Is Specialized Brain comfy

[Tubeless]

I am not questioning the race advantages, but:

 

Does brain technology shocks and fork result in a less comfortable ride?

 

Or can it be tuned to be as comfortable as a "normal" fork/shock?

[River Rat]

The thing is, that it simply works and you never really think about it!

[Johny Bravo]

The haters are going to tell you no. But the brain has quite a few settings, from harder than a hardtail flippen unbearable, to marshmellow soft and squishy. Thats the beauty of it, set and forget. 

[Paul Ruinaard]

All the above. Set and forget. It's the simplest and easiest suspension out there for the versatility you get. It's hard when it needs to be and soft when it needs to be.

[_David_]

I posted this in the Comp vs Elite topic:

 

Cool demonstration of the BRAIN technology.

 

[Oufy MTB (Roadie)]

i set mine on Hard, I don't know how much it is working. what I do know is that I have no pedal bobbing, If I stand up and pedal it is like a hard tail, when I hit the biggish bumps it dampens it and save my knee. All in all I would say it is a harder ride for me, but lekker

[B20]

i set mine on Hard, I don't know how much it is working. what I do know is that I have no pedal bobbing, If I stand up and pedal it is like a hard tail, when I hit the biggish bumps it dampens it and save my knee. All in all I would say it is a harder ride for me, but lekker

Same here.  It's brilliant!

[MoreTrails]

I am not questioning the race advantages, but:

 

Does brain technology shocks and fork result in a less comfortable ride?

 

Or can it be tuned to be as comfortable as a "normal" fork/shock?

The reality is it will never be as smooth as a fork or shock without the permanent platform valving, no matter how soft you set the "brain". But that is not why it is there, its there to give an automatic platform to allow for good pedaling efficiency that can still react to trail conditions without you having to flip a switch on and off.

[Breezer]

Comfy on the body; yes. Comfy on the wallet; no

[RedMister]

Comfy on the body; yes. Comfy on the wallet; no

Agreed, mine is due for a service, R1200 ;-(

[camelman]

No, it is not comfortable. If you set it to comfy, you loose a huge amount of pedalling efficiency in the back. Great for racing. If you mash the pedals like me, you have to ride it hard and it makes it less comfortable. If you are a spinner it is better and you can run it softer. On the fork I really like it as it rides high in the travel, even with a lower pressure. For a fork you can either go Fox Terralogic or Brain. It will never be as comfortable as a normal fork/shock. But then again it's made to win races, not be a super comfortable ride.

[schmoose]

The thing about Specialized is they figured they better put a brain or two on the bike because they know the folks buying them are going to have none. :-P

[rouxtjie]

The thing about Specialized is they figured they better put a brain or two on the bike because they know the folks buying them are going to have none. :-P

I dont get the joke...why are people that ride spez stupid?

[Dirkitech]

I am not questioning the race advantages, but:

 

Does brain technology shocks and fork result in a less comfortable ride?

 

Or can it be tuned to be as comfortable as a "normal" fork/shock?

without reading all the replies, heres my R2 regarding my experience with my fox float r with brain:

 

you don't miss it if you never had it, if you had it, imo, you will never want to go without it again.

 

My current setup climbs like a hardtail but compresses perfectly on rocky downhills... the brain ts ts ts's all the way.

The fox float r with brain has 2 places where you can make adjustments. 

On the shock itself, there is a protruding wheel where you can set your compression- just like any other fork's shocks standard setting.

On the brain, there is a... lets call it a pressure release valve.

From what I understand, the shock works in a sort of 2 phase method. you land a bump and the shock compresses, but instead of compressing and stopping dead, the brain regulates the final moment of compression- almost as abs brakes do for cars.

If i try to describe the experience- the brain makes your rear suspension "bounce" once after compression as opposed to plain air/coil forks compression amplitude reverberating. So instead of the shock compressing over and over until it gradually stops, the brain absorbs more compression and releases the extra compressed energy through the brain valve and sucking it back in (i believe thats when the ts ts ts sounds form), thereby reducing the compression amplitude's duration and causing the rear suspension to reverberate less.

 

With my setup this especially helps, because i can stand while pedalling flats or climbs without losing power due to any bounce and after reaching the top of the hill i just climbed without pedal bouncing, I can speed downhill over rocky sections and minor drops without any bottoming out and without rebounding of a stiff shock- lovely!

Now for those who want to flame me on my post- I tried to describe my experience with the fox float r shock with brain and not list paper facts which may or may not hold true in practice. As for a more comfortable ride- i believe the brain is a massive addition as to why i can sit while riding rocky sections without getting butt cramps from the shock working.

Would I recommend a fox shock with a brain- most definitely, even if you are just interested in spending a lot for comfortable riding.

[Dirkitech]

I dont get the joke...why are people that ride spez stupid?

whats this... am I on rouxtjies side here?

[Johny Bravo]

The thing about Specialized is they figured they better put a brain or two on the bike because they know the folks buying them are going to have none. :-P

Was that funny in the bar this weekend?