First ride on my hopped up S3 Comp yesterday (Hope E4's, X2 rear shock, 36 Float Grip2 fork, different saddle). Two rocky twisty trail drops, 3500' climbing.
Very cool bike. Rode it on the same trails I used to need a DH bike for (which are very steep and non-trivial - Simi Vallley, CA). It outperforms the skanky old DH bikes I used to ride up there.
The suspension settings for my height and weight from the Specialized calculator were decent enough for a damping baseline, but quite a ways undersprung for that type of riding at both ends. There are some severe g-outs and drops that I definitely touched bottom from. I was taking a pretty casual pace too, just getting a feel for the bike. If I were pushing things and getting up to race pace, I'd probably be wanting to run more like 20-25% sag on the rear and 12-15% up front. Not 33%/20% or whatever they spec. I'm 180lb, they called for 215psi rear, 78psi front. 1 spacer rear, no spacers up front. Ended the day with 230psi rear and 90psi front. Still needs a touch more in the rear. Probably will load up the air can with another spacer or two for some more midstroke support.
On the steep stuff I'm glad I didn't go with the S4. I think any more wheelbase would make last minute moves coming off of steep ledges more awkward. Never felt any instability. The bike is VERY comfortable pointing and shooting through some really bombed out ****. I'll probably go with a 50mm stem at some point and I may bring the bars down to 765mm or so. But the climbing geo feels pretty spot on for me at 6ft.
My biggest gripe with the bike is the NX shifter lever layout, and the shifting performance. With matchmakers on the Hope brakes, the upshift lever I can't reach unless I drop my elbow way down (moto-bro WFO style) when I have the seat raised. Even with a variety of tinkering with cable tension, never did I have reliable downshifting either. I think the shifter and derailleur are going to come right off. To be clear, that's a pretty small gripe...#whiteboyproblems.
Added note: Running this in the high mode. I see no need to run it in the low mode at the moment. The risk of pedal strikes is higher and I felt no sense that the front was too steep. Feels like a prior generation DH bike as-is.
TL/DR
6'/180lb rider, S3, X2/Grip2
215psi (ended 230psi). 1 spacer.
LC 13
HC 13
LR 13
HR 10
78psi (ended 90psi). 0 spacers.
LC 7
HC 10
LR 6
HR 5
