The Demo is several things, many of which are different to all other bikes, but one of its most noteable characteristics is the hush. Silently gliding through the murdered ground, a re-assuring thud emitted from its well-damped and incredibly protected carbon chassis, as if the bike has a noise suppressor fitted. Unlike a huge proportion of downhill bikes on the market the Specialized S-Works Demo 8 has no distraction from clanging chainsets or suspect linkages. This might come across as insignificant to the untrained ear on a bike pushing seven grand and raced by the fastest downhill racer currently on the planet, a bike with only one side, sold in non-typical sizes, but it matters. A lot.
The Demo utilises not the Fox or RockShox used by its pro racers, or which comes as a stock part on the machinery of nearly all of its closest rivals, but a yellow coil from a Swedish company, Ohlins. The TTX damper is relatively simple in operation, without the complication of multiple dial settings, is easy to set-up and the performance of the very highest quality – as you’d expect from a company that utterly dominates Moto GP. It’s just one stunning aspect of this bike and a class pairing, one that we’re very surprised the pro’s don’t take advantage of.
