the small issues when out on the trail onto more pressing matters like lines through corners and where can you get back on the pedals again to get going faster again.

The small sizing of the bike with its super short 421mm chainstays and 338mm bottom bracket gives it the “chuckability factor” as you attack the turns and in the air but when combined with the 38mm rise on Renthals FatBars it still has quite a roomy and comfortable overall feel in the cockpit that I think took me by surprise.

The S-works Demo has uncanny knack of letting you get away with murder when riding. You don’t have to think about what your doing as no matter what your wheels are doing beneath you the bike will smooth out the bumps and most probably use it as a device to gain yet more speed.

After a solid ride I was left with an overwhelming feeling that the level of my riding would never be able to do a bike of this caliber justice.

In the last 2 years when carbon finally hit the downhill scene Specialized have come up with something that’s a little bit special. When people talk about the first breed of carbon fibre downhill bikes this will be the one on everyone’s lips and that’s for damn good reason.

Conclusion

The first time I got to ride the bike won’t be one I’ll be forgetting for a while. Fast, predictable, consistent but never boring. The S-Works Carbon Demo in the right hands, is the fastest thing on 2 wheels.

Don't believe the hype... It's way better than anyone has ever made it out to be anyway.