I don’t know your local trails, but I consider my enduro 29 (comp with monarch shock) too much bike for what I’d call “xc stuff” e.g. Twrch & Cafell at Cwmcarn, Afan Whites/Wall trail, Black Mountains Killer*, Gap ride. I can totally ride it uphill all day but it’s not the best bike for the job – on flatter trails I lose speed because the suspension sucks up all the bumps limiting my ability to pump off stuff. At Cwmcarn I’m just as fast on the hardtail – something in between the two would be optimum for that kind of riding.

Definitely love the Enduro though, I just use it on steeper trails 🙂

* It was absolutely flipping excellent for about 90 seconds of this loop at the cost of being a slight chore for the remaining five hours…

I sometimes hanker after a bigger bike again, but not often.

+1

I demoed an Enduro at the Freeborn demo day at Peaslake 18 months ago. I wanted to get it out of my system. Actually loved it, climbed much better than I expected and was great going down. so scratched and inflamed the itch!!!

In the end though bought a camber evo which I think is great for Surrey Hills although still wonder if stumpy evo might have been better.

In the end, I am too much of a mincer to make the most of an endure (although I wonder chicken-and-egg style which comes first, the technique to justify the bike or the bike to encourage the technique).

Love my camber evo though

Stumpjumper Evo 29er for me… I love it. Great for off piste South Wales, trail centres and trips to Italy. I’m not especially quick and only 5’8″. I think if you’re bigger or quicker, then the Enduro might be worth it if you’re riding hard and on techie trails. For trail centres though, I think an Enduro will be overkill.

I have a 2011 XL enduro and love it.

It’s a long bike with modern geometry and handles pretty much anything you throw at it. The only thing I did struggle with are tight and narrow trails, it was fairly hard to chuck around compared to other bikes.

Out in bike park wales last week and it was perfect!

It’s going up for sale if anyone is interested 😉 (with new frame bearings and serviced shock).

I’m a middle-aged biffer too, I wear the label with pride!

Having owned and ridden different flavours of Enduro in the past, they’ve definitely moved the focus towards being a harder hitting bike. I found that the Stumpjumper Evo 29er answered pretty much all the questions my riding asked, especially when fitted with Pikes.

I went for a Stumpy Evo 29er in large at 5ft 11″. It’s pretty capable for charging all sorts of terrain especially with a Pike on the front, but light enough to ride all day.

I spent two weeks in the Alps on it last year, it’s pretty close to the perfect trail bike. My only minor gripe is the amount of pedal strikes when climbing rocky terrain due to the slightly lower BB.

I usually take my hardtail to the Surrey Hills but for a longer ride the Stumpy is awesome.

I actually really like my Stumpy 29er evo.

I’ve had a couple of enduros, 3 pitches and about 5 stumpies (this is my 6th).

I would say that compared to the enduros and the pitches its definitely a more all round bike.

IMHO unless you are doing lots of hucking and mountain stuff then a current Enduro would be overkill.

My current stumpy ……

Its currently stripped down and in bits waiting for me to get back in September when its getting a new bearing set amns a fresh coat of paint.

I can’t think of one single ride where my Enduro ‘flattened everything out to the point it was almost boring’.

Just ride faster?

that may be relevant where you ride, but not where I do. 90% of my riding is done up the pentland hills, there are very few rocks, it not steep, and its not particularly technical. I run out of peddaling power on the downhills before I get anywhere near the limit of the Enduro. Its far more fun on a ‘smaller’ bike.

I have an E29 as an enduro race bike and it’s great when being, well, raced. A bit dull for just normal riding I feel. Had it in the alps for two weeks and it was mega capable and fine for all day riding. Had more fun the year before -40mm travel.

A stumpy 29er would be my call for a do-it-all bike if you are set on spesh.

I use my 5 for everything, even riding with my 4 year old…
A mate said to me that it’s no good for local riding.. (ashridge)
Don’t know how he came to that conclusion..

I’m not absolutely set on Specialized, I just like the Enduro.
I have a Yeti 575 at the moment which is amazing as an all-round bike, but as it’s a 2009 it has standard quick release wheels and a straight steerer which rather limits me on new Forks. If I could find a pair of Fox 36’s to bung on it, I’d probably be tempted to ride it into the ground. I do feel like my next bike should be a large though.
And jamj1794- old biffer really does describe me at 45, so you’re absolutely right

I’m 42 this year – not on your own! 🙂

42…..pah!
You’re just a mere pup.
Wait till you start sliding down the slippery slope to 50.
Maybe that’s it?
Maybe I’m having a midlife crisis and feel the need to be more gnar?
Nah…..I just want a less flexy bike.

By the way, I’ve just been looking at Stumpy Evo’s and they seem to have Fox 32’s on them?
Isn’t this a bit unusual for a 150mm travel bike these days?
Was expecting 34’s to be honest.

I went from a 2009 Yeti 575 to a Enduro Expert 650b.
I’ve not been disappointed with the Enduro Expert, it climbs as well with hardly any pedal Bob and is more composed going down rough trails.
Its just more efficient at everything once I got it set up:)

*Whispers* I’ve just got a Transtion Patrol choppersquad- it’s amazing. Stiff, light enough and has a lot of ‘pop’ for a 155mm bike.