Mountain Biking - New bike 4 me!

Well guys, I just got back from the shop, and even though I dont have a bike in hand, I have about 3/4ths of the bike payed for. So in about a month I will have my O so beautiful 02 enduro. Im kind of in shock right now because it wasnt long ago when I bought my first bike. Now Im spending two times of what that one cost on a new one. Btw Ill be paying 1299 plus tax which came to a little over 1400. Its a sweet lookin bike that will hopefully ride as good as it looks, and for that money I couldnt resist (hopefully I dont find a better deal once I have bought it =\.

My only hesitation is not the money Im spending, but rather if im switching to FS too quickly. I guess its ok since Im keeping my hardtail, and since I feel perfectly confident on it. I mean I push myself hard down the rough stuff, so once I have my new FS Ill be able to go that much harder. What do you guys think? Does having a FS too early in your cycling career take away from your skill progression? At least I THINK the ONLY thing im loosing from riding a hardtail is the assbeating I recieve after riding a technical trail.

Ill be sure to get some pics up when I get it.

I think it's great to learn on a hardtail, but it deffinitely takes more finesse to ride one. A full suspension is nice for smoothing out the rough stuff and making the downhills faster... but I've yet to find a dual suspension bike that climbs like a light hardtail does. I learned to ride on a hardtail.. and it deffinitely taught me skills I might not otherwise have learned.. mostly finesse. My dual suspension allows me to bomb down the roughest of trails without really using any finesse. They both have their drawbacks... which I why I own both a hardtail and a dual suspension :o

my personal thought on this is that expereience is what makes a better rider than if you learned on a hardtail or f/s; however i do think it's better to learn on a hardtail b/c you learn the virtue of picking clean lines which i'll make you faster in any situation

Yeah, I guess Ill be fine since Im keeping my hardtail, but I also think that I have learned quite a bit over my time on the ht. I guess the question is how much have I really learned and how much left do I have to learn that riding a hardtail would benefit. Im not sure what the exact answer to that question is, but I know that I feel comfortable on my bike and will at least try the dangerous stuff on the trail. And usually when Im trying stunts or jumps, I do them multiple times to just have fun, or try it again after a failure. I bet if I was to spend the next 3 years on my hardtail, I would probably be a better rider, but I feel that I have learned enough to justify the switch. But then again I know sooner or later Ill be upgrading to a FS, and since I am very impatient, sooner would be better than later.

I think once I get the bike, Ill probably use my hardtail for the raod (training) and sometimes take it on trails that I wouldnt really need a FS bike for.

Cool I'll have mine paid off soon too. Question what are the specs on your new ride? Which model? Is it all stock equipped? Didja see this?: Important Safety Notice - 2002 Enduro FSR Bicycles


News from CPSC
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Office of Information and Public Affairs
Washington, D.C. 20207

For Immediate Release
Specialized Recall Hotline: (800) 214-1468
April 25, 2002
CPSC Hotline: (800) 638-2772
Release # 02-147
CPSC Media Contact: Kim Dulic
(301) 504-0580


CPSC, Specialized Bicycle Components Inc. Announce Recall of Bicycles
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Specialized Bicycle Components Inc., of Morgan Hill, Calif., is voluntarily recalling about 2,200 bicycles. The rear seatstays, the tube behind the seat that connects the rear axle to the rear shock, can break, possibly causing the rider to lose control and crash.

Specialized Bicycles has received 39 reports of the seatstays on these bicycles breaking. No injuries have been reported.

The recall involves model year 2002 Enduro-brand bicycles. The Enduro Pro FSR is silver; the Enduro Expert FSR is black; the Enduro Comp FSR is yellow; and the Enduro FSR is blue. The model name of the bicycles is located on the top tube and the brand name is located on the down tube.

Authorized Specialized dealers nationwide sold these bicycles from September 2001 through February 2002 for between $1,650 and $2,750.

Consumers should stop riding these bicycles immediately, and return them to their local Specialized dealer for a new rear seatstay, which will be installed at no charge. For more information, call Specialized at (800) 214-1468 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. PT Monday through Friday.

Come on man throw us a bone here!! New Stuff GOOD!!



:D :beer:

Well as far as the bike specs go, its pretty much stock except the thomson stem and seatpost I already have that will be put on. About the recall on the bikes, I looked into that, and supposedly, specialized shipped out new bikes to the dealers which are marked with a 'P' or an 'S' I believe. The seatstays on these have been fixed. Im pretty sure mine is one of the new models, because it was most likely shipped to the dealer after the problem, so it should be fine. I asked my lbs about it and they recognized the problem and said it would be fine. I couldnt imagine a bike sitting around that long without specialized or the lbs doing anything about it. If they had knowledge of the frame failure they would be wrong to sell it.

Model: Baseline model
Specs are:

FRAME A1 Premium Aluminum Monocoque, 100mm/130mm on the fly adjustable travel, adjustable geometry, suspension frame

FRONT FORK Marzocchi MXC, 100mm travel, air spring, internal rebound adjustment

REAR SHOCK Fox custom, ITCH Switch on-the-fly adjustable travel from 4" to 5.25", 7.625" x 2.00", adjustable rebound

HEADSET Threadless,1-1/8", w/sealed cartridge bearings, black

STEM Specialized,10 degree rise, black

HANDLEBARS Specialized LowRise, double butted 2014 alloy, 9 degree sweep, 670mm width, gold

FRONT BRAKE Shimano M525, full hydraulic disc, 6" rotor

REAR BRAKE Shimano M525, full hydraulic disc, 6" rotor

BRAKE LEVERS Shimano M525, hydraulic

FRONT DERAILLEUR Shimano Deore , 34.9 clamp, bottom pull / top swing

REAR DERAILLEUR Shimano Deore XT

SHIFT LEVERS Shimano Deore (Flight Deck Compatible)

CRANKSET Specialized StrongArm II, square taper

BOTTOM BRACKET Shimano BB-UN-52, square taper, 68 x113

PEDALS Shimano PDM-505, clipless w/reflector

RIMS Mavic X-139, 32h, 26", alloy double wall

FRONT HUB Specialized Stout, 32h, forged alloy, disc compatible, black

REAR HUB Shimano Deore LX, 32h, forged alloy, disc compatible, black

FRONT TIRE Specialized New Enduro Pro, 26"x2.2", kevlar, blackwall

REAR TIRE Specialized New Enduro Pro, 26"x2.2", kevlar, blackwall

NOTE Chainstay protector, reflectors, owners manual

I love how they include reflectors on a bike that will never use them.


BTW Didja see my new baby? (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=18024)

Yeah I saw yours. Sweet lookin bike. I love how bikes look soooooo much better in the garage than they do online =) And when bikes look cool online then your really going to dazzle the trails. By the way, what did you pay for that if you mind me asking?

The bike w/o the wheelset & brakes but with the Duke $925 The Wheelset + brakes were about $300 so about $1225 + taxes and shipping of the parts.