Spec Brain shocks

[1derwoman]

Anyone have any insight on preference/difference b/w the Spec Brain with Flow Control adjust (seems to be on higher end FSRs), and not having this, on the 2007 bikes?

Is it worth buying a bike with the Brain, on its own merits, i.e., on a Women's Epic Comp? Or is it only worth it with the Flow Control? Or am I even asking the wrong questions/taking the wrong focus? I've test ridden the Flow Control on a 2007, and the 2006 Brain, but hardly can tell if it's worth the $$$ in so short a ride...

[dan_hudson]

Mr Klasmeier let me borrow his Stumpjumper equipped with a Brain shock. I was surprised how much I liked it - switching back & forth to my own ride (VPP) on a long day in Frederick. Almost a "have your cake & eat it too" moment; improved pedalling without penalty when things start to shake. I liked that his shock (2006?) allowed the user to adjust the threshold - not sure if this was available on earlier generations. FWIW, I have also taken a brief spin on an Epic (1st gen) which I did not like - had an "on/off" feel to me.

That said, I understand that this shock has a unique spec that makes it problematic to replace with a non-Brain unit from a competitor if service becomes an issue. And I've read of minor problems with the Fox-sourced units - Mike's had a significant air leak when I had his bike.

In review, it is a clever piece of work that actually seems to deliver on its promise. But at the cost of using propriatary parts.

[mtnbkr]

I rode an 05 Epic for a year, and thought it worked pretty nicely. Sometimes the brain would stay open a bit too long for my liking, but in general did what it was supposed to. I tried an 07 with the Specialized brain and it seemed more seamless between "locked" and "open." I might be a bit unfair because there's adjustment for the 07 brain, when the 05 doesn't. I can't speak for the current fox brains that have the tune-able lockout. I liked the was the specialized brain locked up after hits quickly, and also seemed to activate very quickly. I'm not sure if it's entirely worth spending the extra 1k+ to get the nicer specialized brain alone. If you wanted the component spec of the higher model, along with the fact that it was the specialized brain, that's a good reason. But dropping so much extra if you aren't in that price range may not be worth it IMHO. You tried it out...if you can't tell the diffference, why pay more? Specialized is running the demo days right now, but only have Sworks models that have the specialized brain, so you can't really compare.

[jed]

I have an '07 Epic Marathon. I got it late last summer and have raced it a few times. It replaced an '06 Epic Marathon with the Fox brain shock; I raced this bike close to 20 times before I sold it, spending about 100+ hours on it. I've got maybe 40 on the '07. So...

The '07 Specialized shock is definitely nicer than the Fox that was on the '06. The '07 can be set up really plush for really rough stuff if you want, and there is absolutely no notchiness at all. The down side is, you have to dial up a lot of platform if you want it to pedal solidly. It still swallows the bumps well even with a lot of platform dialed in. So, you still have the tradeoff between efficiency and plushness, you just can't feel the platform as much; the contention is not as obvious. The '07 is more lively, the rebound adjuster comes in handy. It is also useful to tune the ride if you want to cut down on some shock movement when running less platform.

The '06 Fox brain shock also had an adjustable threshold, but it was not as fine-grained as the '07 Specialized one. It also had a firmer platform in general, which I liked when climbing smooth stuff in a big gear. I never noticed any issues with it in bumpy stuff, but I made sure to open the inertia valve all the way for rough courses; I only felt a little notchiness when there was contention between the platform and bumps, like on a technical climb, in which case I want the platform to win. At speed on descents or in technical stuff, it worked like any rear shock as far as I could tell, but I'm a racer so if it's a little firm that's OK with me. I also never felt like it stayed open too long or anything, but once again, I made sure I had it dialed for the terrain I was riding. I always ran the rebound wide-open on it so it would react as fast as possible, and because Fox shocks typically are pretty well damped to begin with, at least for XC.

In my opinion, the main value of the '07 Specialized shock is that it is more adjustable: you can take out most of the platform if you want, or dial up a lot, and it still swallows the bumps. It works a little smoother. And, it's 30g lighter, if you're a racer. But, if that's the only reason to buy the more expensive bike, I probably would not. The Fox shock on the cheaper Epics is the same as the one on my '06 Epic Marathon, and it was fine. The Epic Expert is a good bike if you don't want to shell out for the Marathon. I'd say the '07 shock is better, but $1000 better? That's up to you.

[liznotter]

Anyone have any insight on preference/difference b/w the Spec Brain with Flow Control adjust (seems to be on higher end FSRs), and not having this, on the 2007 bikes? Is it worth buying a bike with the Brain, on its own merits, i.e., on a Women's Epic Comp? Or is it only worth it with the Flow Control? Or am I even asking the wrong questions/taking the wrong focus? I've test ridden the Flow Control on a 2007, and the 2006 Brain, but hardly can tell if it's worth the $$$ in so short a ride...I have the 07 Women's Epic and I LOVE the Brain shock. It rides like a hardtail, so there's less energy loss while climbing, and no mushy feeling when just riding along, but I can feel it kick in during rock gardens and over logs. I rarely bother to re-adjust it for riding conditions and I've never missed having the Flow Control.

The WSD Epic is great, sturdy enough for the trails around here, but lightweight enough for long-distance racing. I've taken it on just about every trail around here, and have never found it lacking.

Liz