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Dedicated 2021 SJ Evo Thread

1M views 7K replies 451 participants last post by  ipedalhard 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
I think it is time to separate the SJ and SJ Evo threads for the new bikes.

Picking up my bike next week and figuring out my build right now. Bought the base model since that is what I could find (only shop that would pick up the phone and take a deposit). There are a few Experts out there, one on my way home from UT, but not sure if I should grab it or not. I like the idea of the Performance Elite 36, but not sure it would save me much money since I will be replacing almost everything anyway. Haven't ridden Shimano gearing for a while so it will be fun to try out again and that is a positive for the Comp.

Planned build right now is;

S4 frame
2021 36 Fork
WR1 Carbon rims on Profile AC2 hubs
Renthal bars/Profile stem
EE Wings Cranks/King BB
Stock XFusion 190mm post (one of my favorites on the market right now)
Sram AXS shifting
Saint Brakes

This will get done over the next month or so since parts are hard to get. Will try the stock DPX2 rear shock, but it is highly likely I will switch over to an X2 rear pretty quickly.
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#4,245 ·
Does this bike have tube in frame internal cable routing? How does that work?

I want to replace my dropper cable housing. Ideally I'd like to remove the current housing so I can measure the new housing. Will I be able to insert the new housing into the port and have it magically appear out of the seat tube or will I need to connect the new housing to the old and chase it out?
 
#4,246 ·
There is no routing tube around the bottom bracket and up through the seat tube. It’s quite challenging to route a new cable. If I remember correctly you’ll have to remove your crank and bottom bracket. I followed the instructions from Specialized’s assembly manual using a stiff piece of poster board to route the cable around the bent part of the seat post tube (prevents these cable from going up the frame brace over the shock).
 
#4,249 · (Edited)
Hey all - considering a SJ Evo as a longer-travel compliment to my Trek Fuel EX8 and wondering if there’s a suspension setup guide for it anywhere. I’m 6’3 230 ready to ride and the 2022 Evo Expert setup calculator isn’t on specialized’s site. Though I’m not sure I’d trust it even if it was. The 2021 version, without Float X of course, has me at 330psi for rear shock along with recommending up to 33/37 (!!!) tire pressures.

Also looking at a Canyon Spectral 29 in case anyone has compared and has thoughts.
 
#4,255 ·
Hey all - considering a SJ Evo as a longer-travel compliment to my Trek Fuel EX8 and wondering if there’s a suspension setup guide for it anywhere. I’m 6’3 230 ready to ride and the 2022 Evo Expert setup calculator isn’t on specialized’s site. Though I’m not sure I’d trust it even if it was. The 2021 version, without Float X of course, has me at 330psi for rear shock along with recommending up to 33/37 (!!!) tire pressures.

Also looking at a Canyon Spectral 29 in case anyone has compared and has thoughts.
I think just browsing here is going to be the best you’re going to find. The Spec website like you said uses the older shock and honestly was way off from where I ended up. I’m 195 kitted up and running 205psi in the rear with a larger 0.4 volume spacer. Spec site recommended 260 and 0.2 spacer. Guessing you’ll need to get a spacer kit at the very least.
 
#4,256 ·
After a few months of owning my Evo I'm still happy, it's such a good bike, it just does what I want and I don't notice it much. It's a bit smaller vs my '20 Enduro, both S4, in a good way. It's great on some of the steep and janky trails we have in CO. It's a beefy build with a 160mm 38, Cascade link, CCDB air, WR1 Union wheels, Michelin Wild Enduro w/Tannus f/r, about 33.5 lbs.

Pics from today's ride, 2 of my Evo, 2 of me on my Evo. Colorado is not currently burning, which is great. Super happy for the rain we've been getting...







 
#4,257 ·
After a few months of owning my Evo I'm still happy, it's such a good bike, it just does what I want and I don't notice it much. It's a bit smaller vs my '20 Enduro, both S4, in a good way. It's great on some of the steep and janky trails we have in CO. It's a beefy build with a 160mm 38, Cascade link, CCDB air, WR1 Union wheels, Michelin Wild Enduro w/Tannus f/r, about 33.5 lbs.

Pics from today's ride, 2 of my Evo, 2 of me on my Evo. Colorado is not currently burning, which is great. Super happy for the rain we've been getting...
Are you near Durango? That terrain does not look familiar at all for Colorado.
 
#4,263 ·
Need help with basic question. I'm bumping up the volume spacers in my Fox Float X from the .2 it comes with to .4
My question is if I can use multiple volume spacers in the shock? Since I'm already using the .4 token that came with the Fox Float tuning kit in another bike, can I just add a second .2 spacer to the existing .2 spacer in the shock to reach my .4 goal? I know that sounds basic, but I also know you're not supposed to use multiple spacers with some shocks and I can't find a definitive answer on Fox's site. Many thanks for any help!
 
#4,267 ·
Anyone ever have any issues with the dropper cable binding ? I'm running a 210 Oneup on an S4. It almost seems that no matter what, any pressure (resting thumb on lever) makes the dropper start to slowly rise. I can get it almost right but it's really fickle.

Using the barrel adjuster and exposing more seat post don't really seem to help unless I pull the post out halfway. I even bought Jagwire's fancy dropper cable kit and still have the same problem. I'm thinking it's got to be the way the cable routes makes it prone to kinking somewhere.

I'm running a Oneup 210 on an S4 slammed pretty much as far as it will go.
 
#4,268 ·
Gonna jump (get it?) in with a review of the alloy S5. First, the paint job! It’s a Ltd (oooh, right?), with black Jackson Pollock splatter thing. Build: high/slack settings, Mezzer pro @170, Mara Pro rear, 28t AB oval, 10-51 xt cassette, xt shifter & slx derailleur, Roval carbon hoops/DT 350 hubs off the shelf, Bontrager xr4 29x2.4 rear/2.6 front (22/20 psi - haven’t killed the tires or rims yet after about 450 miles - fingers crossed) , a really long stem with SQ Labs 16 sweep/35 rise alloy bar, Dominion A4 brakes (sublime), 210 dropper & other stuff. I’m 6’3 & 205lbs no gear, and ride mostly gnarly rooty, rocky stuff (Merli Sarnoski, Shindagin Hollow SF, as examples), with lotsa up and down, and occasionally lift assist dh.
The bad first: pedal strikes at anything beyond about 40mm of shock stroke, and I hate pedal strikes, so I keep the shock riding there (40mm) as a max; I don’t generally consciously miss the extra 15mm stroke/40mm wheel travel, but it would be nice. Second, I probably should have bought an S6 - I’m super long in the torso, and all of my bikes have been on the short side (except the Honzo ESD, which proper rips, but that’s ot), so I run the seat slammed back and a longish stem; this isn’t the bike’s fault.
The good: everything else. This is my first Horst link bike, and Specialized completely nailed it. I’m coming from a 2019 Polygon Siskiu t8 (stock RS, then coil Z1 & Bomber CR), which seemed fine - a little harsh at higher speeds in rough terrain, and a SC Heckler (coil/coil) before that. Climbing on the Evo is simply incredible to me - rode a long uphill fire road today & used the climb switch & stiffened the hsc on the fork, but the benefit is minimal - essentially zero pedal bob from the frame/shock even in open mode; climbing rough and/or loose stuff, well, I thought today that I finally understand what people mean when they say “composed climber”. I’ve cleared stuff I’ve struggled with for years. The small bump sensitivity is, to me, almost weird - up to about 1.5 inch rocks or roots I honestly barely feel. I wanted to use the CR, and actually sent it to Avalanche, but then read the Fox warning, so went with the Mara Pro, which is legit. To add another layer of strangeness (to me), this bike accelerates let’s say 92% as well as the ht, and so much better than the T8 or heckler. Descending I do miss the extra travel, but oh well. I wouldn’t describe it as “flickable”, and steep, tight switchbacks are a little problematic (although an Assegai MG on another wheelset does way better than the xr4 on its best day). At speed, though, is where this thing shines. Rode some great flowy trails today, and when I was washing the bike afterward had to scrub bug splatter off the face of the fork crown. Today, going over some semi-rough stuff at speed I thought “so this is what people mean when they describe the “hover” thing. I can actually pedal hard over big roots/rocks and accelerate (mind the pedals, though!). Finally, as so many have said, as long as you keep weight on the front, this bike corners on rails, especially at speed - it’s pretty remarkable.
Tomorrow a Specialized mullet link should arrive from Famatic. I’m gonna try it with the 29 rear wheel, and drop the flip chop to low, which should raise the bb from around from 331 (per Specialized geo finder) to around 345 by my math (raise bb by a little more than 1/2 inch (b/c bb is a little less than halfway between the hubs)) - correct me if I’m way off on this. I’m hopeful that this will allow me to use more of the shock stroke without pedal strikes. I know that 345 is kinda high, but the bike I really wanted (still have Titan lust) runs over 350 in the high setting, so I’m hoping it won’t mess up the handling too much; if it does I’ll just switch back and live with it as is. I know the CC link is out there, but I don’t think it (or the Williams Racing yoke) would help with the low bb issue,
Sorry for the tome. As I heard someone once say, pointing to their desk, “if you think that’s cluttered, imagine what it’s like in here (pointing to their head). Cheers and happy Independence Day!
 
#4,272 · (Edited)
Got the Evo to a Happy Place this past weekend. 2 rides on the Stump Evo and a long day on the Ripley. Impressions so far:
  • Descends well yes of course, it does rather well whether high speed open section or some chunk where the suspension really needs to eat up the terrain to keep your momentum
  • Climbing: Grinds pretty well, doesn't have the instant umph over a big rock step up that some bikes do but that's not why I bought it
  • Tight turns I need more practice getting faster cornering on this bike, noticeably faster on my Ripley
  • Stability: A very stable bike, being used to higher engagement wheels some trackstand and restart rock gardens did get me; but overall very good especially at speed through chunk
  • Suspension: Great balance of firmness vs plushness and I haven't tuned a ton, little at a time. Generally bikes do real well for me on pedal sections or big hits not necessarily both, the evo seems to balance both very well.

Only mod to the Stumpy so far was a 42mm Burgtec stem, the 54T ratchet upgrade. have I9s for it but holding off on those for now.
Bicycle Wheel Tire Window Bicycle wheel
 
#4,276 ·
Does anyone have a long dropper (180+) slammed in an S3 Evo alloy? Just trying to figure out the real insertion depth on that frame.

TIA
I have a 170 One Up V1 Dropper inserted as far as it can and it will not slam. I believe the post length on the v1 is 243mm* 210 insertion length is pretty spot on. That being said, I don't need to slam it because the seat tube is so short. 180 would definitely work, but you're not gonna be able to slam it post collar to seat collar.
 
#4,285 ·
I want a slightly beefier 170/160 Evo that rides more or less the same.
It appears my Evo is eating my shock so less leverage loads on the shock would be cool too.
Carbon Spire with angleset would be pretty close imo. I can get a frame August - Septemberish. Considering it, but so far I don't feel like I need a bigger bike and I'd lose a lot of cash on the swap. FWIW, if you're not running the cascade link that does make it 158mm, and more progressive. Also, I don't feel like there's a huge difference running the 38 at 160 vs 170. Noticeable for sure but not night and day. I like the faster handling and steadier climbing with it at 160mm.

What's happening to your shock? I'm also running the ccdb air... Maybe check your bearings where the yoke attaches to the link, if those bearings get notchy that would put a lot more bending forces on the shock.
 
#4,287 ·
Any suggestions, i feel like in the 63.5 slack front im losing the front tire in even moderate loam, assegai, 23 PSI 180lb riding weight. Im pretty experienced and typically ride in top 10% or higher. I do like it on very rocky, high speed trails, literally 15-20s faster on a 5min trail and less abuse on the body vs 64.5. Likewise on jumps, steeper likes the 64.5 versus longer. Thoughts?
 
#4,291 ·
Recently built up an S3 Sworks off a frameset. For sure my dream build. Curious from any of you out there who are running an elevensix on yours how your settings ended up. At like 150lbs, I'm on a 475 spring and the stock settings are 16/16 with 10 from closed on R from Push.
Bicycle Wheel Tire Land vehicle Crankset
 
#4,302 ·
I briefly tried the low setting on my S5, it definitely felt different but it also felt a bit slower (maybe it was just smoother & easier) for whatever reason. It was a brief test ride as the pedal strikes in my rocky terrain on 170mm cranks was just too much for me, so I didn't explore this any further.
 
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