Review: Specialized Enduro Expert Carbon 29

Rewind to Issue #107 of Singletrack Magazine for our grouptest with the Speicalized Enduro 29.

Ah, the Specialized Enduro. A bike that has existed since before the series of bicycle races that share its name, but which evokes similar imagery – long, arduous climbs, steep, technical descents undertaken at speed – everything a true mountain bike should be able to despatch with ease.

The Specialized Enduro 29 went up against the Focus SAM and the Scott Genius LT in our Issue #107 grouptest.

The overall shape of the Enduro hasn’t really changed for quite a while, although inspecting the fine details yields more differences. The front triangle of the Expert Carbon 29 model we’re testing is (yep, you’ve guessed it) carbon. There’s a reassuringly chunky-looking top tube, that swoops down steeply to intersect with the seat-tube brace in the distinctive cross-shape that marks the Enduro out in profile. The back end is aluminium; a commendably short chainstay of 430mm keeps that 29in hoop tucked in at the back, and Specialized still uses a Horst Link pivot just in front of the dropout to fractionally alter the axle path.

The Enduro is available in both 27.5in and 29in wheelsizes. Which is your pick?

But what’s connected to this tried-and-tested linkage is new – for 2016 Specialized has commissioned suspension gurus Öhlins to give it a rear shock that will live up to the Enduro’s reputation, and Öhlins has duly obliged with the catchily-named STX22 Air. This offers the same level of adjustment as Öhlins’ coil offerings, but with an air spring and a single tube to bring the weight down to around 400g.

The exotic Ohlins STX22 Air rear shock controlling the 155mm travel rear end on the Enduro.

Low speed compression and rebound damping are both externally adjustable, and there’s a three-way lever on the compression adjustment to provide the usual open/trail/closed possibilities there too. The shock yields a substantial 155mm of travel on the Enduro – there really aren’t many 29ers out there with more; especially not with such substantially short back ends.

An alloy yoke connects the rear rocker linkage to a custom shock mount on the Ohlins damper.

Up front, we have a Pike RC with 160mm of bounce; Specialized’s Roval wheels are enrobed with Butcher front rubber and Slaughter’s fast-rolling-with-side-knobbles offering at the back, both in 2.3in width, and both in the thinner sidewalled ‘control’ format. The bike is set up with tubes, but valves are included if you want to tubeless-ify it. We ran it with tubes for this test.

In-house wheels from Specialized in the form of the Roval Traverse. Adaptable for different axle standards and tubeless ready.

Go and stop are both courtesy of SRAM – a very nice looking carbon S-2200 crank is attached to SRAM’s X01 cassette and mech – those with luddite tendencies will be dismayed to see that there’s no provision for a front mech. SRAM’s Guide brakes do a fine job of hauling on the anchors if things get just a little too lairy.

Single clamp for the SRAM trigger shifter and front brake.

Initial impressions of the Enduro upon swinging a leg over it are of size. It’s a big bike. Granted, the numbers are pretty much middle-of-the-road; there’s a slackish 67.5° head angle and a longish 465mm reach (on this XL bike), but even with the seat angle of 75°, there’s enough layback on the Control Post, coupled with the 60mm stem and the 780mm bars to give quite a stretched feel. It’s a commanding position at that – that’s a lot of travel on those big hoops. But a bit of saddle fettling (pushing it forward on the rails) provided a quick fix.

SRAM carbon BB30 cranks keep the weight low and stiffness high.

The Ride

Initial pogoing, and a ‘trail bike on stilts’ feel, soon gave way – with some fast fettling of the shock and fork – to something much more planted and capable, both down and up. And boy, this bike can climb. I felt that this was the best – or at least, the most lively – of all the bikes on test when pointed uphill. It’d scamper its way up surprisingly technical features until traction gave out – which, thanks to that semi-slick rear tyre and quite a lot of rain, was all too often (the rear tyre and the stem would be the first things to swap out if this were my bike). It’d happily despatch long grinds with cheerful competence.

Barney monstering the Enduro 29 test bike. The XL size makes those 29in wheels look small!

And descending, too, the bike performed extremely well. The frame is stiff, the forks are as good as Pikes have always been, but the real star of the show I think has to be the Öhlins shock. Once I’d set the pressure and the damping to my liking, I didn’t feel the need to touch it again; it remained fully ‘open’, there was very little bob out of the saddle, and descending was controlled and smooth, even during my somewhat out of control landings. Even hard cornering felt snappy and lively, helped immensely by those very short chainstays, although this is one of those bikes which rewards an aggressive cornering approach rather than a ‘sit up and watch the world go by’ attitude.

High-end carbon fibre construction for the Enduro 29 with Specialized’s own press-fit BB30 bottom bracket setup.

Are there any downsides? Well, I didn’t like the rear tyre – and Specialized’s ‘control’ sidewalls are designed to reduce weight, but I’ve found them previously to be unstable and a little flimsy when set up tubeless. I’d like to see a Command Post with a little more than 125mm of drop – I’m so used to 150mm droppers now that the saddle didn’t feel as out of the way as I’d have liked – although the under-the-bar control lever is excellent and the post performed flawlessly. The usual ‘shorter stem’ lament comes next, and perhaps further down the line I’d be curious to see what effect slackening the head angle might have, perhaps with a set of offset bushings, but these are all minor quibbles. This is a bike with immense potential. It’s truly a ‘Real Mountain’ mountain bike.

The short chainstay length is a big factor in the Enduro 29’s overall handling.

Overall

In some ways this was the surprise of the test. I was expecting a long-legged trail bike; with 29in wheels and 155mm travel it seemed a fair assumption. But the more I rode it the better it seemed. Extremely short chainstays for a 29in bike, coupled to wonderful suspension and a great shock mean that it corners impeccably, climbs much better than I expected it to, descends as well as you think it ought, and frankly, it rips. It’s also ripe for a little experimentation if you feel so inclined. This one’s got legs.