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Specialized
Big Hit 8 Travel Upgrade Kit
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Submitted by
Marty
a Downhiller
from Orem
Date Reviewed: August 14, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$330.00 | | Purchased At: | Bingham Cyclery | | Strengths: | 8" inches of course! it is i think alot better than the six with the vanilla shock, but i've taken it every where Whistler all over Utah and a couple other places | | Weaknesses: | I'd say the price is sure a downer but another downer is it only has 2 settings, but they're not too bad. | | Bike Setup: | 02 Big Hit Comp, 03 Jr. T, MRP Bones, Pro Mag Pedals, easton comps, shimano driveline, Hayes Disc | | Bottom Line: | It is an awesome product, i'm not sure if it sould be worth $400 bones though, but if you have the means to get one do it. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
cK
a Downhiller
from N.J./Pa.
Date Reviewed: April 19, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$250.00 | | Purchased At: | mtbr.com | | Strengths: | so far so good... a lot of extra travel, this is in comparison to the stock link and 7.87" shock - works just as advertised... the Fox Vanilla RC that comes with the link is 8.75" eye to eye and works great. Bolts right in place with no work to get the parts to fit. SUPER plush... tracks beautifully. | | Weaknesses: | O.K. so here's the really bad news - after going on their website and then calling the main warehouse at Specialized I found out that Spesh for some reason isn't making this upgrade kit anymore. BoooooooOOOooo. Now here's the good news - sort of. If you have an 02'or 03' Big Hit Comp, or a Big Hit with the same type of frame, you can get an upgrade link to accomodate a larger shock from 1 of 2 places: as of 4/10/04 there is this website in the U.K. : www.cyclestore.co.uk that sells the Specialized Big Hit 8" Travel Kit - it's hidden in the Spesh bike section with the Big Hits... This is the same item from Specialized that was discontinued. If you e-mail them ask for Patrick - he siad that they have several left in stock... It's gonna cost you a sh!tload tho...If you really wanna go big you can get a link that will accomodate a 9" shock from Avalanche. Go here: www.avalanchedownhillracing.com/application.html and you'll see 2 different links to choose from. This is the new number for the Southbridge link - Silver Cycles(860)928 7370 -ask for info about the Avalanche link... -there's a guy there who's friends with the fabricator - the fab work is done by a guy who works for Pratt and Witney (so he knows his sh!t) in Conn.
How did I get mine??? - I lucked out and happened to find a really cool upstanding guy who was selling the link kit right here at mtbr.com!!! | | Similar Products Used: | none... | | Bike Setup: | 02 Spesh Big Hit Comp with LOADS of cool stuff - check out the 2003 suspension bike reviews... | | Bottom Line: | Great craftsmanship on the link - and no problems with the link or the shock thus far... The stock spring that comes with it rated at 500lbs IS pretty soft... I way 170 and it tended to almost bottom out... Crank up the compression on the shock a bit and put a few turns on the shock pre-load collar to compensate till u can afford a new spring =)
If you can get your hands on the real deal from the cyclestore in the U.K. you'll be paying a lot, but it is SUPER plush... for about $270 you can get the 9" link from that connection at Silver Cycles in Conn. - you'll have to wait about a month for the fab process.
| Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Rod
a
from ventura, ca, usa
Date Reviewed: March 16, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$400.00 | | Purchased At: | specialized..com | | Strengths: | Indeed gives your Big Hit comp a full 8" of rear travel that is super plush and a big improvement. | | Weaknesses: | Way more expensive than it should be. The 500 lb spring that comes with the Fox Vanilla RC shock was way too soft for me....but then again i weigh in at 210 lbs. | | Bike Setup: | Big Hit comp, Super T fork, rear upgrade kit. | | Bottom Line: | I couldn't believe how expensive this thing was when I first saw it. It just kinda seems outta wack to me, but since I did end up buying it, what does that say about me? Another "problem" is that if you are going to buy this upgrade kit, that means that you either have or will have to buy a longer travel fork for your Big Hit. I got a super T....should've got a monster T. So, if you look at it another way, this upgrade kit is going to end up costing you way more than 400 bucks. I also think that the kit should come with a heavier duty spring, or maybe specialized could throw in a spare spring for ya since this thing is so expensive. If you know that you are going to end up upgrading your big hit comp this much, it just might be cheaper and quicker if you save the extra $ and buy a Big Hit DH. Just a thought. I debated between two or three chilis for value and gave it four overall since after you get through with everything, the kit does work well and your bike is now way beefier. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
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