Launched in August of last year, the latest Specialized Enduro brought with it a new frame, new wheelsize options, and new geometry designed to take the platform’s big-hit performance to the next level. For the 2017 Enduro platform, there are two different options; the regular Enduro with 27.5in wheels and 170mm of travel front and rear, and the Enduro 29/6Fattie that we’ve got here.
As one of the most successful long travel 29ers on the market, Specialized had its work cut out when it decided to undertake the redesign. But rather than any radical changes, Specialized took the same successful recipe achieved with the original Enduro 29er, and undertook several key refinements to geometry and the parts spec to up the performance level. A reworked suspension design has increased travel, and an all-new mainframe for the carbon models makes use of the clever SWAT door design that allows riders to stow spares inside the frame’s downtube.
“With the all-new Enduro Elite Carbon, we’re still scratching our heads—is faster on the way up or the way down? But at this point, we’re kind of like, “Who cares? This thing is fun as hell.” We gave it a whole new geometry, with a slacker front end, a longer top tube, short chainstays, and a low bottom bracket. All of this together makes the bike truly feel glued to the ground, and the platform is more responsive and capable then ever” – Specialized Bicycles.
Specialized Enduro 29/6Fattie Features
- FACT 9m carbon fibre main frame and M5 alloy sub-frame
- Designed around 29in wheels
- Max tyre clearance: 29×2.5in or 27.5×2.8in
- 165mm rear travel
- FSR suspension design
- Designed for 160mm travel forks
- 66° head angle
- 76° seat angle
- English threaded bottom bracket
- ISCG 05 chainguide tabs
- Boost 148x12mm rear hub spacing
- 432mm chainstay length
- Internal routing for brake, gear and dropper post cabling
- Available sizes: Small, Medium, Large, X-Large
- Price: £4200
There are eight different Enduro models available in the UK for 2017, starting from £2900 for the alloy Enduro Comp 650B, and going up to £7400 for the S-WORKS Enduro 29/6Fattie. The metallic blue model that we’re testing is the Elite Carbon 29/6Fattie, and it sits somewhere in the middle of the range with an RRP of £4200.
Compared to the S-WORKS models, the Elite Carbon 29/6Fattie only uses a carbon fibre front triangle, while the rear remains as the M5 alloy variety. The mould for the front triangle uses the same distinctive X-Wing shape as the S-WORKS frames, but subs in a cheaper FACT 9m carbon fibre that offers similar strength and ride characteristics, but at a slightly heavier weight.
For the back end, there’s 165mm of rear wheel travel (compared with 155mm on the 2016 Enduro 29er). The overall layout is the same, with the shock mounting in a carbon hood just below the downtube.
Driving the rear shock is a machined alloy yoke that connects the upper rocker link to the rear shock. Specialized captures the lower shock eyelet, effectively increasing the length of the shock stanchion to create a more linear suspension curve.
One of the changes for the new Enduro frame has been the adoption of the SWAT Door first debuted on the carbon Stumpjumper and Camber models. The SWAT door makes use of the large hollow downtube by providing an opening for that cavity via a small trap door hidden underneath the bottle cage. It’s all very James Bond.
The back end of the Enduro appears to be much the same as the previous model, though there are plenty of changes abound. The first being the move to Boost spacing, which has pushed the drivetrain out from the frame by 3mm, whilst making way for a 148x12mm rear hub that helps to create a stronger and stiffer rear wheel. The added chainring clearance from the 1x specific frame has afforded additional tyre clearance, with the 29er setup allowing a 2.5in wide tyre to fit, and the 27.5+ setup allowing up to 2.8in tyre to slot right in.
With the stiffer rear wheel and additional tyre clearance, Specialized has still been able to keep the chainstays short at 432mm – which is pretty bloody impressive given this frame has 165mm of rear wheel travel.
Another change for the 2017 Enduro frame has been the welcome move back to a threaded bottom bracket shell. No more press-fit bottom bracket bearings with the old OSBB system. Just a simple screw-in design for the bottom bracket cups.
With the step up in rear travel, Specialized has balanced out the new Enduro 29er with a 160mm RockShox Lyrik fork. The longer fork kicks the head angle out to 66°, and it features a longer 51mm offset to help stabilise high-speed handling.
Specialized provide the wheels on the Enduro Carbon Elite 29/6Fattie in the form of its in-house Roval branded Traverse wheels. These are rocking Boost hub spacing front and rear, though the front hub uses oversized end caps to mate with the Torque Cap fork lowers on the RockShox Lyrik.
And that there concludes our virtual visual tour of the 2017 Specialized Enduro Carbon Elite 29/6Fattie! We’ll be putting this one through the grinder over the coming weeks, and you can look forward to a full review on the website in the near future.
If you’d like to know more about the Enduro range and any other models within the Specialized lineup, then step on through to the Specialized Bicycles website.
2017 Specialized Enduro Elite Carbon 29/6Fattie Specifications
- Frame // FACT 9m Carbon Mainframe & M5 Alloy Sub-Frame, 165mm Travel
- Fork // RockShox Lyrik RC, 160mm Travel
- Shock // RockShox Monarch Plus, Rx All Mountain Tune, AutoSag
- Hubs // Roval Traverse, 110x15mm Front & 148x12mm Rear
- Rims // Roval Traverse 29, Hookless, 29mm Internal Rim Width, Tubeless Ready
- Tyres // Specialized Butcher GRID 2.3in Front & Slaughter 2.3in Rear
- Chainset // Race Face Aeffect, 28t Direct Mount Chainring
- Front Mech // N/A
- Rear Mech // SRAM GX, 11-Speed
- Shifters // SRAM GX, 11-Speed
- Cassette // SRAM XG-1150, 10-42t, 11-Speed
- Brakes // SRAM Guide R, 200mm Front & 180mm Rear
- Stem // Specialized Trail
- Bars // Specialized DH, 7050 Alloy, 780mm Wide, 27mm Rise
- Grips // Specialized Sip Grip Half-Waffle, Lock-On
- Seatpost // Specialized Command Post IRcc, 30.9mm, 125mm Travel (100mm on Small & Medium Frame Sizes)
- Saddle // WTB Silverado
- Size Tested // Large
- Sizes available // Small, Medium, Large, X-Large
