Hi,

my bro has just placed an order for a Spec Enduro Elite 29er 2015

He currently has a Spec Enduro from 2009… this makes him fast going downhill… much much faster than me but then he’s pretty damn skilled at it also.

Was reading a review of this bike and it says its not for big days out… what exactly does that mean and why?

Thanks
Christian

http://www.specializedconceptstore.co.uk/the-hub/ride-specialized-cannock-chase-march-15th
Demo, test, see, decide

The words basically mean it’s going to be a bitch to ride like an XC bike. Only way to know if it’s right is to ride it

Absolutely **** all – it’s just meaningless marketing drivel, which translates as “you need many bikes for doing the same thing”.

Yep – what it means, is that someone somewhere makes a bike that they would rather be on for all day. Like a 25lb short-travel 29er for example.

But, you’ll find people riding all-day on big bikes up and down the country every weekend. They manage just fine.

Think there’s an assumption there that “long days out” means “miles of XC grinding”. But for me a long day out is just like the short days out, except longer so an Enduro’d be ideal

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_JupfzlWSc[/video]

What a load of old shit.

The latest Enduro was developed with the Specialized team on the EWS – and last time I checked, 2 day stage racing over 80km is probably a “long day in the saddle” by anyone’s book.

Long days around here equate to lots of climbing; so a long-travel bike that weighs +32lbs will always be hard work on plus 30 miles / 5000ft.

The latest Enduro was developed with the Specialized team on the EWS – and last time I checked, 2 day stage racing over 80km is probably a “long day in the saddle” by anyone’s book.

Yep, and they are pro’s.

I have a s-works enduro frame on order, the big driver for the purchase was wanting to spend the next few years doing a couple of guided trips a year, like the trans Provence and the tour of Mont blanc. If it is no good for all day riding I might just end up sobbing into my empty wallet.

Long days around here equate to lots of climbing; so a long-travel bike that weighs +32lbs will always be hard work on plus 30 miles / 5000ft.

I don’t think it weighs that much and is meant to pedal excellently, many short travel fs will pedal worse.

I cant speak specifically for the current model, but if it follows the template set by every other specialized enduro over the last 9 years, it will be fine for ‘big days in the saddle’.

Probably more hard work on the uphills than something lighter with less active suspension (obviously), but will be much faster downhill. I’d have no issues riding one on 30+ milers with 5000 feet of climbing.

Whether its a problem for you, will depend on what you’re used to I guess, I suppose if you had just come off a cross country bike, then you’d probably find it a fair bit more tiring to ride over a long ride, but if your brother is used to a 2009 enduro then this will probably be more or less the same.

I’ve done a few guided multiday trips, and there’s always at least one person on an enduro of some sort, most recently on a trip over 3 days of 30+ miles per day and 5000-6000 feet of climbing, there were 4 enduros, the guide had one and the guests had the rest.

The latest Enduro was developed with the Specialized team on the EWS – and last time I checked, 2 day stage racing over 80km is probably a “long day in the saddle” by anyone’s book.

40km/day isn’t ‘long’ by any stretch, that’s a couple of hours on an XC bike. All day is at least double that.

I had a Pitch frame and while it was brilliant downhill it wasn’t much fun to ride all day, it was just too cumbersum uphill, which is fine if you’re doing an enduro race and only have to get to the top, but for just going out for a ride it wasn’t that enjoyable having to suffer for 3/4 of the time wherwas a 100-120mm bike is almost fun to climb as long as you’ve the fitness.

Enduro bikes are fun, and they can be ridden all day. But if you waned a bike for riding all day then there’s probably better tools for the job, like the stumpjumper.

thisisnotaspoon – Member

40km/day isn’t ‘long’ by any stretch, that’s a couple of hours on an XC bike.

That depends entirely on the terrain. A 40km day in an enduro race will almost certainly be on a route you’re not going to do in a couple of hours on an XC bike. A 40km EWS day was longer and harder than a 60 mile endurance XC racing day, for me.

40km/day isn’t ‘long’ by any stretch, that’s a couple of hours on an XC bike. All day is at least double that.

Just back from 40km on the XC bike on challenging terrain, there was at least 9km where an Enduro would have been better, that leaves 31km where it would have been a bag of *****. The modern enduro (rode one for a short spin Friday) is now much more of a big bike than it’s early incarnations. Yes you can pedal it for 50-60km and murder the downs on it but it’s probably not the right tool for the job. If your bag is big long days then something else is probably the right bike.

So how about something like this?

Would a long day on this be much worse than a Carrera banshee x?

http://www.damianharriscycles.co.uk/prod/650_0063_kt/ktm-lycan-lt-273-xt-20-speed-2015-650b-27.5-mountain-bike

BikeRadar said this:

The slack front end and supple suspension truly makes this feel like a small downhill machine. A mellow, smooth trail is not what this bike is about – steeper, rougher descents are where you start to reap the benefits of the Enduro and where it begins to shine.

Which kind of confirms Mikewsmith’s point about them being mini-bigbikes.

Just spotted this quote from CaptainFlaheart’s review on this very site.

Overall – Not a bike for the mountain goat climbers or those looking for an all day epic ride, very much a winch and plummet plaything.

If I could only have 1 mountain bike for all my offroad riding, then I’d choose ‘something like’ that enduro over ‘something like’ a shorter travel cross country full suss. I get no fun out of climbing, and lots of fun out of going downhill as fast as i can.

Other people would no doubt go the other way, this is why you need to either test the bike or be confident that you can put up with any shortcomings that you perceive.

Just back from 40km on the XC bike on challenging terrain, there was at least 9km where an Enduro would have been better, that leaves 31km where it would have been a bag of *****. The modern enduro (rode one for a short spin Friday) is now much more of a big bike than it’s early incarnations. Yes you can pedal it for 50-60km and murder the downs on it but it’s probably not the right tool for the job. If your bag is big long days then something else is probably the right bike.

+1

This is what made me realise that spending a load of money on an ‘Enduro’ bike would be a waste for me. So bought a s/h 150mm FS for playing on and will buy an all-day bike to replace my HT.

I just use my Nomad for everything, never enters my mind that a different bike would be needed for certain things, i just get on with it.

Lots of people on this thread having a vested interest in trying to justify their bike!….always amusing, same as the thread recently about whether a 160mm FS is too much for general UK riding…let’s see if all the cliches have been used yet?!….has anyone said ‘climbs like my hardtail’….’climbs better than my old 140mm bike’….’modern 160mm bikes are better than they used to be’….’I ride mine all day, therefore it’s an all day bike’…etc etc….

Yes, modern 160mm bikes pedal better than they used to and yes they pedal well enough for a full day in the saddle but….everything else has advanced too, not just 160mm full sussers.

A bang up to date 120mm Spesh Camber on 29 inch wheels will likely be faster over a typical XC, woodsy, trail centre loop than most longer travel bikes….obviously you may have to reign it in a bit on the downhill stuff but unless you’re going on an uplift day these sections of a ride usually don’t comprise all that much of the total distance.

Obviously if you live for the descents then buy a 160mm bike and get on with the whole ‘winch and plummet’ style of riding that Enduro racing seems to be based on but if that’s not your style don’t be afraid to go for shorter travel.

What is funny though is people trying to suggest their 30lb 160mm FS is as much an XC bike as anything else, really?…have you watched any World Cup XC racing?…they are not trundling around on long travel full sussers, they use light, spindly, short travel stuff as speed is the name of their game.

If you have one bike and want to be able to ride everything from uplift days to trail centres to local woods and take in some Enduro racing then a long travel FS is probably your best bet as a single bike for everything but apart from the Enduro racing it will be a compromise everywhere else.

Also consider some of the newer mismatched travel full sussers like the Nukeproof Mega TR, Giant Trance SX, Kona Process 134 etc etc….they all have 140-160mm forks but shorter travel rears to aid pedalling efficiency while still having enough up front for bigger hits….just be honest about the kind of riding you do as opposed to the kind of riding you think you do!

Why do these kinds of arguments boil down to speed? Its not the only factor.

It seems overly simplistic to use speed as a benchmark for bike suitability, but it always breaks to to ‘its faster so it must be the best’

just be honest about the kind of riding you do as opposed to the kind of riding you think you do!

This. Absolutely this. 2 years ago I went through the same process, thinking I “needed” a big burly bike for all the alpine-style riding I wanted to do. I then remembered I’d had a total of about 2 weeks riding in the Alps in the last 5 years!

Definitly not about speed for me, my bike purchase mostly came down to “i like that bike, im having one” yes its not the fastest along the flats or up hill but neither am i capable i just enjoy riding my bike.

deviant – but the OP didn’t ask – “what’s the best bike for all day riding”?
He asked why a review might say the bike wasn’t suitable for full days out.
That’s a bit different, although I’m sure the OP will read this all through and make up his own mind.

I ride with 3 people with Nomads, a Capra and a couple of other ‘big bikes’. It’s not for me and when I tested bikes I even had more fun on the downs on less travel, but they seem very happy and they keep up all day no problem at all.

Guy I’ve ridden with a few times and been to a couple of races with loves his Elite 29 for racing, but finds it so-so on the tamer stuff locally that makes up the majority of his riding. It’s a compromise he was willing to make because he could only afford one bike and races at a fairly serious level. I suspect there’s a reason all us mortals around here just make do with Stumpy Evos (if we stick with Spec models) and similar though.

TL;DR (cos it’s basically already been said) – it’s a compromise. How much of a compromise depends entirely on your actual needs.

I smell BS
Only got one bike with 150mm each end, on “big days out” it has been christened the Pope Mobile. Very comfy. there is no one ideal bike for a big day out as you may well end up riding all sorts of different terrain. .

You shouldn’t pay attention to reviews, EXPECIALLY if it’s a magazine one. They mean nothing.

The Enduro is a fine bike for long days. Some toss being spoken in previous replies.

Op,i ve a enduro 29 and i havent really noticed much differnce to my previous specialized camber 26er In terms of “all day riding”
It climbs just as well,even better at technical climbing
its comfy to ride,and im much more confident on anything rocky coming down (Id normally be over the bars)
Its my only bike,and i chose it after trying a carbon hardtail and doing myself and the bike some damage.
the wife spotted it in a shop and said that it looked cocker proof,so i had a little ride and bought one.
i think it looks good as well

Thanks

Done a big day out today with my mate who rides a 2015 spesh enduro expert 650 and I can confirm he is still fine (71k and 1400m of climbing)

Surely a rigid fatbike is the perfect fit for long days out 😉

Surely a rigid fatbike is the perfect fit for long days out

No, danger of facial cramps on a long day out from the #grinning-from-ear-to-ear that riding a fatbike would induce.

Or trying to remedy the whitefinger from rattling a rigid bike around trails all day. Fat bike or not, rigid is rigid.