Ive got a bit of a dilema on my hands and was after the help of fellow stw'ers to help me solve it…………

basically i bought a spesh enduro about 3 months ago after getting fed up of getting beat up on my inbred.

the spesh is a 2006 enduro pro so was quite a bit of cash when new,

ive spent about 200 quid on it buying new drivetrain, wheels etc and got it running nice.

however its a pig of a thing to drag around, quite heavy but feels indestructable if you know what i mean.

so put the feelers out to see if anyone want to swap for a stumpy and one has come up.

its a 06 stumpy comp so its not as well speeced as mine but looks to be a nice bike(needs shock bush doing and a full rebuild on the front disc brake though, oh and new tyres!)

me and the lad done the swap this morning and so far it looks a nice bike(the frame finish is in better nick than my enduro)

the trouble is ive got a horrible feeling im making a mistake.

sure the enduro is heavy but it gives me so much confidnce to tackle all sorts of riding, im just worried the stumpy might not be as forgiving.

if it makes a difference to your answer im 18.5 stone and tend to be a bit hard on kit!!

I havent rode the stumpy yet so i might be plesently suprised …………….

what do you think?

cheers

renton

I'd reserve judgement until you've ridden the Stumpjumper.

It all depends on how 'gravity oriented' your riding is, how skilled you are, how often you 'need' the enduro over the Stumpjumper etc. etc.

Your comment about weight and being hard on kit did immediately make me think keep the Enduro though……

that is what has got me concerned!!! the stumpy looks quite flimsy next to the enduro!!!

how can i get my enduro to lose a bit of weight though??

erm….dunno.

Depends what you want from it really. Is there any point in removing loads of weight from it and making it a lightweight if you then can't ride it how you want to as it's gonna break?

As with most things, I think you need to find the compromise. Decide whether you want a bike that can handle your weight, riding style, terrain or a lighter bike and ride 'lighter' and don't tackle such techy downhill terrain.
Unless you wanna spend stupid money, then you might be able to find suitably light & suitably strong??

I'm going through the same. I love the Enduro when it's needed, but half the time I'm (hideous phrase) over-biked. I've been very seriously considering getting a 456, using the bits on that so I'm not short a bike, and flogging the enduro frame to help finance a stumpy frame…

I've got a 2006 Enduro Expert and whilst I agree it's a bit lardy on the ups but it's sooo much fun on the way back down. I wouldn't swap it personally, not what you wanted to hear sorry!

nope notter i agree with you to be honest!!

06 S-Works Enduro here (now a frame and bits) and sort of gets built back for Alp trips.

Its too much bike for the UK IMO so the Stumpy would be a better bet for these shores.

However, I do think that the 06 enduro was one of the best frames Specialized produced possibly, until the enduro currently available perhaps….but time will tell.

It will be a classic in years to come, you mark my words.

c-h-l you are making it even harder for me to even start to like this stumpy and i havent even rode it yet!!!!!!!!

oops, sorry.

If you are 18.5 stone an Enduro is relatively "light". . Maybee you need to get the suspension sorted. It might just be too mushy or squatting back on climbs. When new they certainly are not tuned for 18.5 stone.

I climb my SX Trail Enduro with no problems at Scottish &Welsh trail centres and in the Alps. I admit the SX trail is too much bike for flat non tech XC singletrack, but it still pedals well and handles the tech stuff superbly, and great for FR stuff. The fun with an Enduro is that you can really mix your riding. I did a 60km ride in Leogang Austria on my SX Trail and it was great.. My SX trail is an 06 and is superb…It is my prefered bike on many trail riding days in the summer even in the UK..

I got rid of my '07 Stumpy for an Orange Alpine. The stumpy was a real good bike, but even at 11 stone I found it a bit squirmy and flexy, although my riding style has changed a lot, so it was going any way. Sorry dude if that't not what you wanted to hear. Can you get the Enduro back?

the enduro has a 5th element shock fitted and i can get the right sag and all that no probs.

your right though it does sit back when im climbing which gives me a bit of back ache as i have to lean forward to compensate and stop the front lifting!!

im not reall doing trail centres and i dont jump much ..

most of my local trails are about 3 inches deep in mud which seems to cling to the anodized finish on the enduro and make it even heavier!

cheers benji

me and the lad have done a temp swap for a couple of weeks to see how we go!!

i did tell him that i would probably swap though as i had rode my mates stumpy and thought it was good, but that was a few years back when it was new and i was about 5 stone lighter!!! 😀

Another tip is Tyres. Although you want to run decent sized tyres on an enduro make sure yours are not too heavy.Some of the standard specialized ones Enduros came with might be a bit hefty. A lot of the big 2.35s now come out at about 650g. I have just bought some Maxis Minion Single ply 2.35s which are quite light(about 650g) but still decent 2.35 size..

If you're gonna swap try and get an SX like Radiomans. I seen a guy doing everything on one. Bit weighty for me, that's why I went with the Alpine (and it's British – aaayy), but for a bigger guy would be ideal I reckon. Hear nothing but praise for them.

im going to have one ride on the stumpy to see what its like and then make a decision from there!!

any ideas on the weights of both though??

tyres on my enduro are these……..

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=20411 @700g each and they are quite draggy but stick like shit!!

I run tubeless High Rollers on 819 rims. It is the most noticeable upgrade I've made.

It will be a classic in years to come, you mark my words.

yeah like I know blokes go on about their grandads C15T and Gold Star Scramblers as though they are the progeny of god himself… as much as they are worth you can keep em if it comes to stopping polishing and riding….

Specialised are not dumb, they know the fear of the unknown will send some larger riders looking for a bike that they expect will meet the desperate dan spec bite to handle their own weight (Kona Clydesdale marketing) and so buy a bike that is in reality strengthened to satisfy those needing reassurance that on re-entry from Mars. Specialized of course would never deprive you the right to be overbiked nor would suggest that such riders spend less and consider the trusty old workhorse the Stumpjumper which for more years than i can count on fingers as being a pro grade bike that has withstood substantial abuse, you would not ride it full on downhill but could certainly cross third world continents and I know of tall heavy giants who have trekked places like Nepal on them on tracks to make Glentress look like the local family green route.

You mention

most of my local trails are about 3 inches deep in mud which seems to cling to the anodized finish on the enduro and make it even heavier!

Being both big whilst riding on such soft ground I do not think you will ever compromise the structural limits of a Stumpjumper, indeed the best two things you could do is get a Stumpy with sub 2" skinnier tyres to deal with this in the winter then go to as wide a tyre as the stumpy could handle in the summer of the tread type of your preference.

All the Enduro appears to do right now is to give you a more dead weight to slug around through the gloop requiring considerably greater physical effort than should be required with a stumpy. A stumpy will reduce fatigue or make you quicker without any structural compromise.

That is unless you forgot to tell us every bank holiday you go ride the Scottish Extreme Black and Downhill courses at not far off race speed.

wow thats a very good reply indeed max headset!!

ive just lobbed my pedals on the stumpy and took it for a quick blat around the block!!

apart from the 110mm stem it felt pretty good to be honest, certanly doesnt feel any flexier than the enduro !!

feels chuffin light though 😀

your right about the fatigue aswell !! i get halfway up a hill on the enduro and im ****!! 😀 i get so tired lugging it around that i cant concentrate on the downhill bits!!

oh and ive only been to afan once !!!so not doing to many trail centres

I ride a stumpy and a 456. The 456 is porky cheap build and weighs more than the stumpy. I think the 456 is somewhere around the 30lb mark and the stumpy 28lb.

I ride both bikes in the same way but I bought the stumpy to race enduros on and do bigger days where the hardtail was beating me up too much. I probably don't ride the 456 to it's full potential but feel the stumpy has plenty of strength. Would think the 456 would come out much better in a crash though.

The stumpy is an ideal bike for what I've used it for. Trail centres, long rides (in the lakes), enduros like the selkirk merida. Easily light enough to be quick but capable enough to inspire confidence.

Rento dont know about the stumpy you have but mine weighs 26 lbs albiet very customised over the years and its a great bike infact i just offered it up for a swap with an enduro not long ago. Anyway give it a go they are great bikes but need slightly more fineese than an enduro i imagine. Enjoy!!

I broke my Enduro S-Works back in the summer and picked up a carbon Stumpy (07 I think) from Spesh under their crash replacement warranty.

Loved the Enduro – it did pretty much everything I wanted. However, the Stumpy feels tighter, more assured and generally more agressive. Only problem I've found so far is that I think my seating position is higher (due to the geometry or whatever), which means drop-off-type stuff is harder – or certainly more intimidating!

Neither bike was standard though – pretty much frame, seatpost and shock only. Built up with Mazzochis, 317s, fire XCs, XT, etc.

All you can do is have a try and see what you make of it. Probably best if you can test it on some of the trails you would normally use too – just to be sure of comparing more accurately.

SM

The 2005/06 enduro is the best frame ever made IMHO. a bit heavy yes so depends on what you want I suppose.