Bike Forums - Enduro vs Trail

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- - Enduro vs Trail (https://www.bikeforums.net/mountain-biking/1161763-enduro-vs-trail.html)

Hello there,
I've been looking for some advice about mountain bikes. But first off let me tell you a bit about myself:
-I'm 6'3", 180 pounds
-I don't really enjoy rides over 2 hours
-I enjoy shredding trails

I was considering buying a carbon hardtail, to make it easier on me for the climbs, but I really don't think it'll keep up with me, and the closest carbon repair shop is a plane-ride's away. I then came across a second-hand 'Specialized Enduro 29er 2015 model', with 160mm travel up front, and 155 rear. I believe it weighs around 30 pounds. It has a 1x11 SRAM groupset with an oval chainring.

The bike was for sale for about 700 dollars, but i'm not sure whether i'll be able to survive the climbs with a 30lb bike. On the other hand, of course, I have all the travel to play with on the downhill. I've got a 30lb Aluminium hardtail 26er with a 2x9 drivetrain, and it doesn't seem too bad on full-out climbs.

In addition, the price is really good, and I will definitely check the entire bike over and add up the costs of what I need to do to it.

Would I be better off getting a carbon xc bike and working on my endurance on the uphills, or having fun on the downhills with an enduro? Sidenote: I don't have any MTB specific trails where I live, although there are quite a few great walking trails which people use for cycling.

Here's a picture to give an idea of how good the price is:
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e4d186e989.png

The 30lb bike weight isn't the problem with that bike for climbing hills. It's the slack head tube angle that will give you more of a problem.

If you think you will enjoy the 160mm of travel, and slack geo then don’t give the climbing a second thought, the bike climbs just fine. If you were xc racing and you needed to get to the top fast, then you would want a more XC bike.

That sort of bike is perfect for the mountains where you have big climbs and big descents. Might not be as fun on flatter terrain, but even that is a matter of what you want to get out of it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kapusta (Post 20695591)

Great, thanks. I'm sorry for the newbie questions, i've only experienced xc bikes and I'm a bit nervous going big. I might just take the bike on a test-ride just to see how it feels. I definitely bottom out my 100mm coil fork way too much.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DariusP3P (Post 20696012)

I just switched to an enduro bike and the steeper seat tube really helps. Unless you are looking for race speeds going up, the enduro bike will be fine.

I also have a Trek Fuel Ex 8 27.5 + for my trail bike, and its also quite slack compared to some bikes.

Personally I wouldn't have it any other way, and I commonly climb long technical mountains for long descents. Its a good compromise with todays bikes.

Yeah it is all in the geometry. I bought two slackish hardtails, one is a 67 140mm fork and the other is a 68 120mm fork. I'm not going to look up the all geo numbers on them but the 67 which I still have climbs like poo, it is hard to keep the front well on the ground when things get steep. The 68 was alright but still a bit light in the frontend. Just for a goof at a demo day I tried out a pivot firebird with 170mm of suspension and a 65 degree headangle. That thing climbed nearly as well as my 71 degree rigid. Obviously it was heavier but it was as planted as could be and I believe a lot of that is the 74.5 degree seat angle. Convinced me I'd be fine with a 140mm full squish trail bike with good geo on my local trails and well I have been.

Would you say it's pretty good value for money? the seller just upgraded it with a hope pro 4 hub and the price is still the same. hmmm