Mountain Biking - Iron Horse SgS Team vs Demo 8

What do you guys think i should get for my DH bike and why?

depends on how much you want to spend and which parts spec you want on your bike. both are great bikes from what i've read and heard.

Are those your only choices? Personally I would not get either, there are much better bikes for dh then those two.

:beer:

i would get the demo 8 pro. i had a chance to take one of these bikes for a parking lot test and it was truly amazing, incredibly light for a DH bike and the forks. well youve probobly heard all the hype, from waht i could tell in my 5 min test its true. i would kill to take it on a real ride though. but then again the 9 is more of a DH bike and there are other DH bikes out ther. maybe take a broader look, look at mabey a norco their DH bike is SWEET and then theres the giant faith series(any body tried them, how is the meastro(sp?) system)... anyway just saying look at all your options

If you mean dh as in racing. The bikes you are looking at are fr. This doesn't change much but it does make a difference in geometry. DH bikes are slacker, usually a longer wb and a long chainstay. Demo (either of them) are meant for hucking and fr. Great bikes but not for traditional type dh racing. (faith is in the same category)

The norco dh is at least the right geometry and setup to ride like a dh bike.

IF you are lookign for a bik that will survive dh runs but you aren't racing, then any bikes mentioned will be fine as that depends on you and how you want to ride.

Okay let me clarify, i would acutally like something more extreme free ride but can something that i can compete with. Any suggestions? I would be willing to spend the money to get a demo, but i guess what im asking is if its really worth it? Thanks!

What level are you competing at? For themost part the sgs under a decent rider would do well on most levels. :) Not really a fan of the demo, its just to dang expensive.

Personally I would probably go with a v10 or vpfree. Both have more dh style geometry. They also pedal pretty well (well the vpfree does) Out of the box you can buy a stab and it is probably one of the best out of the box dh bikes around.

I would go with a Norco vps bike of your choice or a stab.

What is your budget?
If you want to keep the price down I would say check out the Giant "Faith". From rider reviews I have read and one person I talked to the Faith seems to be a sweet bike that is very raceable. Pedals great, absorbs small and larg hits equally well. I have even read where a few riders had to actually look at the rear shock because the bike was so smooth there was no jaring from the shock on compression or rebound. The rear seemed to always be planted solidly over any terrain.

I will get to ride one in a few weeks but no personal experience 'till then.

:beer:

My price range is about 3 g's. Maelstrom would you still get the sgs if you could get a demo for just as cheap? Im not sure what level we compete at, its basically just against other colleges. I DH for UCSD. Thanks!

My price range is about 3 g's. Maelstrom would you still get the sgs if you could get a demo for just as cheap? Im not sure what level we compete at, its basically just against other colleges. I DH for UCSD. Thanks!

Here is what you should do, since your in SoCal. head on up to Fontana and talk to the racers at SouthridgeUSA (http://southridgeusa.com/) (you may have to call them to get a current schedule all though there will bve a CalState race in June). A lot of them use their dh bikes for freeride and vice versa. Great bunch of riders but try and show up on Saturday during practice so there is not as much stress in the air. I know some of them have the sgs and some a demo 9. This way you will get to see first hand how the bikes work.

:beer:

Probably not. Demo just doesn't appeal to me. It would have to be quite a bit cheap for me to want it. As it is, in that price range I can get other bikes I prefer. Demo9 rides great (there is a million of them up here so I see and play on them often) they just don't appeal to me. And then even if they were cheap...well they would have to be a steal of a price haha

What are you riding these days dbd...still on the stab?

What are you riding these days dbd...still on the stab?

Sold the Stab, still have the StinkyP and the Bear. Looking for a new dh as we speak. I am thinking of either the Intense M3, SantaCruz V10, Turner DHR or the Foes DHS.

Ok back to topic ;)
:beer:

maelstrom what doesnt appeal to you about the demo 9's?

My vote is with the Ironhorse. Race proven frame (I mean if its good enough for Nathan Rennie to win a World Cup on, its good enough for you, right?) and a solid ride. Am actually thinking of getting one myself.

Or you could look at a Sunday....

maelstrom what doesnt appeal to you about the demo 9's?

Over hyped, over popular, over priced.

So performance wise you guys would all prefer the sgs huh?

Not sure on that count. Really with dh, a good rider ('some' of the best) are racing on single pivots. If you don't ride your brakes, the single pivot bike is as good as any other. If you ride your brakes and don't have the confidence to fly down the mountain like peaty than an fsr will fix the brake jack associated with the single pivot+ braking. FSR will likely add weight and possible more maintenance as there are more pivots etc...Both the sgs and demo are fsr designs. Both will likely have similar performance. One costs more, one is from a small company on the east coast (warranty issues maybe since it is discontinued) They have geometries that differ slightly (thats a personal thing, we can't decide that)

Thats my take on your position.

Between those two it would be tough, IMO, the SGS has been race proven and has been around longer. The Demo is a sweet bike and is great for freeride but I have not heard anything (worth mention) as far as racing goes about it.

SGS - Proven race bike that can be hucked

Demo - good freeride bike, not realy race proven, better looking

Have you ridden either of them? Which one feels best to you? That will be the deciding factor.

:beer:

The price difference is gonna be pretty high too. The sgs is discontinued and if you find it new, shouldn't be that expensive. The demo would set you back quite a bit more than the sgs. That could be a factor for you in the long run :)

I have riden both, but only in a parking lot. I felt like the demo wheelyed a bit nicer, but the rear end felt pretty heavy when i went to bunny hop compared to the SgS, not a bad thing necessarily. The price diff between the two will be about $500. The SgS is race proven as anthonaut stated Nathan Rennie won a World Cup with it but the demo hasnt been out for very long so... Thanks for your input guys!

...but the demo hasnt been out for very long so... Thanks for your input guys!


This is true but the Demo is a freeride bike and that is how it is marketed, where as the SGS was sold as a dh machine. Under the right pilot though either will tear up the course :D

:beer:

I rode someone's SGS team with Dorado's, let me tell you it was a sweet setup. I have also ridden someone's Demo8 around the top of a DH track, so rocks and slight slope, no proper speed however. I liked the feel of both, personally I prefered the angles of the Demo8 and the Fox40's ruled it also pedaled better. However the SGS was setup better for me, it was good at absorbing small bumps, pedaled better than lots of other bikes and took a small drop really nicely. Try both bikes and see which one feels nicer to you, they have different geometries.

Also, Demos are REALLY heavy.

i would like to see some numbers on the weights. i thought the demo 8 pro was really light. it seemed alot lighter then my aline(46pounds) so would guess somwhere close to 40. maybe less

Well yeah it is lighter than the a-line. Almost anything is lighter thana norco bike. Thats why you find most racers hate norco. The frames are up there with the heaviest :)

Yeah, Norco's sure are reliable and if they do break, the customer service seems to be awesome.

I actually weighed the demo 9 pro at 47 and the the demo 8 at 44. Thanks for all your help guys! Im actually going to go with the demo 9 pro. Hope to see yah out there!

I own a '07 demo 8 and I am in love! Absolutely awesome freeride bike. It rides like a dream and handles incredible. I rode Whistler on it last year for 5 days and I couldn't believe how much this bike could take. It's like riding a couch when you do drops! 5 - 6 feet; not a problem. The bike make will make you look like a rock star!

The only thing I would caution is this bike is only meant to ride only in one direction - down! Trying to climb on it is a *****!

you do realize you've replied to a what bike to buy thread that is three years old? right?