That’s my point, where’s the mid range?

They have bouncy bikes starting at £1800

I think it looks good, and the frame option is comparably priced with other similar offerings from trek/yeti/SC/transition etc.

The top end bike builds have always been bad value from specialized, when I built up a 2016 s-works enduro, I did so with a higher spec and a grand cheaper than the ready built model, buying everything new (although shopping around obviously), that really shouldn’t be the case.

It’s in line with similar bikes from other brands, maybe a shade cheaper. Still a lot of money, sure.

Yes, but SC have always been an expensive niche brand.

The surprise isn’t that there’s a $10k s-works model, that price points been there for a decade. My surprise is that the range doest start with an aluminium Yari/SLX model arround £2000-2500.

Look at Giant, the base model is generally usually priced only slightly above the frame only option (albeit with a lower spec material and shock).

I’m sure it’s an amazing bike, and MBR will give it 10/10, but £4500?

£4500 is still a big price for the the lowest model in the range . Don’t expect it to be a big seller .

I think the point is that if you want a “Cheaper Enduro” specialized would probably point you towards a Stumpy Evo now.

They’ve got so many bikes in the range in both Alloy and carbon plus all the variations in spec and wheel size, I’m not surprised they decided to just roll out the new shape Enduro in carbon only this year….

Having said that they’ve still got the ‘Old’ Alloy enduro on their website as a current model (linky) a snip at just £3150 🙂 , so even if you’re a pauper and can’t stretch that extra £1500 they’ve got a 160mm toy for you to buy nicely positioned between a Stumpy Evo comp and an carbon Enduro comp…

I think there’s a bit of a roadmap here (wild guesses ahead), Carbon Enduro this year, Alloy Enduro and Carbon Stumpy next year, and so on, working backwards down the range adding that Demo-derived shock linkage. So that there’s a nice easy little visual indicator for the carpark bitches as to who’s got the wad for a shiny new Spesh and who hasn’t…

SC are mass market mass produced bikes. They are along way from niche. They are part of one of the biggest bicycle manufacturers in the world. The only difference is branding

SC aren’t mass market in the same league as Specialized though. Yes they are popular at trail centres, and within the MTB enthusiast market, whereas Specialized are a globally recognised cycling brand, at all price points, and this is their performance model. Like comparing a Lamborghini to a Nissan GTR

tomhoward

Like comparing a Lamborghini to a Nissan GTR

Nissan sell GT-Rs for £175K these days. Ford do a £450K GT. Selling stuff at a lot of price points doesn’t mean you can’t sell expensive stuff.

Lamborghini is to vw what s-works is to specialized.

Nissan sell GT-Rs for £175K these days. Ford do a £450K GT.

Still a Nissan/Ford though.

Selling stuff at a lot of price points doesn’t mean you can’t sell expensive stuff.

They are still mass market brands though. That puts some people off, regardless of how good the product is, they see it as ‘cheap’ or not as good as your perceived premium brands. Tell people you have a Lamborghini/Santa Cruz, they know it’s a premium product. Nissan/ford/Specialized requires a caveat that ‘it’s a nice one’.

“S-Works” is as much a premium brand as Santa Cruz, Id have thought. It’s all very subjective either way, I’d see Santa Cruz as more BMW and S-Works as Audi

You can indeed buy a Nissan GT-R for loads of money, £80,000 for the basic one and £175,000 for the Nismo. But the entry level one is still a premium product and doesn’t come with steel wheels and a five speed manual from a Micra, which is the equivalent of the entry level Enduro coming with NX and bog-spec Rovals.

“S-Works” is as much a premium brand as Santa Cruz, Id have thought.

Do people say they ride an S-Works?

omhoward

Do people say they ride an S-Works?

Yes, they absolutely do.

Yep, just the same as people who say, “Sorry, got to go, my iPhone is ringing”.

😀

i dont

SC aren’t mass market in the same league as Specialized though. Yes they are popular at trail centres

Isn’t Santa Cruz owned by Pon Holdings and ain’t the frames made in China/Taiwan?

In the UK SC is about as mass market as high end bikes get, they just don’t do cheaper bikes like other larger manufacturers do.

In the scheme of global bike sales that makes them niche compared to Spesh.

When talking about a bike like the Enduro, I think it’s unfair to expect significantly lower price options compared to SC just because you can get a Spesh branded FS for much less.
Not surprising that some would view the bike as less special though.

Any real world feedback of the Enduro? Reviews suggest it’s up there with the best descending enduro bikes, how are people finding it for general use and trail riding?

What’s that lower linkage like to live with in UK conditions?

We managed to get a full bike after giving up on finding a frame. Abigale disappeared for a month in the Alps and came back raving about it.

I was going to have her old Enduro but found a good deal on another one, swapped some of the stuff about from that and sold it on.

She was right and had some of my best riding in Finale

It does take a bit more cleaning around the shock area

Any real world feedback of the Enduro? Reviews suggest it’s up there with the best descending enduro bikes, how are people finding it for general use and trail riding?

What’s that lower linkage like to live with in UK conditions?

It’s a really good bike if you’re riding and racing some really nasty stuff, all of the time. You can take the spacer out of the shock too and take it up to 190mm travel – essentially it’s a DH bike that you can pedal up hills. But you absolutely need the hills to make it work.

It’s a big bike & a real pig on flatter, mellow stuff, not light or spritely at all.

Lower linkage is an absolute mud haven, the best way of dealing with it is some moto foam under the linkage. There is a lot going on there, and they do like to go through their bearings, mostly because it collects so much crap & stays there. Also would suggest stripping it down and heavily greasing up the main pivot, as they creak like crazy.

I bumped mine on as soon as the new Stumpy Evo came out, even for riding & racing in the UK it’s a better bike.

Thanks @hob-nob. I’ve no doubt it’s perfect for Alps and Finale @Tracey, it’s having it as my main bike for UK riding that is the stumbling block.

Enduro looks like exactly what I want for a small percentage of rides, but overkill for everything else.

Stumpy Evo looks great, but yet to find an S4 or S5 comp in stock.

Ride mine everywhere as does Abigale, she’s just set of for a days riding on hers. Geometry wise it’s alot different than the old Enduro but climbs just as well.
Good luck in finding a Stumpy Evo in the size that fits. I would want to throw a leg over a couple of sizes before I committed to one.

I have the new enduro and love it, I cannot speak highly enough of it! Yesterday on a ride several buddies swung a leg over it and loved how it felt and this was on mellow-medium trail with their own bikes being a 130mm trail bike and 160mm 29er.

I run the fork around 18% SAG and the shock around 25% and I have no issues hopping it or finding it playful. Its the sizing I like the most, I’m 6’1 and the S5 is perfect, I am so centred on the bike and with the bikes composed nature and calm rear braking I cant get enough of it.

Enduro looks like exactly what I want for a small percentage of rides, but overkill for everything else.

I live in the SW and the stuff on my door may not warrant a bike like this, but I picked up the bike so I could go places which are steeper, rougher and longer and not only enjoy them but really push myself and this bike does that in bag fulls. I dont even find the bike that much of a slog on some of blue of the trail centre when linking off piste, it pedals really well when stood or sat.

Only issues I have had are that a stone got in between the top of RS Deluxe and frame and on a heavy landing scuffed the paint down to the carbon, same has happened on the outside of the seat tube as something got in between the frame and rear links. Small little knicks annoyingly in the only places the invisframe doesnt cover!

Managed to take a 2020 Enduro Elite out for a demo ride. Through the rough and steeps it was as good as expected, but cornering was where it stood out for me. grip levels were phenomenal, even on sloppy trails I felt so confident and committed through turns.

It really struggles to carry momentum as soon as gradient eases off though. Didn’t get chance to ride any mellow trails but can’t imagine it being much fun. And yes, the linkage was absolutely filled with mud.

Spec is awful for such an expensive bike. Potentially due to set up or rotor size but the SRAM Code R had nowhere near enough power, tyres and dropper felt cheap and past experience tells me GX groupset won’t last long. The ex demo price keeps it in contention, but I can’t believe that was the build kit for a £5.5k bike.

Stumpy Evo looks great, but yet to find an S4 or S5 comp in stock.

There are a few about at dealers but it’s going to be a case of calling about. I have a friend who has picked one up between Xmas & new year which was a cancelled order. Funnily enough he’s also an ex-Enduro owner too (although he cracked his around the top link, which they do have a bit of a weak spot for).

Running my Stumpy in Low – Neutral seems to be my sweet spot, with a couple of tweaks I reckon I can get it as fast as the Enduro, but about 8lbs lighter & a hell of a lot more fun to ride day to day. If you like how the Enduro corners, then you would love the Stumpy as its significantly lower as well.

So far, I can’t think of a reason why I would pick the Enduro, given the choice between the two 🙂

How have people mounted and attached motofoam on their Enduro’s

grip levels were phenomenal, even on sloppy trails I felt so confident and committed through turns

I really noticed this coming from a 2018 Enduro, seems so planted, loving tight corners on steep sections now and just steep trails in general!

It really struggles to carry momentum as soon as gradient eases off though. Didn’t get chance to ride any mellow trails but can’t imagine it being much fun. And yes, the linkage was absolutely filled with mud.

I found this with sag at 30% on the rear, I increased air pressure and removed some rebound dampening and the bike became livelier-ish pumping the ground better, no hiding its a big bike but it does pedal well

Spec is awful for such an expensive bike. Potentially due to set up or rotor size but the SRAM Code R had nowhere near enough power, tyres and dropper felt cheap and past experience tells me GX groupset won’t last long. The ex demo price keeps it in contention, but I can’t believe that was the build kit for a £5.5k bike.

Snap, I got an elite which was an ex team bike for a steal, it was the better fork off the elite but the NX groupset, I moved my carbon wheels with Schwalbe tyres, Code RSC and PNW Components dropper from my old bike over and love it. Last week fitted 220mm rotors front and rear and really liking the ease of applying the power and being able to break later and harder

he’s also an ex-Enduro owner too

Maybe this is the kicker, right now, I love everything about how my Enduro rides compared to my old bike, its filled my full of confidence and I cant wait to get out and ride, the weight doesn’t bother me and I find it climbs a lil better then my old bike. Maybe when the honeymoon period wears off I might think about another bike and the ’21 SJ Evo or Canyon Spectral look like good packages, but I’m not there yet

EDIT:

How have people mounted and attached motofoam on their Enduro’s

I havent figured it out yet, will wash the bike from the weekend later and figure out where and how I can put the foam around the rear shock/linkage

How have people mounted and attached motofoam on their Enduro’s

The ‘well’ at the front of the chainstays under the linkage is where it seems to really collect (with the sort of mud I rode in anyway). I had a piece about 4cm wide by 8cm long which I wedged under the link which sat lengthways inbetween the arms of the very bottom link.

It was a bit too big, so once wedged, stayed in place fine & didn’t need to be attached. It wasn’t perfect by any means, as that whole area is a real mud magnet but having had the linkage apart chasing creaks & checking out the state of the bearings, it would definitely be something I would keep an eye on. As I said before, there is a lot going on there & it’s a real b*tch to work on.

I’d be half inclined if I still had it to run one of the smaller RRP rear mudguards, that would keep the worst of the mess out along with the stock one.

Interesting. I’ve been pricing up a Propain Tyee using their online configurator, and for £7.5k I can have literally every bell and whistle there is (AXS, carbon wheels, you name it), and it looks just as good I think. But it doesn’t have the S Works label, and that’s the power of the brand I guess…