[Linga115]

argue for it, against it, which is more worth it? specifically on SJ

 

[onegymrat]

Great question...wondering about that myself. As far as I can tell, my 05 S-works Stumpy's PUSH'ed Propedal Septune is definitely less efficient than my 07 Epic's Fox Brain.

 

[rockdhop]

hey linga dude,
it's been a while talking to you about bikes.

i believe the brain on the 08 SJ is something sort after by many riders.its a good brain dude.so far,all the reviews i read through,75% results came out positive,except the 25% saying it has "blown" / "stuck in lockout mode' / too fast rebound after setting it correctly / oil leaking / seals broke before it is even used / dial cap broke,or dropout.

anyway i believe spesh has warranty on it.if you are living near spesh co. or any dealers,it would be good for you.
for me,i live too far away.so i dun vote for it.

would choose the rp23 propedal system over the brain.

 

[Turbs1]

Stumpy Comps

Hi. We'vde just splashed out on two SJ comps (non-brain). Rode the experts on a 20mile test ride before our purchase. The comps were brought mainly because we couldn't afford 2 experts. But to be honest I have yet to really notice to much of a difference. I could put this down to 2 things. 1. These our our 1st full sus bikes (both of us have Spec SJ ht) and 2.the test ride was on rocky fast open trails / forest access tracks with long flowing d/h's and lots of up where as our normal trails round here are dirt based forest single tracks. I'm stoked with what I've got after 8 decent rides. Going so much faster than before. Some day soon it's going to hurt alot.

 

[Linga115]

hey linga dude,
it's been a while talking to you about bikes.

i believe the brain on the 08 SJ is something sort after by many riders.its a good brain dude.so far,all the reviews i read through,75% results came out positive,except the 25% saying it has "blown" / "stuck in lockout mode' / too fast rebound after setting it correctly / oil leaking / seals broke before it is even used / dial cap broke,or dropout.

anyway i believe spesh has warranty on it.if you are living near spesh co. or any dealers,it would be good for you.
for me,i live too far away.so i dun vote for it.

would choose the rp23 propedal system over the brain.

hey rocky

if you are talking reviews from the magazines and stuff, those guys are paid to write good reviews. although i too have read about the same amount of good reviews vs blown out brains and what not.

i actually live pretty close to the specialized HQ. i forget what city its in but i know its less than an hour from where i live. so i dont think claiming warranty on it would be that hard for me. although it is a pain in the ass and takes a lot of time.

mainly asking this question because i was shown the dark side of DH and im considering buying a second mtb. but to make that more affordable i might have to cut some funding from the stumpy. i still want to race and everything but DH is a very expensive area as well.

looked at the stumpies side by side at a LBS this weekend and realized that the expert has a lot of higher end components than the comp which just might justify those extra $$$. and not have to rely on the brain alone to justify it.

its all money that is really holding me back. im comming closer and closer to realizing that might have to buy 2 or 3 bikes within the near future. :eekster:

 

[rockdhop]

hey rocky

if you are talking reviews from the magazines and stuff, those guys are paid to write good reviews. although i too have read about the same amount of good reviews vs blown out brains and what not.

i actually live pretty close to the specialized HQ. i forget what city its in but i know its less than an hour from where i live. so i dont think claiming warranty on it would be that hard for me. although it is a pain in the ass and takes a lot of time.

mainly asking this question because i was shown the dark side of DH and im considering buying a second mtb. but to make that more affordable i might have to cut some funding from the stumpy. i still want to race and everything but DH is a very expensive area as well.

looked at the stumpies side by side at a LBS this weekend and realized that the expert has a lot of higher end components than the comp which just might justify those extra $$$. and not have to rely on the brain alone to justify it.

its all money that is really holding me back. im comming closer and closer to realizing that might have to buy 2 or 3 bikes within the near future. :eekster:

yea man.i know they are paid.but i have friends who experience that.therefore i would like to advise you on it first.anyway did you look at the 09 carbon epic thread?its cool man.however i think if i invest my fund on titus racer x carbon,i might still have spared to upgrade anything i want.i think spesh nowadays are trying to position themselves into different areas.at the same time,separating their markets.

so i would hope you consider other brands as for now.....haha..

 

[Linga115]

yea man.i know they are paid.but i have friends who experience that.therefore i would like to advise you on it first.anyway did you look at the 09 carbon epic thread?its cool man.however i think if i invest my fund on titus racer x carbon,i might still have spared to upgrade anything i want.i think spesh nowadays are trying to position themselves into different areas.at the same time,separating their markets.

so i would hope you consider other brands as for now.....haha..

yea spesh is going downhill fast. lately ive been looking into kona's and santa cruz. still dont know just yet tho. ill see what 09 has in store. also if i get the job. which i really hope i am.

 

[08S-Works_Guy]

Brain

Hey Linga115,

I currently run the Brain setup on my 08 Sworks Stumpjumper and have had no problems with it. I basically set it up to the recommendated psi and knob settings and made a few adjustments from that and have left it alone after that.. I have noticed that it is a Set and Forget setup like stated by Specialized.. Check out the Tech tips on suspension on the Specialized website for recommendations and how it all works.. It is awesome.. No more extra levers to lockout-it does it all for you..

 

[08S-Works_Guy]

Brain

Linga115,

I hope the above can help you out with any input from others on what they think of the Brain... I love it.

 

[rockdhop]

HEY LINGA,

IMHO,if you are considering santa cruz,its a wrong move at the wrong time.their designs will stay as for now for a while.dont think much changes can be seen in the 2009 series,except my fellow friends speculated the most facelift will be made on the superlight line.

they have increase their price just this year,in april.and i think the price doesnt justify minor change such as colour or perhaps a slight redesign of shock placement for (many co.)

the SJ brain has lesser failure rate than the one on the epic,but i hope you reconsider before funding in and buy.

 

[Linga115]

the SJ brain has lesser failure rate than the one on the epic,but i hope you reconsider before funding in and buy.

reconsider buying a Santa cruz? or buying specialized?

i do admit tho... specialized does seem like its starting to lose it

 

[rockdhop]

reconsider buying a Santa cruz? or buying specialized?

i do admit tho... specialized does seem like its starting to lose it

reconsider getting the SC.cuz they just increase the price and everything remains unchange.doesnt it sounds like you are buying a pencil for 2 bucks on normal day,but they decide to increase profit,they happily increase the price to 8bucks,and everything remains unchange ,except the price...

spesh is stunning in dec07 period.everyone is talking about the new 08 SJ.but now,with price increase,design leaning towards titus racer-x alike,why not look at other performance bikes brand like giant,trek,titus?

 

[William42]

everybody just increased prices. also, they (SC) brought out some new bikes and are in the process of changing some others (nomad, VPF) as well as changing their lineup (BLT2, V10).

spesh is also upping their prices, as are giant, trek, kona, and every other bike company i can think of. It especially makes sense with SC - their prices were pretty ridiculously low for the demand. nobody should ever have to wait 5 months for a bike, and with SC it was the norm.

anyway, back to the OT, heres a question about the brain - is it possible to get it to feel crisp? the brain i rode on a high end stumpy (whichever is their highest end, with all the awesome stuff on it) felt way overdamped and didn't move easily. I'm a pretty big fan of an active suspension that moves easily, and I've always felt like fsr was decent at it, but the brain just totally killed it for me. anybody else with this experience? I'd rather have a good cadence to get good efficiency from my pedaling, not have the rear end just be incredibly over damped.

 

[Soba]

They are two different things for different riders. The Brain pretty much totaly locks out the shock until it hits an impact, whereas Propedal is just increased lowspeed compression damping. Buy the brain if you like the 'hardtail feel', are a pedal-mashing sprinter or race XC. Buy Propedal if you prefer small bump sensitivity to absolute efficiency, like allday trailrides and tend to pedal smoothly in the seat instead of mashing.

 

[nachomc]

I've never ridden the pro-pedal platform, however I have the brain on my Epic. The amount of adjustability for any condition makes it very versatile. 99% of the time it's set and forget, but every once in a while I'll set the brain to full soft for some plushy downhill

 

[Stumpy_Steve]

linga,

i went from an 07 stumpy expert to a blt with rp23. the brain really works, very well. the only issue i found is that im not a "set it and forget it" kinda guy. im used to long climbs nd long downhills, so for the climbs i would constantly twist it all the way into firm, then the dh all soft. so for me, it wasnt really ideal. im also an efficiency freak, so when climbing in the soft mode of the brain, all i could think about was how i could go faster with the firmer setting. then i got a sweet deal on a santa cruz, and goodbye stumpy. propedal/rp23 is very nice, too. hope this helps

 

[Linga115]

linga,

i went from an 07 stumpy expert to a blt with rp23. the brain really works, very well. the only issue i found is that im not a "set it and forget it" kinda guy. im used to long climbs nd long downhills, so for the climbs i would constantly twist it all the way into firm, then the dh all soft. so for me, it wasnt really ideal. im also an efficiency freak, so when climbing in the soft mode of the brain, all i could think about was how i could go faster with the firmer setting. then i got a sweet deal on a santa cruz, and goodbye stumpy. propedal/rp23 is very nice, too. hope this helps

that actually did help alot. i am alot like you with effciency on the brain. no pun intended. i thought that i would be turning up the dials and turning down the dials constantly if i got the stumpy expert. i dont really mind flipping the switch from lock out to open to pro pedal but i just didnt want to be stuck leaving it on those settings. ive seen first hand what forgetting about lock out does. dont want that happening to me.

do you use pro pedal or lock out when you climb hills with your rp23?

 

[Stumpy_Steve]

that actually did help alot. i am alot like you with effciency on the brain. no pun intended. i thought that i would be turning up the dials and turning down the dials constantly if i got the stumpy expert. i dont really mind flipping the switch from lock out to open to pro pedal but i just didnt want to be stuck leaving it on those settings. ive seen first hand what forgetting about lock out does. dont want that happening to me.

do you use pro pedal or lock out when you climb hills with your rp23?

propedal. lol, like i said, im a nut about efficiency for my bike, even though my fitness isn't there. i use pp through the smooth stuff, and open for the ups with bumps, really. so, im switching a lot, but like it that way.

 

[rockdhop]

i would drop the brain and opt for a fox rp23.
haha.
thats my vote

 

[Linga115]

propedal. lol, like i said, im a nut about efficiency for my bike, even though my fitness isn't there. i use pp through the smooth stuff, and open for the ups with bumps, really. so, im switching a lot, but like it that way.

would you ever use the lock out feature? or would that blow it out in the long run? still kinda get the feeling that with pp the stumpy would bob.