The Specialized Demo 8 downhill mountain bike was completely revamped in 2014 (for MY2015) with an asymmetric frame design and a new, low-slung design that replaced their usual shock yoke with standard mounting hardware. It also moved to fully internal cable and hose routing and different sizing based on riding style and fit preferences.
It also only came in carbon with complete bike prices of $6,500 and $9,000 (Carbon & S-Works, respectively).
Now, they’re sending you down the mountain with the same upgraded features but a less costly price of entry. The new Demo 8 alloy comes in two complete bike builds and a frameset ranging from $2,600 to $6,000. Oh, it there’s a chance they’ll be selling these direct…
The frames use Specialized’s M5 alloy with a straight 1.5″ forged head tube and 200mm of travel. It comes standard with ISCG05 mounts and rear derailleur protector. It’s built around Roval 650B wheels and gets their Butcher 2.5″ front and Slaughter 2.3″ rear tires.
The top shelf Demo 8 II (shown at top, click to enlarge real big) comes with a Rockshox Boxxer Team fork and the co-developed Ohlins TTX rear shock, same as on the carbon bikes. Brakes are SRAM Guide RS DH, drivetrain is SRAM XO DH with the 7-speed cassette to fit in the narrower rear triangle (see original Demo 8 carbon post for explanation). Retail is $6,000.
The $4,500 Demo 8 I gets a custom tuned Fox Van RC shock and Boxxer RC fork, 1×7 SRAM drivetrain and Guide brakes, just at lower trim levels. But, you get to choose from Monster Green/Rocket Red or Satin Warm Charcoal/Black, the latter certainly being more timeless.
So, what’s the story on these bikes’ availability? We’ve reached out to Specialized for comment, but as of this post going live, the Demo 8 alloy models show an “Add to Cart” button where other models simply have the Dealer Finder button. It doesn’t work, but it could be that Big S is readying something to compete with the new online sales programs from Trek and Giant. Update as we get it.
UPDATE: No, they’re not prepping any direct sales effort. Specialized responded to say the “Add to Cart” button was a mistake that’s already been fixed, probably just an erroneous placeholder as they get this new bike added to the site. Also, here’s the frameset, which retails for $2,500 and comes with the Ohlins rear shock and a Thomson seat post.
