Anyone have S-Works hardtail?

[limba]

Any thoughts on this bike?Change anything?
http://www.specialized.com/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=6805

[Tippster]

I have a Spec S-Works M5 '04 Frame. Frame bought seperately.

[Smokebelch]

I've just built up a 2003 M5 S-Works ... I had the first ride on it 2 days ago

It is an unbelievable bike ...
Ive been riding MTB's for 13 years and have had many top end hardtails and one full supension, and I can whole heartedly say that this is by far the best bike Ive ridden.
Its stiff but comfortable and tracks veryaccurately but with a very neutral stable feel to it.
Agilty is superb ... it just feel like it should

Its specced out with
Fox F80 RLT
XT drive train
Avid arch rival v brakes (absolutely unbelievably powerful !! )
race face Air Alloy low riser bars
race face Prodigy stem
Hand built (merlin) wheels
Cane Creek S2 headset
WTB rocket stealth saddle
Truvative stylo crankset and gigapipe BB
egg beater chrome pedals

finished weight is 22 and three quarter pounds
I could have got it lighter by speccing other components but I went for a combination of strength and weight rather than too fragile (besides i ran out of money ) although in hindsight i shouldnt have gone for the panaracer fire 2.1's .. i couldve saved 200 grammes by choosing the 1.8's
tubes are heavy too (specilaized standard weighing 180 grammes each)

I got the frame for £550 in the end of season sale, £100 off the forks at leisure-lakes and the rest of the components in the January sales (mostly from chain reaction and merlin in the UK) and managed to build the complete bike for £1550 !!
Why bother buying a stumpjumper when you can build this for so little?

Basically (as you might tell) I'm as chuffed as f**k with the result.
Praise be to the sales god !!

[limba]

So how are you gonna build it up Tippster?

[Tippster]

My Spec M5 '04 Hardtail is still being upgraded.

Currently:

Easton EC70 Carbon Bar
Spec S-works grips
XT Shifters
Easton EA50 Stem
Pace RC31 Rigid Forks
Hope mini brakes
Hope ti QR

XT / DT Rev / X517 wheelset - very good value £110 (UK)
Looking to upgrade to DT Hugi / DT Rev / X317

Panaracer Fire XC Pro 2.1 tyres - heavy I know but I'm newbie rider and need the grip and width to begin with.

XT Crankset and BB
M959 Pedals - friend has had trouble with his std egg beaters so was advised not to get egg beaters.

'04 XTR rear DR
XT casette 11-32
Avid flack jackets cables

Thompson elite setback post - free with frame - looking to get a USE carbon post

Selle Italia flite gel flow transam - heavy I know - new to riding so went for comfort - will upgrade to speedneedle in next few months.

Best buy so far has been my "steeds" "eyes" - Lupine Nightmares.
Riding at night throught the forrest is such a refreshing change.
Nightmares mess up my Cateye cordless 2 computer though. Need to change the setup to see if at opposite ends of the bar they still mess up the computer.


Main areas I'm looking into are saddle and post - Speedneedle and USE carbon post (new 1-2 months). Then Wheelset DT Hugi / DT rev / X317. Merlin (UK) offer this wheelset for £182 (UK). The only better wheelset I can think of would be Tune or King. But for 2 to 3 times the cost.

Also thinking of a better stem - ITM The Stem.

Will leave the tyres until they need replacing - by that time the UK Weather will have improved, along with my riding ability. Then go for around 1.8 sized tyres and save weight.


Exhausted after that long post!!!
Sorry dont have digital camera to post pics. Maybe try works camera.

[helmut]

I am building, have built a specialized M5.

M5 S-works Hardtail silver anodized
Chris King ti Headset
Chris King iso hubs, dt aerolite, mavic 717disc, stans tubeless system
Panaracer trailblaster tyres 2.1/1.95
Sid world cup/ (fox f80x)
Hope ti skewers
shimano m952 xtr shifters
shimano M960 xtr cranks,chain,cassette,derailers
Easton mg60, ec70, ec90
slr saddle
hope mono mini brakes 160/140
eggbeater triple ti peddles

21 1/2 pounds

[SWorksRider]

I am riding an 02 M4, suppose it is close.

http://www.freeridesouth.com/pics/showp ... desc&cat=6

Basically its the same geometry, and I love it to death. Changes since the photo include a Larsen TT eXception for a rear tire, and the sticker on the stem has been removed. Shortened some cables - drilled some holes in the frame - and removed the 100 gram bar ends on flatter races.

O_o

[helmut]

Have changed a few things since my last post.
Hope ti skewers 'crap', bought some mavic ones seem to be a lot better.
Panaracer tyres- kevlar bead not strong enough to run with stans. Changed to Hutchinson tyres seem to be much better and saved some weight!
Got some anodised black levers for my mono minis, look quite trick. Also got some braided hoses- very impressed with the improvement performance.
Still dithering as to whither i should get a F80x. Finding my sid a bit flexy.

Can any one offer a view on the sid/F80x or any other aspect of my bike that i might be able to improve a upon.

[nikh]

Hope ti skewers 'crap', bought some mavic ones seem to be a lot better.

Ok now you have me worried! I just bought some Hope ti QR skewers for my project bike. The reviews on MTBR have been overall very positive. What are you finding 'crap' about them?

What kind of improvement are you finding with the braided hoses?

As for the Sid vs Fox I'd take the F80X over anything Rock Shox currently produces.

[nikh]

Some eye candy for you S-works lovers.

My friend Dan's M5.

[helmut]

When i got my hope skewers i was impressed with them but over time they become loser and loser. I found myself having to tighten them up more and more. Resently i had to tighten them up severall times over a weekend just through them lossening them selves off.
Bottom line- They look nice and they are light but i would rather add 10 grams and have something that worked.

Goodridge hoses- They look great
Much better lever feel
Definetly an improvement in performance

I had the old minis 165/165 and was quite happy with how they performed.
Saw some mono mini at a good price so i checked around the forums and magazines to find out the general concensus. Heard the were more powerful so i opted for 160/140 rotors. Happened to have a go on a white 46 was very impressed with difference in lever feel compaired to other bikes with mono m4. So i decided to upgrade to goodridge hoses. They just felt better but it was not untill i tryed my pals hope mono mini that i realized how much difference it had made.

I have never tryed a fox shock but everybody seems to say good things about them apart from they are 0.5 pounds heaver than sids.
They are very expensive though retail £640 pounds over here and knowone seems to discount or have a better price even over the internet.

[helmut]

What is the spec on that bike it looks as though it is quite simillar to my bike?

[nikh]

When i got my hope skewers i was impressed with them but over time they become loser and loser. I found myself having to tighten them up more and more. Resently i had to tighten them up severall times over a weekend just through them lossening them selves off.
Bottom line- They look nice and they are light but i would rather add 10 grams and have something that worked.

Thanks for the info, I'll keep an eye on them. Perhaps the steel version would be a safer bet?

Goodridge hoses- They look great
Much better lever feel
Definetly an improvement in performance

I had the old minis 165/165 and was quite happy with how they performed.
Saw some mono mini at a good price so i checked around the forums and magazines to find out the general concensus. Heard the were more powerful so i opted for 160/140 rotors. Happened to have a go on a white 46 was very impressed with difference in lever feel compaired to other bikes with mono m4. So i decided to upgrade to goodridge hoses. They just felt better but it was not untill i tryed my pals hope mono mini that i realized how much difference it had made.

Thanks for the informative info. Have you had any problems with the hoses scratching the frame, aren't they quite abrasive?

I have never tryed a fox shock but everybody seems to say good things about them apart from they are 0.5 pounds heaver than sids.
They are very expensive though retail £640 pounds over here and knowone seems to discount or have a better price even over the internet.

I've tried my friends F100X and its a dream. I think the weight is not a problem when you have such a good performing, stiff fork.

Have you thought about buying one from the states? The UK pound is strong against the US dollar right now.

Currency Converter

[nikh]

What is the spec on that bike it looks as though it is quite simillar to my bike?

From memory, full XTR, Hope hubs, brakes, Easton stem/bars, SiD fork, Time Atac pedals, Thomson post, SLR saddle.

[SWorksRider]

I figured since everyones showing off bikes I will toss some more recent pics out there. Its full xtr - water bottle bolts fell outa frame so had to compromise. Awsome bike though.