Strengths: Pretty light, suspension works pretty well, good race bike, but also good trail bike, climbs well and descends pretty well too.
Weaknesses: Durability issues. I have had a never ending stream of problems with the rear suspension. The ti bolts in the linkages have all snapped at some point or another (huge pain out on the trail), the bushings have had to be replaced multiple times, even with new bushings and standard bolts (stay away from ti!!!) there is still play in the linkage which causes a lot of creaks and other unbecoming noises.
Bottom Line:
It's a fast bike and sweet ride, but Specialized decided to shave a few too many grams and the rear suspension is underbuilt. Before even bothering to ride it, replace all the ti bolts with standard bolts. At some point or another the ti will break and its a huge pain in the neck when it does. Extracting broken bolts is no fun. The design is solid and the frame is light and efficient, and much quicker than a hard tail when you point it down hill. ( I realized this after riding my old homegrown all last week as my specialized was in the shop getting new bushings. again.) Buy it to race, look elsewhere for a bike that will take a lot of abuse.
Similar Products Used: Rocky Mountain Element, Trek Fuel
Bike Setup: Marzochi x-fly, Crossmax, XT/XTR, mostly Thompson parts
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Submitted by
Noel Salazar
a Cross Country Rider
from Arvada, Colorado, U.S.A
Date Reviewed: February 9, 2004
Strengths: Very light bike and an excellent downhill climber
Weaknesses: Change the stock tires A.S.A.P they are very lite but very dangerous and unpredictable. (S-Work Rocksters)
Bottom Line:
I have ridden this bike for about a year now and I love it. If you’re looking for a way to define perfect full suspension handling this is the bike. What ever the riding technique the S-Works responds. If you jump out of the saddle and start thrashing wildly it remains stable and shoots forward like a V12 Ferrari. The Four-Bar linkage tends to find traction in the most unlikely of places while keeping the rear suspension very stable and energy efficient. As for the price I got it right when the new Epics where introduced to the market so I got a good discount. But theirs nothing to complain about even at full price, with a $600+ Rock Shox SID Race Ti shock and pure Shimano XTR where it counts the most. Not to mention the strength of M5 ORE tubing with a Ti bolt kit the stock $3460 is really not to much to pay for the performance and pleasure you will get out of this dream machine.
Favorite Trail: Any trail with steep ascent. Who needs downhill?
Duration Product Used: 1 Year
Price Paid:
$2700.00
Purchased At: Wheat Ridge Cyclery
Similar Products Used: Test road Fuel 100, Sugar Team, Several others in same category.
Bike Setup: Sid Race Ti ork,Chris King Ti Head set, Moots Ti stem, Titec 118 Ti handle bars, Egg Beater Triple Ti pedals, Roll-X PRO tires with Stans no Tubes on Mavic CrossMax UST Tubeless weels.
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Submitted by
Greg
a Cross Country Rider
from Charleston
Date Reviewed: September 8, 2003
Strengths: light weight, very little peddle bob, quality construction, excellent handling
Weaknesses: low bottom bracket height
Bottom Line:
This is one excellent trail bike. I have it set up with disc brakes and nothing super light and it's still only 25.5 pounds. The new stable platform bikes are all the rage, but this bike hardly bobs at all and the suspension is always active. You could always add a spv shock to help out with bob if you wanted. The bb is a little low and you will hit your cranks occasionally on the ground. My bike is almost 2 years old and it's as quiet as the day that I bought it. The only problems that I've had were very minor. The bushing on the fox rear shock wears quickly and causes A small clunk in the rear end. It doesn't affect the performance it's just a little annoying and you only notice it when you pick the bike straight up by the seat. The other problem that I have had is that the ti bolt that attaches the shock to the gold swing arm link bends. Specialized is aware of the problem and tells you to replace it with a steel one. I just ride with the bent bolt and have had no problems. SIDs and disc brakes don’t really mix that well. There is a lot of flex when you hit the front brake. Overall, a great cross country rig. Very sweet.
Similar Products Used: stumpjumper pro (ht), fat chance buck shaver, independent fabrications deluxe
Bike Setup: xtr with xt shifters and front derailleur, sid sl, thomson stem & post, chris king hubs/mavic 3.1 and headset, avid cps disc brakes
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Submitted by
andy
a Weekend Warrior
from Salt Lake City, Utah
Date Reviewed: May 18, 2003
Strengths: Eats up Terrain
Weaknesses: Swing arm bolt backs itself out.
Bottom Line:
Anyone ever notice that you can't plant your outside pedal all the way down on the outside of a turn while standing? There's not enough clearance between your crotch and the seat. On my hard tail I can plant the pedal down at the bottom of the stroke on the outside side of a turn (to "stick" the tires firmly) and I have 2-3 inches of clearance between the seat and my nads. But not on my S-Works FSR. I'm struggling with this. What's the proper technique to hammer hard into a turn on this bike? Anyone know please email me: itsdeep2@aol.com Thanks.
Favorite Trail: Porcupine Rim, Wasatch Crest, Fischer Creek
Duration Product Used: 1 Year
Similar Products Used: Jamis dakar sport, Cannondale 9000
Bike Setup: Standard except saddle (went cushy) and pedals went to Speedplay Frog which rock!
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Submitted by
William Mills
a Weekend Warrior
from San Clemente, CA
Date Reviewed: February 5, 2003
Strengths: Light Frame, components
Weaknesses: None yet, other than the price...
Bottom Line:
Pricey - but if you can afford it, its an awesome ride. I love this bike. All I think about now is riding. Climbs that used to kill me are a breeze. Downhills are not quite what I imagine the Enduro would have provided, which made my decision between the two difficult, but since climbing occuppies way more of my riding time - I went for this bike. I will write again after I have had some time to abuse it. Re where to buy:I can't recomend Rock N Road enough. They were flexible on price and other accessories bought at same time. I heard a lot about SuperGo, having just moved to OC. However, their customer service sucked. Their manager rudely refused to even consider matching the price they sold this bike to two friends about 6 months earlier. They likewise refused to offer any concessions on the many other things I was purchasing at same time - unlike Rock N Road. If your LBS comes anywhere close to SuperGo's price (which I am sure it does) I would NOT buy anything from SuperGo!
Submitted by
delta stephens
a Cross Country Rider
from CANADA
Date Reviewed: November 4, 2002
Strengths: amazing ride, stability, cornering, 4bar is the best,frame is awesome
Weaknesses: none
Bottom Line:
beautiful frame, setup, and amazing ride, no problems ever on the trail or at a race. sad that they didnt keep this bike for another year. 2002 s-works fsrxc m5 has to be the best frame out there period.
Strengths: Wieght, geometry and the ability to handle any kind of trail. I can race this bike and turn around and take it on a burly Free Ride Trail. My Free-Ride bike doesn't get much use any more.
Weaknesses: I got a screamin deal so I can't complain about price, Sid fork (I dumped it after three rides and got a Fox even though it wieghs more there is NO flex). Some of the Specialized components are kind of cheesy, but I got rid of them too.
Bottom Line:
Best damn bike I've ever pedaled. I can climb (standing or seated) better on this ride than any other, even hardtails. This bike can take a beating and still comes back for more. Super light, pretty strong and great on all types of rides.
Strengths: Handling, weight, suspension travel, lockout, build quality. Am 5'7" and the medium size frame fits great.
Weaknesses: Have yet to find one!
Bottom Line:
What a great bike!!! Took a long time researching full suspension bikes before getting the FSR-XC S-Works. The handling and suspension are great! Can ride longer and more confidently with no saddle pain at all. The XT transmission is almost as light as XTR, smooth shifting and a lot cheaper. Would recommend the Arch Supreme brakes to anyone. The Mars Super is light, well suited to the 90mm rear, and has smooth travel.
Is it worth the extra money over a regular FSR-XC?? To me yes, but the lower models are probably better value for money.
Would recommend it to anyone who wants the best light weight cross country bike.
Similar Products Used: Test rides around parking lots - Id, Truth, Tracer & Superlight. Felt more at home on the S-Works.
Bike Setup: Purchased as a frameset and had it built up:
Manitou 2002 Mars Super (great candy red color) XT drivetrain Easton MonkeyLite Lo Riser XTR / X517 wheelset Avid Arch Supreme brakes Avid SD Ultimate levers Thomson seatpost & stem WTB Podium Ti saddle King Headset
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Submitted by
Bonkler
a Cross Country Rider
from Saratoga Springs NY
Date Reviewed: September 16, 2002
Strengths: Simply put, this bike is a rocket. Best XC rig I've ridden. The frame is torsionally stiff and light, but consider what I've written below first.
Weaknesses: Soft, malleable M5 metal this frame is made from, It's best left for race specific applications, not for endured, or prolonged use.
Bottom Line:
As much as I enjoy riding this bike, it is simply melting underneath me! The first week after I put this bike together I found that unless I wrenched down the rear skewer to what I would consider unnecessary levels of tension just to keep the wheel fixed to the bike! I ended up figuring out that it was slipping mostly on the drive side so I turned the skewer around so the meatier (lever) end of the skewer was biting into the frame. The deraileur hanger does not come into play with the way this bike is designed here.
So, this was not a real big deal to me despite the noticable amts. of frame that had been stripped away in this crucial area. The rim and skewer were still able to hold their place, but only with an excessively tightened skewer.
Two weeks ago, I'm out on my favorite trails in 'Toga and notice this loud rubbing noise coming from the area of my cranks. I'm feeling resistance to my pedal stroke so I look down and see the bolt holding the suspension linkage together had come loose to the point where it wasn't biting onto any threads any longer. I managed to get it socked back down so I could leave and take it back to my workshop to fit it again with Lok Tite.
When I pulled the bolt out, I took a cotton swab and moved it into the hole and pulled out many MANY stripped out threads! Thinking there was some thread left in there I attempted to reattach the bolt but it wasn't biting. ON top of this, I also noticed that the pivot bearing this bolt was placed thru is destroyed.
Overall, I think this is a great frame if you're sponsored, or if you are capable of using several different frames for your race specific needs. Otherwise, spend your money elsewhere.
Similar Products Used: 2000 Specialized FSR XC. The bottom bracket on this bike stripped out on me. I got the 2002 S-Works as a $200 frame upgrade offered by the factory. I also had a friend of mine who purchased the same 2000 FSR-XC that had the exact same problem occur to his. I weigh around 175 lbs.
Bike Setup: Race Face Next LP crankset, '02 Marzochhi Atom Race 100mm, Fox Float RL set at 90mm, RF air alloy riser bars, Selle SanMarco saddle, Hayes HMX1, DT Hugi Hubs laced to old school Mavic 121 rear and 217 front.
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Submitted by
Jason Moss
a Racer
from Novi, Michigan, USA
Date Reviewed: July 30, 2002
Strengths: Overall solid bike. Great technology, works much better than my AMP B3.
Weaknesses: Rock Shox SID leaked oil and needed to be rebuilt after three rides. Then after two more rides the fork legs were loose and needed to be sent back to Rock Shox for a complete re-build where they replaced the majority of the parts. The original fork brace and steerer tubes have a defect so they changed them out with their carbon upgrade. As a final slap in the face, after I received my fork back from Rock Shox I attempted to put pressurize the possitive leg and the morons didnt even tighten the air valve housing. Real good quality control happening over there. NOT! To make matters worse, the rear shock by FOX had bad seals in it which also needed to be rebuilt since it would not hold it's air. Lastly, the left crank arm continues to come loose. I have tightened it once and the bike shop has tightened it twice.
Bottom Line:
NIce ride but between Rock Shox, FOX and Specialized they have some serious quality issues!!
Strengths: Light weight, looks cool, high quality components, great suspension.
Weaknesses: I'm still hazy about the S-Works Tires
Bottom Line:
Great bike, the only bike you will ever need. It comes with high quality, durable, light parts. Buy this bike and you will be set for life. It looks cool, weighs less than most hardtails, and really climbs well. I'm happy.
Strengths: Nice weight for a full suspension, cool color design, performs well under high stress, designed for XC but can take the occasional prolific drop off, nice sturdy wheelset, XTR is great, thanks for the brand name seat post specialized.
Weaknesses: They go the distance to give you a Thomson post, but where's the XTR crank or king headset, or selle seat, or thomson stem. But what the heck, most people at this level of biking already have these parts anyways.
Bottom Line:
Good job specialized! Do I feel like I got jipped because you gave me a list 3460 + tax bike without a good crank, stem or headset, a little but not enough to make me stop loving this bike. It is probably the lightest FS around, or you could make it the lightest, stock at about 23.5 lbs! I'm happy and that's all that matters.
Bike Setup: Selle seat, XTR crank, the rest is all good
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Submitted by
Scott
a Weekend Warrior
from CHI-Town
Date Reviewed: July 10, 2002
Strengths: A full suspension bike that is so light. The bike is very quick into the turns, climbs anything without the pogo stick effect without locking the suspension. Some of the best parts on the market. The bike looks fast even when it's standing still!
Weaknesses: Nothing I have found yet.
Bottom Line:
If you want a Bad A$$ bike buy one of these, but only one problem you won't find another 2002 is almost over and the New FSR will be out soon.. You’re too late! Buy from Bens in Milwaukee Wisconsin, They area class act. Good All American Bike Shop!
Similar Products Used: Specialized FSR Extreme(pogo stick)Gary Fisher Joshua,
Bike Setup: Monkeylites, RaceFace Next LP's, RaceFace Titanium bottom bracket. And some other goodies.
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Submitted by
Mr. MTBDood
a Weekend Warrior
from Milwaukee, WI, USA
Date Reviewed: June 28, 2002
Strengths: This lightweight beast is awesome. This bike is light and beautiful. Nice paint Job and square bottom tubing. Suspension system is plush and responsive. I don't really use the lockout on the Fox RL. I am using a 2000 SID Race on the front which keeps the bike nice and light. I used to race, but now I am more into weekend warrior riding. As a result I put Hayes Comp Disc Brakes with Sun XC disc rims.
On the trail this bike simply Rocks! It slices and dices the trail like a sharp filet knife. It is super fast for a XC full squish. It climbs like a billy goat. The nice thing I found about the climbs is that with the Fox RL unlocked, the back wheel seems to be pinned to the ground. This helps prevent slippage on crucial climbs. Although I wouldn't recommend that strategy for racing.
Weaknesses: Fox RL started loosing pressure. Fox sent new seal to fix the known problem. Little chain suck. Started to work it self out. Other than that everything else that is Specialized is working out Great!
Bottom Line:
This bike is the bomb. I received this bike as a warranty and upgrade! My previous 2000 M4 S-Works suffered the infamous chainstay stress crack. Specialized warrantied my frame and hooked me up with the M5. Specialized re-designed the whole rear triangle to fix the stress crack problem. I thought my 2k M4 S-Works was the beast, the M5 tops it. The rear titanium angled linkage gives more travel than the previous M4 and is adjustable via two different titanium linkage bars (75 mm and 90 mm). It looks like the same linkage used on the Intense Tracer.
Bottom Line, if you have the bank, buy this bike. It won't steer your wrong. I will recommend this bike to any of my friends and hardcore XC'rs!
If you are just riding the trails, you may want to go down to the 2002 M4 Stumpjumper (-$$). If you are a racer or simply have phat dineros, definately buy this rig!
I have tried both bikes and would agree with Mountain Bike Actions review (June 2002) of these two sleds.
In addition, Specialized has really done it this time. Good job and Thank you!
Bike Setup: Monkey light low rise graphite handlebar. 2000 SID Race. Time ATAC pedals. Race Face headset, XY seatpost, cranks, bottom bracket. Shimano XT and XTR shifters. 2002 Hayes Comp Disk Brakes. Salle Italia Flite Titanium Rail. Sun Disc Rims. Huge Disc Hubs.
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Submitted by
Jason
a Cross Country Rider
from Ponte Vedra, FL USA
Date Reviewed: June 4, 2002
Strengths: Front/Rear suspension balance
Weaknesses: sock bar/stem combo
Bottom Line:
The thing works. If you ride somwhere where full suspension makes sense it's a great machine. With a 100 mm fork and something cushier than race tires you can really blast on the thing.
