Anyone on here gone from the newer shape Enduro (2011 on) to a 29er version?
I’d like to know how it rides compaired to the 26″.

Cheers

it really brings the trail alive

No idea

I hated my normal wheel sized Enduro. I’ll not be trying one with massive wheels. Sorry.

Try a Nicolai Ion15..

http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Specialized-Enduro-Expert-Carbon-Mountain-Bike-2014-Full-Suspension-MTB_65793.htm?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=AdwordsProductAds&utm_campaign=Adwords&gclid=CNuzwLiRr7oCFdMQtAodGWgAmw

I’ll hazard a guess that it’s a bit faster/smoother over bumpy stuff (but you’ll feel like you’re going slower) but crap at slow, twisty technical stuff.

I’ve been looking at them and plan to get a test ride at some point. First impressions from swinging a leg over in the shop were inconclusive. My main issue is the stand over clearance and front end height. I’m 5’9″ with short legs, so I think it would come down to getting a comfortable set up on a tall bike.
I’m swaying between the enduro and stumpy Evo in carbon expert specs. The stumpy in 26″ has almost exactly the same geometry as my 08 Enduro, but with a lower bb, so i know that would work for me. I’m going to have to get a couple of test rides in over the Xmas hols before I bite the bullet….

I’ll hazard a guess that it’s a bit faster/smoother over bumpy stuff (but you’ll feel like you’re going slower) but crap at slow, twisty technical stuff.

Based on what experience? My old 26″ pitch/enduro is crap on tight singletrack, my 29ers have all been great on singletrack, although it’s not a direct comparison as they’ve all been hardtails.

Currently trying to resist getting Commencal Meta AM 29er in the sales.

Hob Nob has the use of one, he’s mentioned it on a couple of threads, Here and here . Not that I’m stalking him or anything 😳 but I do think they look ace. More bike than I’d ever need though.

Based on what experience? My old 26″ pitch/enduro is crap on tight singletrack, my 29ers have all been great on singletrack, although it’s not a direct comparison as they’ve all been hardtails.

I tried a couple at Glentress/Innerleithen. They were fine on most of the built trails but I really didn’t get on with them on some of the ‘secret’ trails that were more rooty and twisty.

I’d agree the Pitch isn’t amazing for that kind of stuff either as it’s quite long.

I’d agree the Pitch isn’t amazing for that kind of stuff either as it’s quite long.

It’s the same geometry as that generation enduro, and they’ve only got longer/lower/slacker in the meantime.

I’d agree that the enduro 29 will probably not be at it’s best on tighter trails*, but I don’t think that’s down to it’s wheel size, it (allong with most slack/low/long 150-160mm bikes) just work better on faster/rougher stuff. I’m not a local to GT but the Pich rocked on (I think) Bitch/Wormhole and other rocky bits, but struggled to feel** fast on things like Spooky Wood. I’d not expect a comparable 29er to be any different.

*relative, I’m sure in a DH race it’d beat a DH bike on course that played to it’s strengths, I just think tight singletrack is where XC bikes excel.

**may have actualy bee warp speed, but there were bits of the blue which felt faster/more fun and closer to the my/the bikes capabilities rathe than just being relatively open berms.

Any 65/66 deg 26″ bike will be the same length… Total misapprehension and mental view the tight twisty thing…650b likely longer still as despite shorter chain stay..slackernheadangle to compensate for stability increases length much more….

Ask away if you want to know anything.

I’ve been on one for about a month, I may have now caved in and bought one 😳

It’s fast. Very fast.

Any 65/66 deg 26″ bike will be the same length… Total misapprehension and mental view the tight twisty thing…650b likely longer still as despite shorter chain stay..slackernheadangle to compensate for stability increases length much more….

In english?

thisisnotaspoon – Member

In english?

It’s pretty clear – all bikes have the same wheelbase, even though 650b wheels allow shorter chainstays, they’re still the same length as all other bikes, which are all the same length even if you slacken the head angle to make them even longer.

I love my 2011 Enduro Evo. Yet it is too much bike for my normal riding but it can cope with literally anything that I can throw at it. It goes as fast as I can pedal on flowy singletrack and will still cope fine with the likes of the double black at Antur Stiniog. OK granted it had 160mm DPA Lyriks on it which make it a better trail bike than the 180mm 36 Vans. I would be interested to give the 29er a go but I have my doubts that it would cope with full on DH tracks as well as my Evo.

thisisnotaspoon…should have checked the spelling/typing…

honourablegeorge…thanks 🙄

If you take a bike designed for the same purpose with 26′, 650b or 29 wheels for a given head angle the bigger wheels will be more stable as its a combo of trail and gyroscopic effect as well as to an extent length.. physics. 650b does allow a shorter chainstay than 29 true, again assuming you don’t make the 29 with a steeper seat tube, in which case they can be the same unless…..well you get the idea, The way the bike feels rides is the sum of ALL the parts including suspension design, axle path etc…BUT assuming a fixed (as so far as it can be ) level of stability the 650b bike will likely have a slacker head angle thus increasing the wheelbase to a (broadly)similar length to the 29er again…my main point was the apparently widely held concern over tight terrain and/or switchbacks is mainly in the head (poor use of mental on my part!) a 29er is harder to change direction at speed due to the gyroscopics, but at low speed, compared to a similar purposed bike, I disagree…clearly people’s experience differs depending on the bikes they have had the opportunity to ride and compare. There is also the small matter of good big wheelers and less good ones, ones with greater offset forks to reduce trail and speed up steering in the twisties and ones without…ones with carbon wheels and low BB’s to reduce the gyroscopic effect etc….

As has been said loads of times in other threads a bike is both the sum of its parts and geometry and each rider will feel/perceive/like/dislike/want different things…

I personally happen to disagree with some of the choices Specialized made in designing the Enduro29, but not because they are wrong, merely because they have compromised some elements of geo that affect what I want from my bike, I ended up compromising on different things but they were less important to me…all very personal…

Any 65/66 deg 26″ bike will be the same length… Total misapprehension and mental view the tight twisty thing…650b likely longer still as despite shorter chain stay..slackernheadangle to compensate for stability increases length much more….

Translation – Bigger wheels are more stable, so the bike can run a slightly steeper head angle. This shortens the wheelbase, which goes some way to offsetting the longer chainstays needed on the bigger wheeled bike.

The medium 29er Enduro is only 6mm longer than the 26er, so I can’t see it being any more difficult to flick around on tight stuff.

My expert 29 arrived from the states a few days ago and due to a trail injury all I can do is look at it…. gutted, I have ridden up and down the road though and that was great!
Took me a fair few trial and errors to get to this bike but from a demo and the short comings of other 29ers I have tried I think its going to measure up just fine. Never entertained a spesh before but this is a bit special. The kit is killer too apart from maybe the wheels it is spot on. Heal body heal….

Lucky me, availability in the UK is virtually non existent for the carbon models – thankfully I had other means of getting one, without having to wait 6 months & keep my fingers crossed there would even be something on the shipment.

I have changed a few bits (tyres/bar/stem/tubeless/dropper etc) for now, but it still sits at 28.72lbs with my hefty spare pedals on it (and a fat Minion 2.5 on the front). I have a set of the 35mm Derby 29″ rims coming to go onto some lighter hubs, which will save me a chunk, plus i’ll swap some more bits over & I think it will be near on ~27 when i’m done. Pretty impressive for a bike of it’s size 🙂

Nice looking bike there HobNob 😉

Nice that.

And yes MarkLG, that was a much more succinct translation of my rather long winded one…”I didn’t have time to write it shorter” 😉

Hey HobNob Im waiting on my Derby rims too! Out of interest what size frame did you go for and how tall are you?
So far I am changing out the wheels stem and bar and I also have a 2.5 minion on the front 😀

Mine should be here by the end of the week, so i’ll get them built up & see what happens.

I’m ~189cm so went for a large. I was on the crossover between L&XL, but the XL was massive.

Mine has just shown up at the shop apparently. Same as Hobnob’s in medium. I like 29″ but wasn’t ruling out smaller wheels for an AM bike. Just don’t think the options are any good to be honest. Had an XX1 Bronson for a weekend a few months back and really the Stumpy Evo 29″ stuffs it. Maybe that Norco Range would have been an option but the rear centre is a bit short for me and all I hear is that the E29 is a rocketship so balls to it.

Hob Nob – that is stunning! 🙂

Quality bike Hob Nob.

I’ve got one of those derby rims on the front and the Hans dampf looks massive!!

I’ve got a stumpy evo and would love to test ride the Enduro.

Last night I discovered the pack of optional decals missed them in the box,what a cool idea there must be 50 different decal options and a spare frame skin for the down tube. No delivery date for my Derbys where you getting yours from, direct or from gravity sports?

I was thinking of building the derby rims onto the traverse dt hubs reckon its worth it or are those hubs a bit crappy?

I only had a short demo on one before I made the decision to go with it and at 5’11 was I between the med and large, I went med in the end as it’s quite a big bike. Now I have sized it a bit more I have to push the stem out longer than I would like, hope a 75mm won’t effect handling too much. Sorry to ramble on due to my injury I still can’t give it a hammering so I’m just over thinking everything!

I used a shop in the States and sorry I don’t know anything about traverse dt hubs.

I’m 5 10 and ride a large frame with a 35mm stem (was on 50mm).

I ordered some for a different bike directly, but i’ll just chuck the Roval’s on it and stick the Derby’s on the Enduro when they show up. The hubs are good, the important bits in the rear are from the same family as the DT240S, which is probably one of the best you can get.

I dislike straight pull spokes though and the spoke pattern on the front i’m not convinced is very stiff so i’ve got a set of DT hubs i’ll be building mine onto anyway.

I’m more convinced in the benefits of using carbon for 29″ wheels to combat the flex compared to a 26″, the Enduro I had been using before I got mine rode noticeably differently with carbon rims.

The other thing I knew I wouldn’t be too impressed with was the rear shock. It had far too soft a tune for it. Using the autosag to set up, I had to run it pretty much in climb mode all the time so it had enough support. I know I ride fairly quick, and i’m a bit of a hack so it felt like it was getting overwhelmed very easily. It’s a pretty crap shock considering the rest of the bike, but I knew that anyway. I’ve got a custom tuned Float X now which basically resolved all of the problems.

When I was looking at the bike, i’d read about the high front end, but did a little bit of measuring, with mine as it is, it’s the same height as my old 26″ bike with a 160mm fork & a 1cm spacer under the stem, which is what I ran – mainly due to the shorter head tube, so it feels completely normal to me. I run mine with a 50mm stem & 785 bars.

As for how it rides, well everything I have read is accurate. The low BB, slack head angle, short stays & big wheels equals a scary fast bike. It feels like a big 26″ that fits me properly & rides like one, apart from it doesn’t get hung up and slow down on stuff which does require a bit of recalibration.

It jumps well, it corners frighteningly fast, and now the shock works properly the suspension doesn’t wallow in the mid stroke and have a harsh bottom out, it feels like a sorted, progressive system & the climb mode means it now climbs like no bike this size should do.

All round its a well sorted bike for me. I’m looking forward to racing on it 🙂

Agree re the rims; i had a flow ex rims the rear didn’t last the trip in Les Arc. I’m running a Enve on the rear which is quality.

Are you running a Float X on your Enduro 29er?

Based on what experience? My old 26″ pitch/enduro is crap on tight singletrack, my 29ers have all been great on singletrack, although it’s not a direct comparison as they’ve all been hardtails.

I tried a couple at Glentress/Innerleithen. They were fine on most of the built trails but I really didn’t get on with them on some of the ‘secret’ trails that were more rooty and twisty.

I’d agree the Pitch isn’t amazing for that kind of stuff either as it’s quite long.

My large full-suss 29er is slightly shorter in length than my previous medium 26er full-suss. It was initially a little slower through tight & twisty stuff but that was only whilst I adapted to the feel of bigger wheels. It is also way faster on swoopy flowy trails, root and rock gardens. 😀

From reviews I’ve read of the Spesh Enduro 29er i’d suspect would be similar to this.

The standard wheels wouldn’t last me long I don’t think, the spoke tension seems fairly low, which won’t help with the flex. I’m not going to trash them though – i’ll try and get the others built up over the weekend.

I’m too tight to buy Enve, to be fair in the past i’ve been less than complimentary about them (and other carbon wheels) on a 26″ bike (making the wheel unnecessarily stiff), but on a 29″ if you ride it hard & can feel the flex is too much, I can see the benefit. The Derby rims are expensive still, but not outrageously so – when I roast one, I won’t be too upset.

Yeah, i’m running a Float X on the back now, which was always my plan, it just came round a bit quicker than I anticipated 🙂

Glad your enjoying it. From my short rides on it Im not too impressed with the rear shock, I said to my contact in the states that if I get on well with the bike I would be looking for the specialised specific CCDBA and he has confirmed he can get them so will probably go that way.

You are right about carbon for 29er wheels they transform the bike hard to go back after using them.

In terms of sizing the stack and reach measurements are right for me, the med was the same as my large Ripley. Maybe should of tried for more demo time but it certainly feels playful guess that’s the trade off.

I have found the front end to be not too high was going to go with a flat bar but decided that would be a bit low so went with a 15mm rise. Im pretty sure I will build onto these hubs with the cash saved can go for some bling blade spokes!

Want one so hard.

Just out of interest, does anyone know any friendly American dealers that ship to the UK??

The bike looks wicked, saw one in Don Skene Cardiff out of my price range though 🙁 how are you finding the 29er Pikes? quite interested in a set to go on my Prime.

hob nob where did you get the float x from?

Friend who works for Spec’.

Is this a mistake as it appears from the Ad this is a full-bike not a frame only

http://www.totalfitnessbath.co.uk/Specialized-Enduro-Expert-Carbon-2014-p/93614-3303.htm?gclid=CNPopcWX9LoCFa-WtAodNHgA8w

Snap ’em up before the Ad is changed!