Seven in the House

It's here! Finally... The new Demo 7. Isn't she pretty? 1.5 Totem up front, business in the rear. This thing is light (kinda), nimble and HOT!

That new Gamut chainguide is dialed. The seatpost is uncut (looks funny), the tires are big, the pedals are platform. I LOVE the argyle. This is a love/hate bike, to be sure.

All this damn snow really sucks. It never stays cold enough for long enough to get a lot of track in, you have to wait it out. Now that we got another inch, it would be great IF it wasn't going to be above freezing again tomorrow. Oh well, soon, my pet...

I only got to ride this thing for a few runs at Northstar last year at the Specialized event but I remember it fondly. Rock Shox continues to go off with the Totem representing the most exciting new platform I've seen in a while. It comes in 1 1/8", but I can't imagine running it that way. 40mm stanchions, lots of adjustability, super-stiff laterally and torsionally, Maxle 20mm thru tool-free wheel removal.

Here's some hot Totem action. The fork even comes with a spare sticker pack so you can channel your inner twelve year old (or just give 'em to YOUR twelve year old).

This bike would make a great East Coast DH bike. You could ride it most of the year on most trails with lighter tires then just bolt on the big meat for race day. The Totem is the Solo Air version so you can adjust your pressure THEN you have your low speed compression, high speed compression, rebound AND gate. If you can't find a happy place with this fork, stick to your road bike. All that adjustability in a light weight 7" travel package that tests stiffer than the Rock Shox Boxxer in torsion and deflection. And those 40mm stanchions actually make DH tires look reasonable. Pair that up with some Fox DHX 5.0 action in the rear and you get bottom-out and pro-pedal settings to get the bike where you want it. I'm a big fan of the Avid Juicy 7 brakes as well and the Demo 7 rocks the 8" rotors, front and rear.

It's amazing how all of these bikes come in medium and that just happens to be my size! How the hell does that always happen?! Specialized Demo Days are coming up soon. There's a mess of bikes to ride on their nickel, including Enduro SL, carbon Epics, Tarmacs, Stumpjumpers and more. Snoop around, rumor has it there are some mid-week options for riding as well.

See y'all out there soon.