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06-10-02, 08:09 AM
My leave last week tied in with my neighbour having a little time off so we got a couple of rides in together. The first was on road, but the second was off-road. Half way round the circuit we swapped bikes, so I got a chance to try his new Specialized Enduro, my first reasonable length ride on a full-bouncer.
He'd built the frame up himself, so I can't comment on the stock components. The Hope disc brakes were quite scary coming from V's, almost too brutal in their stopping power. The XT shifters/XTR rear shifted as smoothly as my SRAM set up, but I couldn't say any better, and I find the XT shifters clumsy, but I guess it's down to personal preference. The Manitou fork was so much better than my basic thing that it's probably pushed my upgrade a little forward.
Regarding the frame and rear shock, I was very impressed with how smooth the ride was over stuff that I'd found bumpy on my hardtail, pleasantly surprised at the way the bike climbed, and very impressed at how much traction the bike had over bumps. The only real negative was how low the bottom bracket seemed with the rear shock at full extension, pedals were definitely in danger of catching when traversing ruts. Pedal bob wasn't a noticeable problem except when trying to accelerate quickly - I guess I stomp when I need a quick burst of speed, which is fine on a hardtail but a big no no on the Enduro.
I think if I was looking for a bike purely for off-road riding I'd now look at dual suspension more seriously, but as my off-road bike is also my commuter and hauler, my hardtail with rack is the better compromise. Great fun to try though.
Richard
He'd built the frame up himself, so I can't comment on the stock components. The Hope disc brakes were quite scary coming from V's, almost too brutal in their stopping power. The XT shifters/XTR rear shifted as smoothly as my SRAM set up, but I couldn't say any better, and I find the XT shifters clumsy, but I guess it's down to personal preference. The Manitou fork was so much better than my basic thing that it's probably pushed my upgrade a little forward.
Regarding the frame and rear shock, I was very impressed with how smooth the ride was over stuff that I'd found bumpy on my hardtail, pleasantly surprised at the way the bike climbed, and very impressed at how much traction the bike had over bumps. The only real negative was how low the bottom bracket seemed with the rear shock at full extension, pedals were definitely in danger of catching when traversing ruts. Pedal bob wasn't a noticeable problem except when trying to accelerate quickly - I guess I stomp when I need a quick burst of speed, which is fine on a hardtail but a big no no on the Enduro.
I think if I was looking for a bike purely for off-road riding I'd now look at dual suspension more seriously, but as my off-road bike is also my commuter and hauler, my hardtail with rack is the better compromise. Great fun to try though.
Richard