Hi guys , I’m hoping to change my bike after the Christmas hols , I normally build my own bikes but would be getting a full build this time. I currently ride a 26er and as I will be buying a full bike this time I’m thinking about a 29er or 650b and very tempted by the specialized enduro. I must admit I always thought 29ers were for xc racers until I read the reviews and watched some videos. Anyway what are people’s thoughts on the enduro ? 650b or 29er ?
I ride the Welsh trail centres, bike park Wales and natural xc rides in the Brecon Beacons and I’m hoping to do a mtb hol somewhere in Europe next year. Will be buying 2nd hand by the way as my budget won’t stretch to a new one.

Cheers
Ian

Bit of a minefield really, T-mo won multiple Enduro WC on a 29er but most trail bikes are 650b. Hate to say it but test rides are your way of deciding as only you will know what you prefer

Like you I was tempted by the 650B and 29er versions of the Stumpjumper last year and I test rode both back to back. What immediately struck me about the 29er was that it felt perfectly balanced, I opted for it over the 650B because I gelled with it immediately, it felt like a great bike wheelsize not withstanding.

On the trail and back to back with my current Camber 26er, the Stumpy had better traction and climbing ability and stuck to it’s line perfectly on the descents. It’s not an easy bike to manual or jump, it doesn’t have the snappy response of the Camber 26er, but you can slide the bike on a whim. It’s utterly vice free.

Remember that the Enduro is a lot of bike, especially in 29er form. Both 650B and 29er versions are stunningly competent, but I doubt that you’ll approach it’s limits at many trail centres. FWIW, I’d also consider the likes of the Stumpjumper 29er and the Camber 29er.

Firstly rocketdog said it all really, you need to ride both and decide which one you like the best. Fortunately getting a demo with Specialized is generally pretty easy.

Not sure this is going to help, but a few rambling thoughts. I owned a stumpy 29er for a couple of years, but always had this hankering for an Enduro 29er, not sure why, but I did. Over 18 months or so I rode the stumpy in lots of different places including some Welsh trail centers, XC rides like the Gap Road, a couple of trips to BPW and a week in the Alps with the White Room on some pretty challenging (for me) trails. It made me realise that the stumpy was all the bike I’d ever really need and those odd occasions, (Alps only) when I might have liked a little more travel were such a small percentage that it didn’t really make sense.

My only gripe with the stumpy was that I sometimes wished it was a little more nimble, playful or whatever the correct journalistic term is. It coped with everything so well that it almost took some of the fun out. I mostly put this down to my lack of talent combined with an XL 29er that was never going to be the last word in flickability, (whatever that is!)

The reason I refer to all these “terms” that regularly get banded about is this. At the end of this summer I got offered a 2016 stumpy 29er demo bike for the weekend. I’m no engineer but on paper the 2016 bike had much shorter chainstays and a slacker front end and the rest of it was largely the same as my old one. I took it out and rode all my favourite trails and was totally blown away by the changes. I found myself purposely seeking out jumps, roots, rocks and fun bits to play on, pop off and to test the bike and was grinning like an idiot at the bottom of every descent. A couple of mates asked me “how can it really be that different to the old one”, well it is because I now understand what “fun, playful and flickable” actually mean, (albeit in the context of a slightly broken middle aged man riding the cycling equivalent of the Arc Royal).

I don’t tend to change bikes very often but I was so impressed I sold the old one and ordered the 2016 one. Appreciate I’ve rambled on a bit but the point is, (and I appreciate you said you wanted to buy second hand) but it seems to me they’ve taken the bits of the Enduro that were so good and applied them to the new stumpy, so I wouldn’t overlook it, (available in both wheel sizes!)

Hi there, had this issue myself last year, came from a Kona Coiler running 2.4 chunky monkey tyres, tried 650b but couldn’t notice any discernible difference (controversial maybe) apart from slacker head angle which is more down to geometry than wheel size. Tried 2 29ers, first the Enduro but didn’t like the flexy feel to the back end and also felt too ‘over the front’ for me but still smoother and faster than my old bike. Tried Codeine next which felt ‘slacker’ and definitely stiffer, heard some say its got a short reach but cant say ive noticed, and I haven’t got any ’26’ PRs still standing.

All I can suggest is don’t believe all the hype, don’t be a sheep (no disrespect to mint sauce intended) go out and test ride what you like the look of.

If you’re XL sized, I’ve got a 3 ride old XL Spesh Enduro Elite 29er I’m selling right now… Email in profile.

Oh and FWIW, it seems wheel size is almost entirely personal preference, and there’s not a significant performance difference from one to the next anyway. I’m firmly in the 29er camp despite my relative lack of height (at 5ft10 I’m distinctly average, and have been told I’m “too short to ride a 29er” a number of times by people that don’t get it), reinforced by a go on a mate’s 26″ bike on Monday (similar geometry, slightly more suspension travel, but felt twitchy and unstable to me, made me wonder how I’d managed for almost 20 years previously!) and also several decent 650b bikes in the last year and a bit.

Not all bikes are created equal though of course, and with sizing and packaging constraints, it’s definitely more of a challenge for a designer to make a good 29er than it is a bike with smaller wheels.

And of course some people just prefer smaller wheels anyway! Choice is good, but it can be confusing…

Thanks for the replies so far guys , mboy, thanks for the offer but I need a large. I’m very happy with the 26″ wheel size but as I’d be getting a full bike I thought I should get one of the larger wheel sizes so as not to get stuck with a bike which most manufacturers seem not to be building any more. I watched a video recently where a university did tests on all three wheel sizes over the same course and surprisingly the 650b seemed to come out slowest of the three , so it seems that it’s all marketing bullshit anyway as most brands are going 650b.

I decided if I was going to buy new wheels it had to be a difference I could actually spot without a tape measure or a 2 inch high logo. So I started trying big 29ers and really liked ’em. I ended up on a BMC Trailfox basically because it was cheap and I couldn’t find a Remedy 29 for the right price- the Remedy’s bloody awesome. Five 29 is fantastic too. Haven’t tried an Enduro but I like Specialized’s take on it “The 29er is the best Enduro ever. We do a 650b one if you want a less good bike for some reason”. Other bikes are available…

Trick isn’t to get a big capable bike though, it’s to get one that also doesn’t suck on simpler stuff. Mine is a bit hefty but it’s still great fun to ride on simple XC and red routes and that, I’d worried it’d monster truck everything but it doesn’t. Likewise the Remedy. But on bigger descents etc I’m almost exactly as fast as I was on my dh bikes. And really noticably it’s less tiring than my old 26ers, I arrive at the bottom of big descents in much better shape.

I’m a convert. Still got 2 26ers, they’re great too but for smashing over things a big 29er is ace.

I am currently doing a long term test of an enduro 29er, after years of hating 29, i love it, I’m a guide in the Italian Alps and I wont go back to smaller wheels. Nukeproof and evil are two long travel 29ers i can think of and also don’t discount the new stumpjumper fsr 29, for the uk its a better bike.

Where are you based? I’m in the UK t the mo and I have a large carbon expert enduro, your welcome to take it out for a spin…

My thoughts have always been that if you like carving up singletrack & tight turns then 650B (forced upon us by the industry) is the one, if you like smashing out long rides then 29 is the way forward….

Recently my Whyte T-130 was out of action so I was back on my PA with 140mm of travel.

Before I had my whyte I had a camber 26er, I always felt more confident on my PA than the camber when descending.. however, after being back on the PA from the Whyte, I was actually left wondering how I’d ever been able to ride my PA for so long.
Modern geometry is improving bikes so much it’s becoming much easier to ride bikes

Thanks for the replies so far guys , mboy, thanks for the offer but I need a large.

How tall are you out of interest? Specialized are quite short in the top tube, the bike has a 75mm stem fitted, when ideally it would have a 50mm and 25mm extra in the TT length. I’d say it would happily fit down to about 6ft1, my mate is 6ft4 and he said it felt very small to him when he tried it.

Hi nasher, I’m in South Wales , 20mins from bpw.
Hi mboy, I’m 5’11”.
If nasher is too far away is there anyone nearer that wouldn’t mind me taking a spin on theirs.

I am 6ft / 31″ inseam.

I run a Size L Camber Evo with a 50mm stem.

Well I shall be staying near Risca and Monmouth in a weeks time or so. Drop me a line email in profile, better still Im on fb, either Adrian Nash or Rivierabike.

Nasher…did you try the enduro with 650b+? Im sure i read you gave that a go. If so, you then went back to 29er wheels?

I had a go on a 29er with 650b plus wheels squeezed in there, but only to see what it would be like. The Enduro doesnt exist in 650b+

Hi Adrian , I’ve sent a fb request.
Thanks

I’m 6′ with 34″ inseam and ride a Camber Evo 29 Large with 55mm stem – it’s spot on size wise. I’ve also got a Tallboy LT 29 and Blur TR 26, both large, but usual short Santa Cruz top tubes mean they feel a bit cramped after being on the Camber – hence 70mm stems.

As far as 650b vs 29er goes; I tried a couple of back to back demo runs at Dalby on my Blur TR and Solo/5010 (650b version of Blur), but even though I was in the mood for a new bike, i just couldn’t feel any difference between the two bikes! Hop onto the 29er, and it’s a whole different ball game – yes, you do need to employ some different riding techniques compared to 26/650b, but ridden with a bit of zest, a good 29er is just as involving as a smaller wheeled bike. The main reason I’ve kept my Blur is because it’s lighter than my 29ers and I still enjoy riding it – having said that, if I were limited to one bike, it’d be something like a mid-long travel 29er.

Personally I find the Specialized FSR suspension a bit too active and soft on the flat and smoother climbs (so use Propedal lever a lot), but for outright grip on technical ups and downs, I feel it really outperforms Santa Cruz VPP suspension, and the Camber really comes alive on descents. Having said that, I spent 3 weeks in the Alps this summer on my Tallboy LT and it was a spot on – I was really glad of the bigger wheels and extra suspension on some of the descents – I was the the only person in the group on a 29er, and the only one that was able to consistently keep up with the guide and his pal on the fast technical descents (the guide and pal were on 160 & 170mm travel 650b’s – and there were some decent experienced riders in the rest of the group). I had to smile, because at the beginning of the holiday the other riders (mainly German & Swiss) saw the 29 wheel and assumed it was a XC bike – after a few days riding a few of them asked me if it was a DH bike:))

Slight thread hijack, apologies. Anyone in the SE have an XL Stumpjumper with evo geometry I could have a go on? Or an XL Transition Smuggler, Kona Process 111 etc? I have an XL Turner Sultan that I really like but have an itch I need to scratch. I have a 60mm stem on the Sultan and could easily ride a bike with an inch more reach.
Also at BPW on Saturday the 2nd, obviously the Turner would be there to ride

Thanks for the input bowglie, I used to have a blur many years ago and also found them quite short and always felt that I was perched on it rather in it if you know what I mean. I have a transition bandit 26 at the moment and that also has quite a short tt but it doesn’t half ride well in every situation.

Ah, so you know the pros and cons with the Blur then. I was OK with my Blur until about 12 months ago when I got injured, and am now finding it very difficult to get comfortable on it, compared to my 29ers.

I’ve done a couple of rides this week, one on the Blur and one on the Evo. I spend an hour or so mucking about sessioning bits of some favourite descents, and going back to the Blur, the jiggliness and trail feedback felt like it had been turned up to 10 – I quite like this in dry grippy conditions, but on the wet roots and rocks, the Evo felt like I could concentrate on keeping the flow going, rather than having to micro adjust for all the little slips and bumps of the Blur.

Interesting that you’ve got a TR Bandit, as the TR Smuggler was on my ‘want list’ – lack of funds led me to go with a 20% discounted 2015 Camber Evo (flogged the wheels and forks to get some cash back, and fitted a Pike and some stiff wheels that I’d already got). Apart from the slight sluggishness on some climbs (compared to lighter Santa Cruz’s), I’m really pleased with it – great on natural Peak District trails, but absolutely magic on fast and flowy trail centre descents (def. more of a sat in than sat on bike)

Good luck hunting:)

p.s. I’ve had a few 29ers now and if you do go 29er, the main bit of advice I can offer is that a good pair of stiff wheels can make a huge difference on a 29er – personal faves are Mavic Crossmax XLs (better than pair of £1200 ‘all mountain’ carbon hoops I was using before!)

Hopefully a test ride on nashers enduro will help me decide. Thanks for the wheel tip.

Had a similar dilemma. Ended up plunging for a 29er build after hiring one to try. Was amazed at how much quicker it was going up and it just flattens stuff on the way down..

My Enduro also has mavic xl’s… Hooooge difference over the stock rovals

I am still jot clear why most trail bikes are 650B. I suppose many trail bikes will use wide tyres and thus give a similar rolling diamter to a 29er with narrower tyres.

Test rides. As for being happy with 26″ wheel size I was until I tried a 29er. I was alway happy on kit until I tried something better. The open question is which wheel size you prefer and that depends on the tyres the bike is shod with and the terrain you ride. For xc use a 29er wins. For trail use the 650B+ thing has a logic to it.

For trail use the 650B+ thing has a logic to it.

Until you hit mud IME :)) …..although I guess you could use the wheels as flotation aids if you live in Northern Britain!

Owning an Enduro 29er, I wouldn’t have one for the type of riding you stated.

It’s and amazing bike but something like a stumpy 29er would be more fun/poppy. E29 great for racing tho.

Maybe also consider Ripley LS or Evil Following.

You’ve got lots of good advice here. I’d agree with Warns on the importance of geometry – so I’d choose the Enduro29 over a 2015 or older Stumpy29 for that reason.

I’d also consider going up a size on the Enduro to get a long enough frame.

There’s a bit of a shortage of 130mm-140mm 29ers with modern geometry when you think about it, eh?

Hambl, I had a 26″ Bandit, currently a 650b one. Not a massive amount of difference between the two really, love both of them.
I had a go on Nashers Enduro at Llandegla earlier this year and it felt really nice, stable woo it being lazy, climbed really well and the suspension worked well on the down bits. Didn’t get long on it but was impressed. Another mate who was out with us who rides a 26″ had a longer go on the Enduro and proclaimed it as being like cheating compared to his old school bike.
I’m 6’2″ with a 34″ inside leg and it felt great size wise.
If I was replacing my Bandit I would be very very tempted by one of these.

Thanks for all the input guys,
Chakaping , geometry is one thing I’m keeping an eye on.
Testing nashers bike will really help me decide on my next move so I’m reserving judgement until then, and I won’t be making any decisions until I’ve ridden it.

Thanks again all

but for smashing over things a big 29er is ace.

This.