2008 vs. 2009 vs. 2010 Specialized Demo 8

Hi Lee,

If you would care to expound on the differences between the 08, 09, and 2010 Demo 8 I would be grateful. I am aware that the 2010 model has been dialed for world cup racing and that distinguishes it from its predecessors. I am looking at an ’08, but am not sure what changes occurred between ’08 and ’09.

Thanks,
Dan

Hey Dan,

Of course I would care to expound!

Here’s the scoop from The Man Himself, Brandon Sloan at Specialized.

2008 to 2009
No frame changes. Just spec changes. (I have an ’08, and it is quite sweet.)

2009 to 2010
Overall, the bike is lower and more racy. Which makes sense considering elite downhillers Sam Hill and Brendan Fairclough are racing this machine on the World Cup downhill (not freeride) circuit.

Despite increased travel, the 2010 Demo 8’s bottom bracket and bars are clearly lower than the 2009’s. And by the way: Demos were never considered tall. (Click for big.)

– Lower bottom bracket. Down almost an inch to 13.5 inches.

– Lower bars. A 1.5-inch head tube allows an integrated headset and a lower stack height. DH bars are getting lower these days.

– Less travel. Down from 8.4 to 8.0 inches. DH race bikes are getting less travel these days.

– Slightly slacker seat tube angle. Reminds me of our seat-tube angle discussions.

– Longer top tube. Small and medium get another 5 mm. (I think that’s to adjust for the slacker seat tube angle.)

– Non-adjustable geometry. Rip it, rip it good.

– More progressive suspension rate. Places less reliance on position sensitive shocks. (Also gives you a more connected feel, which I think is good for a race bike.)

I’ve rocked a Demo 9 and two generations of Demo 8s, and this looks like a nice refinement. Especially for downhill racing.

Super fun.

— Lee

Know more. Have more fun!

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