'95 FSR WIP - slightly more interesting...

I have a 19" 1995 FSR sat in my basement. Hasn't seen much action in it's life as I kinda gave up racing/riding in 1996. Although it has done a few miles on a turbo trainer to stop the of a beer gut of late!

Mine still has the original rear shock if you want me to have a look and tell you what it is - I think it's the 4R version ?

I sold the original forks and replaced with some Judy DH's, it's kitted out with full XTR, it even has the original 737 spd's, all of which work like the day they were new.

I'm almost tempted to take it out for a ride......

While i'm here....

Has anyone ever been tempted to have a replacement set of rocker plates made for an FSR. (The bit that joins to the swing arm, shock and seat tube).

I reckon the travel and ride could be tuned a little by lengthening the rocker plates and altering the leverage ratio ?

Any comments ?

I've considered it, but never dug into the project.

If the rocker plates were of a slightly different shape (blockier / less triangular) I've thought one might simply drill new shock mounting holes ~1/4in - 1/2in over toward the main frame side of the existing holes to achieve another ~5/8in - 1 1/4in of travel without affecting the required stroke of the shock or geometry of the frame. In this scenario longer rocker plates would not be necessary.

However, I don't know what (if any) affect this change in leverage would have on the feel of the shock.

Neil, that looks lovely. Umma Gumma's suit it so well too. As do the blue brakes.

Watching one in action in Pulp Traction again this morning over breakfast.

Always liked them.

Not a big fan of the Umma Gummas but they really do work here.
Looks great.
Is there not a story with the first run of these frames? Seem to remember the prototypes rode great but the first run of production was made with some incorrect measurement that threw the rear sus out of whack?
Anybody remember?

I want one.

Mine is number 19 of the '94 production run. Which is a fairly early model but definately no prototype.

There were a few prototypes knocking around during the summer of 94 that Jason McRoy (God bless him) was testing that had longer travel due to a re-worked rocker arm arrangement and spring/oil shock. I don't recall any of them making it to production though?

The shop I worked in and rode for had close ties to Specialized UK. I never heard of any incorrectly sized/built frames at the time? That's not to say it didn't happen. Mine is still going strong on the original shock and bushes, although it only saw about a year of light action before I gave up riding. The back end was always smooth and the shock progressive, it was just a little too springy at the frontend of the frame.

Having a proper shock pump helps as you can really tweak the pressure by a couple of psi at a time. I used to run the shock with 2 zip ties round it. Firstly let all the air from the shock and fully compress the rear end. This pushes the zip ties to the top of the shock. Re-inflate the shock and slide the lower zip tie down to the seal of the cylinder. The top tie marks full travel, so when setting the bike up you can monitor how much travel you are getting by how close the seal pushes the lower tie towards the top one.

I reckon a shock should be set to bottom out fairly regularly (certainly on a DH set up) so you are getting 90%+ of the travel over medium-large bumps.

Specialized lent me a Stumperjumper FSR for a few months before I got the S Works frameset, and the ride was very similar. Maybe even a little less whippy? I always thought the Specialised forks on the Stumpy gave a better ride than the Rockshox Mag 21 on which they were based. Am I correct in thinking that the valves were altered for the FSX? Maybe it was the 2.5 weight oil I filled them with?

Why did I stop riding ? Doh!

Jon

It's like riding a bike....

Jon - stop regretting, get No. 19 out of the shed and get riding again! SIMPLE!

I have more to add on FSRs, but it'll have to wait till after Mountain Mayhem...

Neil

Fox Alps 4R

I am the proud owner of a '95 Team FSR and mine came with the Fox Alps 4R shock on the rear and Judy FSX on the front as standard. The rear shock is probably no match for modern kit but I haven't found the need to replace it. I did put springs in my FSX though, which is a big improvement.

This is still my main ride. It's an awesome bike and is hugely rewarding if the suspension is kept in fine fettle, however the 150mm titanium S-Works stem is way too long for anything but pure XC. It actually hurt when I changed that for a shorter, less unobtainable unit.
No, the Ti stem is not for sale.

Another

HF - let's get the pictures up on the site pronto!

Agree on the Ti stem - many people have said they have a reputation for cracking too - so just as well, eh?!

FSRs seem to be coming out of the woodwork right now...

Mr K