Specialized Enduro Testberichte und Testvideos

[Ben]

In diesem Beitrag können wir alle Testberichte zum Enduro und auch die entsprechenden Videos posten. So bekommen wir eine gute Übersicht über die Eindrücke der Medienlandschaft.

 

 

Words by Mike Kazimer, photography by Trevor Lyden

 

The venerable Enduro received a massive makeover for 2020, and the result is a bike that looks a whole lot like Specialized's Demo downhill race machine, minus the dual crown fork. All models of the Enduro have 29” wheels, 170mm of travel, and carbon frames.

The new Enduro still uses a Horst link design, with the chainstay pivot located below the rear axle, but the shock now sits lower in the frame and the main pivot location has been shifted. Those changes allowed Specialized's designers to increase the amount of anti-squat by 40%, and to add more end-stroke progression to prevent unwanted bottoming out on bigger hits.

 

Specialized Enduro S-Works Details

• Travel: 170mm rear / 170mm fork
• Carbon frame
• Wheel size: 29"
• Head Angle: 63.9 / 64.3°
• Seat Tube Angle: 76°
• Chainstay Length: 442mm
• Weight: 32.5 lb / 14.7 kg (Tested)
• Price: $9,750 USD
• www.specialized.com

Along with the suspension changes, the Enduro borrowed a page from the Stumpjumper EVO's book, and now has a 63.9 or 64.3-degree head angle, a 76-degree seat tube angle, and a generous reach of 487mm for the size S4.

We tested the S-Works model Enduro, which gets all the bells and whistles, including a frame that's 250 grams lighter than the standard model, a SRAM AXS wireless dropper post, Shimano XTR 12-speed drivetrain and brakes, Fox Factory 36 fork and Float X2 shock, and Roval Travers SL carbon wheels. All of those niceties add up to $9,750 USD.

 

FIELD NOTES

 

Climbing

You're never going to mistake the Enduro for a short travel trail bike, but it is an efficient climber, especially considering how much travel is on tap. The increased anti-squat is noticeable, which help give this big beast much better acceleration than before. Like the SB165, it's a bike that has a very gravity oriented focus – it'll get to the top of a long climb without putting up much fuss, but it's best suited to riding areas with long climbs and long descents, rather then somewhere with mellower, more rolling terrain.

The low geometry setting is exactly that, and we experienced a decent number of pedal and bashguard strikes with the shock set in that position. The higher setting, which raises the bottom bracket height by 7mm and changes the head angle to a still-slack 64.3 degrees may be the way to go depending on how rough your climbing trails are, or if you care about the end of your cranks.

The Enduro's seat tube angle is 76-degrees, which isn't out of the ordinary, but it'd be nice to see it get even steeper for a less stretched out climbing position. A 40mm stem, rather than the 50mm Deity that's spec'd would help with this as well.

 

 

Descending

Hands down, the Enduro felt the fastest out of all the bikes in our test fleet. While the longer overall length was occasionally noticeable while climbing, it wasn't a detriment in the bike park or on more natural trails. There's a massive amount of stability, both in the air and on the ground, and having the weight nice and low in the frame makes it easy to rocket through the turns. It takes a little more effort to pop up and over obstacles, but if you mistime a jump it's not the end of the world – the Enduro will just smash through whatever is in the way.
 

The Enduro never faltered, no matter what we took it on, whether it was high-speed jump trails or steeper, more technical downhill tracks. This is a bike that wants to go flat out all the time, with handling that's about as close to a downhill bike as you can get without being the real deal. Even though it does all right on mellower terrain, it doesn't have the same 'all-rounder' feel that the Ibis HD5 delivered - this is a bike for letting it all hang out on big, fast descents whenever possible.

As far as components go, the Roval carbon wheels held up to all of the rock smashing we subjected them through, the AXS electronic dropper post never ran out of juice, and the XTR drivetrain rattled off perfect shift after perfect shift.

Timed Testing

Our timed lap for the enduro bikes took place on Schleyer, a Whistler Bike Park classic that includes a variety of features, including drops, chunky rock gardens, longer rock faces, plus a few jumps and stepdowns added into the mix. A few timed runs isn't the final say on whether one bike is faster than another, but it did give us a way to compare our perceived vs. actual speed.

Jason Lucas I got my fastest timed lap of the timed sessions with the Enduro, and I tested it in similar conditions as the other bikes.

Mike Kazimer: I got my third fastest time on the Enduro, 2% off my quickest lap, but it'd probably be a different story if conditions had remained the same for both timing sessions.

 

 

Pros

+ Near DH bike feel. Can handle pretty much everything and still pedal to the top.
+ The SWAT system is so good it’s hard to go back to bikes without it.
+ Very reasonable weight considering amount of travel and capabilities
 

Cons

- Seat tube angle could be even steeper - top tube length is relatively long.
- S-Works version is really expensive, but the next models down offer similar performance at more realistic price.

 

 

von: https://www.pinkbike.com/news/field-test-2020-specialized-enduro-s-works-basically-a-dh-bike-without-a-dual-crown-fork.html

[Ben]

Nochmals Pinkbike:

 

https://www.pinkbike.com/news/first-ride-the-2020-specialized-enduro-is-bigger-and-burlier-than-ever.html

 

The Specialized Enduro is entering its second decade in existence, a time period that's seen it morph from an overgrown XC bike into the gravity-oriented, big wheeled trail smasher that it is today. The 2020 model has received a complete overhaul, and now bears more than a passing resemblance to the current Demo downhill bike.

Speed was the overall focus behind this project, and for that reason the Enduro is only available with 29” wheels, in a total of four sizes. There's also no aluminum version in the lineup, at least for now - according to Specialized, that's because they "wanted to create the lightest, most bad-assed bike in this genre." There might not be an alloy version, but going with carbon does mean all frames get a gummy bear compartment in the form of Specialized's SWAT box down tube storage system.

Specialized Enduro Details

• Wheel size: 29"
• Travel: 170mm front and rear
• Carbon frame
• 63.9° or 64.3° head angle
• 442mm chainstays
• Threaded bottom bracket
• SWAT box
• Sizes: S2, S3, S4, S5
• Weight (Expert Elite, S4): 32.7 lb / 14.8 kg
• Price: $4,510 - $9,750 USD
• S-Works frame only: $3,310 USD
• www.specialized.com

There are four complete bikes available, beginning with the $4,510 Enduro Comp 29, and going all the way up to $9,750 S-Works version. The S-Works frame uses carbon rocker links rather than the alloy links found on the other models, which saves 250 grams. That frame alone retails for $3,310 USD.

 

 

Frame Details & Suspension Design

The overall look of the Enduro remained relatively unchanged for the last three years, and going even further back, that X-Wing frame design first showed up on the 2010 Enduro. That's all in the past, and the new Enduro now has a completely different suspension layout. It's basically a slightly shorter travel, carbon fiber version of the Demo 29 downhill bike, with the added benefit of room for a water bottle and snack storage.
 

 

There's room for a water bottle, and in-frame storage for snacks and other supplies.

Specialized's chainstay protector works very well at keeping any unwanted noise at bay.

The Enduro still uses a Horst link design, with the chainstay pivot located below the rear axle, but Specialized moved the shock lower in the frame and shifted the main pivot location to accomplish several design goals. Those goals included improving the bikes momentum carry (the way that it carries speed through rough sections of trail), increasing the amount of anti-squat, and increasing the amount of progression. Those three goals could have potentially been accomplished using the prior frame design, but the bike would have had a higher standover and center of gravity than Specialized's designers wanted.
 

The Enduro's anti-squat value has increased by 40%, a step that was taken to improve the bike's pedaling efficiency. It may be a long travel beast of a bike, but it's still meant to be pedaled when there aren't any chairlifts or shuttle trucks nearby.

As illustrated by the chart above, the leverage curve is more progressive, and no longer flattens out at the end of the travel. This is a welcome change, and should mean that air shocks won't need to be completely filled with volume spacers in order to prevent the bike from bottoming out on bigger hits. There aren't any coil shock equipped models in the lineup - a Fox Float X2 or a RockShox Super Deluxe take care of the rear suspension duties - but the more progressive leverage curve makes running a coil a viable option.

Along with the changes to the Enduro's kinematics, the bike's rear-end stiffness was increased by a claimed 12% compared to the previous version. The front triangle stiffness remains the same - there wasn't any need to make that section any stiffer.
 

One of the aluminum mules used during the development of the new Enduro.

Specialized has their own in-house test fixtures that are used to evaluate frames before they go to production.

Geometry

The new Demo may have a limited size range, but that's not the case with the new Enduro. Specialized have gone with the same 'S' sizing system used on the Stumpjumper EVO – the idea is that riders can choose their bike based on the reach rather than seat tube length. Short seat tube heights proved plenty of room for longer travel dropper posts. The reach measurements range from 437mm on an S2 all the way up to 511mm for the S5. I've been spending time on the S4 version (I'm 5'11"), which has a reach of 487mm.

The chainstay length has grown a bit for increased stability at speed, and they now measure 442mm. The effective seat angle is a fairly typical 76 degrees.

The Enduro's geometry can be altered by rotating two chips that sit in the shock eyelet. In the low setting, the head angle measures a slack, 63.9-degrees, and in the higher position it increases to a still-slack 64.3 degrees.


 

Look at all those pink bikes. That's a fleet of Enduro Elites ready for action.

Enduro S-Works Carbon

Models

Enduro S-Works Carbon: $9,750 - SRAM AXS Reverb, Shimano XTR 12-speed drivetrain, XTR brakes, Fox 36 Factory fork, Float X2 shock, Roval carbon wheels, Butcher 2.6" / 2.3" tires

 

Enduro Expert Carbon

Enduro Expert Carbon: $6,550 - Fox Float Performance 36 fork, Fox Float DPX2 shock, Code RSC brakes, GX / X01 drivetrain, Roval Carbon wheels, Butcher 2.6" / 2.3" tires

 

Enduro Elite Carbon

Enduro Elite Carbon: $5,310 - RockShox Lyrik Select+ fork, Super Deluxe Select shock, Code R brakes, GX derailleur, cassette, NX shifter, Roval Traverse alloy wheels, Butcher 2.6" / 2.3" tires

 

Enduro Comp Carbon: $4,510 - RockShox Lyrik Select fork, Super Deluxe Select shock, Code R brakes, NX drivetrain, Roval alloy wheelset, Butcher 2.6" / 2.3" tires
 

Enduro S-Works

Enduro S-Works

Enduro S-Works frame w/ Fox Float X2: $3,310

 

RIDING THE
Enduro

The Enduro's long wheelbase and slack head angle are noticeable when climbing - you're not going to mistake this for a snappy little trail bike, but it does pedal very well, and not just for a bike with 170mm of travel. The shock remains relatively uninfluenced by pedaling input, while remaining responsive to the terrain the bike is rolling over. Specialized's full suspension trail and enduro bikes have traditionally seemed to prioritize traction over efficiency, but this new design manages to simultaneously feel very efficient without giving up traction - it's an impressive feat.

I've been spending time on the S4, which has a 487mm reach, but I could see going with a S3 for a little more maneuverability. The seated climbing position was relatively comfortable, partially due to the upright position that the stem and high-rise handlebar create, although I did end up sliding the seat all the way forward on the rails – I think the actual seat tube angle could get even steeper without any negative repercussions.
 

The previous generation of the Enduro didn't really fall into the fast and furious category. It had plenty of travel, but there was something about its handling that made it more of a plush all-rounder rather than something designed for pure, unadulterated speed. The 2020 Enduro changes all of that – it now fits easily into the mini-DH category, and even then the word 'mini' is an understatement.

I don't usually hoot or holler when I'm riding, preferring to keep my emotions buried deep inside, but more than once I actually laughed out loud while riding the Enduro. It's almost ridiculous how much it'll smooth out the trail, and how fast that trait will let you go. Fans of bikes that deliver a magic carpet type ride will find a lot to like here. The low center of gravity is very noticeable, especially when cornering – having the weight centered close to the bottom bracket makes it easy to really push into a tight turn without losing any traction.
 

Matt Hunter taking the high line out of the dust.

Downsides? Well, this is a bike that truly requires a steady diet of wild trails to keep it happy. It's a much more gravity-oriented machine than its predecessor, something that's closer to a downhill bike than an extra-long travel trail bike. Just like it wouldn't make sense to buy a St. Bernard to keep you company in a tiny studio apartment in a big city, the new Enduro isn't going to be the right choice if your typical trails are on the mellower side of the spectrum.

I'll be putting more miles in on the new Enduro over the coming months in order to further figure out its strengths and weaknesses. It's also going to be put to the test against some of the other top contenders in this category; look for the results of that battle to come out later this year.

[Ben]

MTB News schreibt als deutsche Publikation:

 

https://www.mtb-news.de/news/specialized-enduro-test/

 

Specialized Enduro im Test Der weiße Riese

Specialized Enduro im Test: Nach fast 10 Jahren mit dem markanten X-Wing-Design startete Specialized 2019 einen kompletten Umbruch und präsentierte ein neues Enduro, das optisch und technisch stark an das kompromisslose World Cup Downhill-Bike Demo angelehnt war. 29″-Laufräder, ein komplett überarbeiteter FSR-Hinterbau und plüschige 170 mm Federweg sollen dem Klassiker zu alter Stärke verhelfen. Wir haben das aktuelle Specialized Enduro Expert im Rahmen unseres Enduro-Vergleichstests gründlich getestet!

 

Fazit – Specialized Enduro

Das Specialized Enduro erinnert nicht nur optisch an ein Demo – schaut man nicht nach unten, könnte man beim Fahren manchmal denken, man sitzt auf dem Downhillbike der Kalifornier. In unserem Testfeld ordnet sich das Enduro in Sachen Laufruhe und Bügel-Eigenschaften ganz, ganz weit vorne ein. Dabei fühlt es sich jedoch nicht tot an, sondern reicht ausreichend Feedback an den Fahrern weiter. Gleichzeitig gehört es zu den besten Pedalierern im Test.
In der getesteten Größe S4 schlägt der Zeiger jedoch etwas zu sehr in Richtung Vollgas, was in Verbindung mit dem hohen Gewicht leider stark auf Kosten der Wendigkeit geht. Unser Verdacht: In Größe S3 würde das Specialized genauso geradeaus ballern, in engen Kurven und technischen Sektionen jedoch wesentlich mehr Spritzigkeit und Fahrspaß vermitteln!

[Ben]

Loam Wolf haben das 2022 Enduro in ihren 2022 Enduro Field Test aufgenommen und ein ca. 9 minütiges, informatives Video dazu online gestellt: