So, this is my first bike build thread, and I do not have a lot of "how it's made" photos, as I'm apparently not good at that 
Anyway, this is one of the first FSR Specialized ever made for the public. I have a lot of info from this german thread mtb-news
In 1992, Specialized worked with motocross racer and chassis developer Horst Leitner to create the first prototypes, but there are no photos to show for it.
In March 1993, a report appeared in the MBA about an FRS "factory" bike that represented an optimum from Horst Leitner's point of view. A clear difference to the production model that came onto the market in 1993 was the aluminum frame. The complete bike weighed a respectable 11.5kg, while many competitors barely broke the 13kg bar.
The patented Horst Link sits at the end of the chainstay and can still be found in a similar form on many bikes today.
In the big BIKE full suspension test 1993, the bike also consistently received top marks but was still described as a pre-series bike. So far, I have only seen this frame shape with a steel main frame and an aluminum rear triangle, which is almost unchanged from the above prototype and the AMP damper, in tests and race photos. No idea if the 1993 model was ever available in alloy. The frame has 50mm travel, and the Future Shock fork has 46mm travel.
Pictures from a later MBR article:
There were Horst Link kits available, to my knowledge, for frame builders to try out the rear suspension. These were sold as seen, with clamps and everything. One unicorn survived and is still ridden in California somewhere, as the photo shows.
This is the original ad in color for the MY1993 S-Works FSR
This is one of the surviving ones, it belongs to a guy in the US:
There is another one in Spanish hands: mountainbike.es with a lot of great detail pictures
One in Switzerland at a guy who is still riding it: Traildevils
And apparently, there is one at Specialized's training Center somewhere in Colorado on display.
In the autumn of 1993, this prototype appeared. The rocker was made in two parts, and the chainstays and seat stays were reinforced. The Horst Link looked the same and consisted of the typical AMP miniature plain bearings, which were held in place with retaining rings. The linkage of the AMP spring element was also the original version, but the damper was a FOX Alps4. This was the predecessor of the S-Works FSR most know.
So after this brief history lesson, back to my frame: it was completely stripped and re-painted with automotive 3M colors. Stickers are custom-made by velocals.com. Shout out to Tommy @ Velocals for accepting my request to make this set (now available for anyone) based only on my pictures and measurements. They turned out to be fantastic.
The first mockups, to see how it'll turn out:
And the final result:
As to my knowledge, they were never sold as a complete bike, just as frame sets, I had the options to choose from: go with XT as per the ads or use Suntour XC Pro as it was meant to be (and many rigid S-Works had).
Obviously, since the bike is a rare piece of history, I went with the rare-ish XC Pro rather than the mass XT.
Anyway, this is one of the first FSR Specialized ever made for the public. I have a lot of info from this german thread mtb-news
In 1992, Specialized worked with motocross racer and chassis developer Horst Leitner to create the first prototypes, but there are no photos to show for it.
In March 1993, a report appeared in the MBA about an FRS "factory" bike that represented an optimum from Horst Leitner's point of view. A clear difference to the production model that came onto the market in 1993 was the aluminum frame. The complete bike weighed a respectable 11.5kg, while many competitors barely broke the 13kg bar.
The patented Horst Link sits at the end of the chainstay and can still be found in a similar form on many bikes today.
In the big BIKE full suspension test 1993, the bike also consistently received top marks but was still described as a pre-series bike. So far, I have only seen this frame shape with a steel main frame and an aluminum rear triangle, which is almost unchanged from the above prototype and the AMP damper, in tests and race photos. No idea if the 1993 model was ever available in alloy. The frame has 50mm travel, and the Future Shock fork has 46mm travel.
Pictures from a later MBR article:
There were Horst Link kits available, to my knowledge, for frame builders to try out the rear suspension. These were sold as seen, with clamps and everything. One unicorn survived and is still ridden in California somewhere, as the photo shows.
This is the original ad in color for the MY1993 S-Works FSR
This is one of the surviving ones, it belongs to a guy in the US:
There is another one in Spanish hands: mountainbike.es with a lot of great detail pictures
One in Switzerland at a guy who is still riding it: Traildevils
And apparently, there is one at Specialized's training Center somewhere in Colorado on display.
In the autumn of 1993, this prototype appeared. The rocker was made in two parts, and the chainstays and seat stays were reinforced. The Horst Link looked the same and consisted of the typical AMP miniature plain bearings, which were held in place with retaining rings. The linkage of the AMP spring element was also the original version, but the damper was a FOX Alps4. This was the predecessor of the S-Works FSR most know.
So after this brief history lesson, back to my frame: it was completely stripped and re-painted with automotive 3M colors. Stickers are custom-made by velocals.com. Shout out to Tommy @ Velocals for accepting my request to make this set (now available for anyone) based only on my pictures and measurements. They turned out to be fantastic.
The first mockups, to see how it'll turn out:
And the final result:
As to my knowledge, they were never sold as a complete bike, just as frame sets, I had the options to choose from: go with XT as per the ads or use Suntour XC Pro as it was meant to be (and many rigid S-Works had).
Obviously, since the bike is a rare piece of history, I went with the rare-ish XC Pro rather than the mass XT.
