• This topic has 32 replies, 21 voices, and was last updated 10 years ago by br.
Viewing 33 posts - 1 through 33 (of 33 total)
  • Enduro woes
  • coolhandluke
    Free Member

    2010 Enduro, had it for about 3 years…

    I have just returned from Andorra and I just felt nervous on the bike most of the time especially on techy tight trails. Sort of lurchy.

    Flat out ripping round berms, it was ace, ragging down tree rooted trails it rocked, get onto rocky techy picky sort of stuff and it was a nightmare to the point where I was wishing I’d brought my hardtail instead (456ti)

    What’s up with it / me?

    The bits that might matter:
    Rp23 shock
    Forx 36van R forks
    Mavic 729 rims on hope pro 2 hubs
    2.5 minion fronts at both ends
    Me

    kayak23
    Full Member

    I think you might be lining up an excuse for a new bike in your mind. Don’t worry, it’s normal 😉

    mikewsmith
    Free Member

    normal reason would be located between the saddle and the bars….

    We all have bad days

    Fresh Goods Friday 696: The Middling Edition

    Fresh Goods Friday 696: The Middlin...
    Latest Singletrack Videos
    JCL
    Free Member

    What he ^ said.

    Also an Enduro is a fairly big bike and takes some finesse at slow speed.

    VanHalen
    Full Member

    Long wheelbase is shit in tight tech. Good at speed tho as you found out.

    patriotpro
    Free Member

    Would your 456ti have been as good on the bits the Enduro ripped around though…Just a thought.

    renton
    Free Member

    Yep the Enduros are quite long bikes to be honest, I know where you are coming from as I felt the same on my 09 Enduro.

    The thing is though it cant be perfect at everything can it……

    coolhandluke
    Free Member

    Horses for courses then I guess.

    Trouble was, most of the week in Andorr was techy so it was crapmost of the week. Guess I’ve just got a downer on it.

    I’ve just washed it go gain some love, hopefully, it’s cheaper then a new bike.

    grum
    Free Member

    Where were you riding in Andorra?

    As above, long wheelbase plus Enduro with 36s will be quite a slack head angle I think – means you have to really muscle it around on slow speed techy stuff, but the trade off is it feels amazing bombing in a straight ish line.

    Northwind
    Full Member

    Long might not be as good as short at tight tech but it’s a bit of a reach to say it’s crap… Unless you’re simply running out of space or beaching out, anyway.

    coolhandluke
    Free Member

    Riding in Andorra in Vallnord bike park, staying in Ordino, rode with Singletrack Safari.

    Good holiday, trails not quite (my bikes) cup of tea, especially the techy ones but had a great time all the same.

    trails ridden, Rockfort, tech fest, locals only (a real rooty treat! and saw Cedric Gracia riding it), route 66, most of the bike park runs etc,.

    Rockfort(we named it that beig the first down it and it got its name because it was like a battle, it was rocky and the guides bike was made of cheese, seemingly

    kudos100
    Free Member

    If you are tired, not in the right headspace or just having a bad day, slow tech riding on a big bike can be a real pain in the arse.

    I wouldn’t worry about it, as long as its fun at speed you are good to go.

    I_Ache
    Free Member

    I’ve got an ’11 Enduro Evo with Lyriks on so a very similar bike. I’ve not had it long so not had a chance for some properly rocky stuff but here is my take in it.

    You have no compression damping in those forks so in the slow stuff (where you are really concentrating and looking over the front to see where to put the front wheel) your weight was over the front making the fork sag more and then it was really divey over the bumps. You probably had your front brake on for a lot of the time too which would have made it worse. I think with some proper (high and low speed) compression damping the fork would have supported your weight more and not felt as twitchy.

    I went through the same on my old ’06 Enduro when I first got my Lyriks, as soon as I had set up the compression damping properly slow rocky tech was fine.

    mrplow
    Free Member

    Combined with what I Aches says; I felt the standard rp23 I has a trapdoor feel to it as it is also lacking compression damping. Both of these probably gave you the feeling of lurching in tech stuff.

    A volume reducer helps mitigate this issue from the back to some extent. I currently have a push tune with added compression damping and the smallest volume reducer from fox to have good sag, and good support. Feels very nice and no trapdoor feeling. I really like the bike on tight tech stuff compared to my 06 enduro as it feels more manouverable. It may be the shorter rear stay although both bikes have the same wheelbase. The 06 feels better at flat out madness. :mrgreen:

    I_Ache
    Free Member

    I think mine is better in every area than my 06 was. Having the correct size now probably helps, the 06 medium was too short. I think the 11 feels more lively when flat out because of the shorter stays, it has more ‘pop’.

    mrplow
    Free Member

    My 06 is better in flat out rough stuff and technical climbing. It has a pushed coil compared to the 2012 air shock so that may have some bearing on it although both bikes are setup and tuned to handle very alike.

    ddmonkey
    Full Member

    If you are searching for a bit of equipment to blame I’d guess at the forks not providing enough support at slow speeds as you drop the front wheel over things, I’ve heard that Fox forks can be laccking in that regard but thank god I don’t own any – I have an XL 2011 enduro with Marzocchi 55 ti’s on the front and personnally I think its great everywhere. If its a longish bike for you put on some really wide bars and a really short stem (if not already set up like this).

    VanHalen
    Full Member

    So the recommendation from above is its fine on fast straight bits therefore its good. Teehee.

    Id prefer to compromise straight line stability for tech ability. Straight is boring. Depends on what you ride most I suppose.

    no_eyed_deer
    Free Member

    No one’s mentioned stem length?

    … just a thought.

    Shorter stem would probably help with all of the above issues?

    I_Ache
    Free Member

    mr plow – Member
    My 06 is better in flat out rough stuff and technical climbing. It has a pushed coil compared to the 2012 air shock so that may have some bearing on it although both bikes are setup and tuned to handle very alike.

    Yea mine is the other way round RS Monarch+ on the 06 and DHX RC2 on the Evo.

    coolhandluke
    Free Member

    stem is 60mm (might be 50)
    bars wide as wide can go.

    Marzocchi 55 ti’s eh…. reaches for Ebay…

    mindmap3
    Free Member

    As said above, those forks will have very little support and neither will the shock. It may be worth seeing if someone like Loco or J Tech could tune your forks / shock to give it more support. Cheaper option than spanking a load of cash away on new forks. I have 36 Van RC2’s that J Tech have fiddled with and they’re pretty good now (although I’ve backed the compression settings off from what he recommended because they were too harsh).

    I’ve just gone from a medium 05 SX Trail that I loved (apart from the climbing due to a slack seat angle) to a large Rune V2 that is loads longer and slacker. It is a bit of a handful in slower, tighter stuff but I’m getting used to it. The upside is that on the steep stuff it feels very stable and it flies on the wide open stuff.

    br
    Free Member

    I ran an 06 Enduro and tbh always felt really perched on it (I have long legs), especially with 150mm of travel. Plus often hitting pedals.

    I swapped to a 456Ti and I’ve still the same legs 🙂 but am far less ‘perched’. Both large frames.

    And I don’t think there’s much if anything in the wheelbase of the two.

    How long are your legs?

    PJM1974
    Free Member

    I had a similar problem with my Wolf Ridge when I bought it, it felt nervous, understeery, wallowy and truculent, so much so that six months ago I made up my mid to get rid and buy something else.

    However, a new CTD shock and some fine tuning of the Wotan fork have completely transformed it. It now feels much sharper, there’s more grip and the nervousness has gone. It’s like having a whole new bike again.

    Before you get rid, maybe consider getting in touch with LoCo and discussing a shock/fork tune?

    coolhandluke
    Free Member

    How long are your legs?

    34.5″ inside leg.

    strangely short body (which is the only reason I look fat) and long arms.

    mindmap3
    Free Member

    My SX Trail’s DHX wallowed and blew through its travel really quickly until the air can volume was reduced. It made a massive inference to how the bike rode.

    I would definitely spend some time / money on tuning the suspension. My SX was a great bike that I didn’t really need to replace, but was much better after the suspension had been tuned to suit. Despite being a bit small for me, I always felt pretty confident on it in tech stuff.

    robbonzo
    Free Member

    Maybe it doesn’t fit you as well as your other bike? changing stem etc can help but sounds like a long bike. Is it just too long for you?

    Im about to go to Andorra for the world cup! what are the trails like? Do you think there will be lots open even though the world cup is on?

    ianv
    Free Member

    I would guess that everything will be open as the wc course is new and didn’t seem to share much with any of the established routes. Cable car from massana might be busy though.

    Re the enduro, I rode an evo for a bit in Andorra last year and it seemed pretty good (off piste as well as bike park stuff) Length can’t be a problem as there at people riding the same trails on dh bikes. It is definitely not a crap bike.

    ChunkyMTB
    Free Member

    High BB with that fork on?

    robbonzo
    Free Member

    Cheers for the info Ianv.

    andyrm
    Free Member

    Chuck a shorter stem on (35-50mm) and look at bike positioning I reckon. If you had an air fork rather than a coil, I’d suggest an extra few PSI in, so not sure where you sit on the range within the coil you have fitted. Definitely sounds like the front might be a bit divey.

    🙂

    coolhandluke
    Free Member

    Just put some air forks on, 150mm Revelations. Off the 456ti, and the lighter wheels off the 456 too.

    I’ll see how it runs with those on. It’s steeper by 25 mm or so but they are better spec fork.

    Thanks for everyone’s advice by the way. It’s been very useful.

    Don’t get me wrong, the Enduro is a boss bike, so very capable, more capable than me that’s for sure

    . The firs Alp trip it took me a few days to get the thing up to speed but I’d only got it a week before the trip, second Alps trip was fine, this trip to Andorra, I really felt I struggled with the bike on the techy descents ( fine and fun on the fast flowy stuff where it just ripped.) to be fair too, the endless hangovers didn’t help either. Still, we were on holiday and the beer was cheap.

    I’m going to make it it my only bike for a while and see how it goes as I only really use it on holidays and I think that’s part of the problem as well as the fox 36 wallowyness

    br
    Free Member

    I reckon (unscientific of course) that long-legged riders would be better served with long wheelbase bikes, to bring down their CofG.

    29er’s?

Viewing 33 posts - 1 through 33 (of 33 total)

The topic ‘Enduro woes’ is closed to new replies.