The Specialized SX trail is one of those bikes thats beginning to gain a reputation. Some of that reputation may have to do with what Berrecloth does on his. Some of it may be due to the rumblings on internet forums from proud owners. Some of it could even just be from its imposing visual stance. Either way, its a bike that gets peoples attention.
The Specialized SX trail is, at its heart, all about having a good time, no matter what. The SX trail is designed as a do-it-all bike, with an obvious preference for going down. The frame has a bunch of fancy stuff in it, right out of Specialized's engineering and marketing departments. To quote them, the frame features " A1 Premium Aluminum frame, ORE TT/DT, forged HT, sealed cartridge bearing pivots, ISCG mount, and adjustable geometry." Basically, its the long way of saying the frame has a bunch of custom shaping and manipulation done to it to make it stupid strong, but stay reasonably light. They've also tossed in a replaceable deraileur hanger, as they should.
With 6.6 inches (170mm) of travel in back, well thats a good helping of fun right there. Best of all, that travel comes with a beautifully low leverage ratio from the 9x2.75 Fox DHX 5.0 shock, resulting in extremely controlled feeling suspension. It also feels pretty damn smooth and bottomless, although its arguable whether thats from the leverage ratio or the design.
The design is, of course, an FSR offshoot. Strangely though, the swinglink which is commonly used as a multiplier for more travel seems to instead simply be closer to a stiffening link with this model. This is because the shock is mounted almost directly to the end of the seat stay, instead of the middle of the linkage. This isn't necessarily a good or bad thing, just interesting, considering the rest of the line and the history of the FSR- swinglink bikes. You can even see the difference in the shock mounting compared the the FSR-xc frames.
Build spec is pretty much what you'd expect, and want, on a bike like this. Fox's wonderful 36 Van up front, although just the R not the RC2 so you just get rebound and preload adjusters. As mentioned, the frame has a DHX 5.0, but with a twist. Apparently Specialized had to remove the air valve from the DHX to fit in the frame, so the air pressure inside is pre-set. not a huge issue, but still notable.You still get Propedal, rebound, bottom out control and of course, preload. Transmission is a SRAM affair with X.7 triggers and an X.9 rear, SRAM chain but a Shimano HG50 11-34 cassette. Avid's stellar Juicy Five's handled the braking, with 8 inch rotors front and rear. Cranks were Truvativ Holzfellers, with a perfect 36/ 24 chainring setup. I wish more companies would spec this ring setup, as its perfect for just about all types of riding, and won't spin out on the fast stuff like a 32/ 22 will. Yeah, it makes climbing a bit more difficult, but suck it up and drop into the granny and you're fine. Wheels are Specialized's own Stout front 20mm and bolt on rear hubs, matches up to DT Swiss E450 rims, and Specialized Chunder 2.3" tires.
As the SX trail is designed to be an all around bike, we decided to ride is all around. Trails, hills, lift-assisted riding, the works.
Going up, not so hot, but not nearly as tough as you'd think. the SX trail climbs like a kid cutting the grass trying to get his allowance. Not thrilled to do it, but will do a decent job of it knowing theres a payoff at the end. Traction up steep and loose climbs was pretty good, even when out of the saddle and monster trucking it. Again, you aren't going to win any hill-climb comps on this bike, but sit down and push, and you should make it to the top with minimal problems.
Chugging along the flat bits is just as good. There is a slight bit of bobbing, but its a 6.6" travel bike. Suck it up, princess. its more then good enough to fire along at a decent pace, and reacts well to out of the saddle hammer fests. the tires actually roll fairly well too, which helps a bunch.
Cornering was an idiots dream. Fire it in, and out you go. The low center of gravity, combined with the surprisingly decent tires, means that most riders will be just peachy in most turns. The FSR link in back keeps the bike fairly active under braking, so you stay fairly planted even with hack braking techniques.
Lets face it though, all this climbing and flat stuff is simply foreplay to the real deal. This is a bike that, while designed to do it all, loves going down. To keep on with the dirty imaging, if this bike was a chick, its ass would make it Jessica Alba.
The SX trail just rules the downhills. The rear could fool people into thinking its got 8 inches not 6.6, and I'd imagine with a 9x3" shock from somebody like Avalanche, we'll you'd pretty much have the perfect DH bike for less-then-heinous areas. Might not do the trick for guys trying to win the World Cup,but it'll do everywhere else. As it is, even stock the bike just rocks the downhills. The rear of the bike will soak up most anything you are going to encounter, and will take whatever you throw at it.
All is not perfect of course. There were definitely a few component choices we would swap out. Starting at the front, the bars are too narrow. I am a firm beleiver in giving too much and then scaling back, and 26" bars just don't allow that. I would like to see at least 27" bars, and let the rider trim them if they want. The stock bashguard is pretty lame too, although it isn't the worst I've seen. Still doesn't inspire confidence to smash away on the rocks though.
Interrupted seattube bikes are always going to have to make concessions when it comes to seat post adjustability, and this bike was no different. Credit where its due, the SX trail still had a decent amount of height adjustability, but an extending seat post would make a world of difference here.
The last real complaint was, amazingly, the fork. I love Fox forks, every single one I have owned has been spectacular. However, the rear end of the SX trail far outmatched the 36 R, leaving a very unbalanced feel, in both quality and quantity of travel. A simple fix would be to either bump the fork up to the RC2, or spec the Float instead. At least then you could easily bump the air pressure up to try and compensate for the bottomless rear. To be fair though, this was a demo bike that has seen a lot of abuse, and the fork may have just been showing that.
At $3799 CAD, the Specialized SX trail isn't a spectacular deal, but considering the ride and frame quality, its decent. Not the best deal on the market, but not the worst by far. For that much money though, I'd like to see the RC2 fork, or at least the Float. I'd also like to see the wider bars and extending seat post, as mentioned.
Any way you look at it though, the SX Trail is what mountain biking is really about. Getting out, hauling ass, having fun. its a pretty simple idea, but not one that every company can get. Specialized has done an excellent job with the SX Trail, and despite our minor complaints, its an easy bike to recommend.
