vrkelley

The bike I'm looking at is an older 2002 Enduro Comp FSR for a member of the family for Christmas. This bike looks so cool, I'd want to try it out for myself (even tho I'm a roadie). In looking at the Specialized web site I don't understand alot of the lingo.

A. Is this too much bike for an off-road newbie?
B. What the heck is FSR?
C. Shimano Deore LX .. is this a cheapie derailer?

seely

For an offroad newbie I think the bike may be a bit excessive. Its a long travel "all mountain" bike weighing 32+ lbs. I would recommend looking more at a Stumpjumper FSR if full suspension is a must. The reason I say this is because the Stumpie is at home racing, riding XC or as a all-mountain machine whereas the Enduro with 5+ inches of travel, extra weight, is not an XC machine... so not knowing where the persons interests lie I would say that the Stumpjumper is more versatile and has a better chance of suiting their needs for a longer period.

vrkelley

He's joining a mountain bike club. For starters they'll ride on "groomed" trials that were formerly rail road tracks. They'll probably do some hard core muddy trails for peds and horses also that could get as high as 15% grade.

arboc!

this bike would be good for a newbie if you have the cash for it, i say this because the geometry and suspention are both very forgiving... as for fsr, its specialized's patented suspention linkage.

seely

I'm sorry I couldn't disagree more. Especially for a club rider, the bike will be a heavy boat anchor unless the rider is a large rider. 5" of travel on groomed gravel paths??? The Stumpjumper FSR (the FSR is denoted to distinguish the hardtail Stumpjumper from the full suspension model) is a much much more versatile choice. The Enduro is forgiving, but all that "forgiveness" is a burden on uphills and racing (which may eventually come with club participation).

cryogenic

I'll have to side with Seely on this one. I don't see any purpose for a 5" travel boat anchor on groomed XC trails. The Stumpjumper FSR is a great bike from everything I've been reading and would probably be a great bike even for a beginner. I would also say that the bike being considerably lighter and more tuned for XC riding would *actually* be more forgiving and handle better.

Raiyn

While the Stumpy is a better choice than the Enduro, I would never suggest full suspension to a newbie riding easy trails like she described. I would suggest a hardtail simply due to the fact that starting out on a FS rig creats a over dependance on the suspension to compensate for poor line choices. A hardtail will make you a better rider. Once you have a season or two under your belt then I'd suggest looking at FS rigs.

Dannihilator

I'd definately look into hardtail.

jbdmd

my $0.02
i say go big!
i would say get the best bike you can afford. you will appreciate it in the long run and if you hate the sport sell it!

as a roadie you probably already have a good fitness base so if you don't hate the technical aspects of mtb then you will take to it and come to appreciate a bike that may be a bit above you now.

good luck!

VosBike

I'm juts going to presume that you know nothing about mountain bike riding...

The enduro is more of a downhill or freeride bike than the kind of bike one would ride on groomed XC trails, or any XC trails for that matter. The enduro was built to do somewhat extreme riding, drops and serious downhill riding. While its nice to have so much suspension its also extremely heavy and sucks a ton of power away from pedal strokes, making climbing very difficult on the enduro.

Lighter Full-suspension bikes(like the stumpjumperFSR) and hardtails would be better for a number of reasons. The frames would be lighter and have geometry more suited to going up(rather than the enduro, which is designed to go down the hills). Aswell as a better frame, they would also be cheaper than the enduro, alowing you to get better componentry for a similar price as the enduro.

basicaly, if the relative youre buying for knows that he one day wants to get into either downhill riding or pretty extreme freeride, than look at the enduro(which i agree, is an incredibly good looking bike) but if hes going to ride XC(which it sounds like he will) then look to something much lighter than the enduro

now, the starting with hardtail vs. full suspension is a whole nother issue...

excuse the spelling

BurlySurly

Vr,

Whatever you do, do not listen to Seely, Cryogenic or Raiyn on this one. They dont know what they're talking about. Just because someone is new to a sport, does not mean you should buy them crap like a stumpjumper or something. The enduro you speak of is a GREAT trail bike. Its not an XC racer, its a mountain bike, which is EXACTLY what a newbie needs. That way, he can ride ANY trails he wishes, be they light DH trails or XC. Its a great all around bike that will let him experience all facets of mountain biking.
1. It is not TOO much bike, it is the perfect all around bike.
2. Deore stuff is a tad heavy for "serious racers" but its just as functionally sound as XTR, and dont let anyone try to tell you different. Its basically Tiagra level stuff, which of course the racers dont use, but you know it works fine.
3. FSR is just a suspension design owned by specialized. It works well and has for years.

Seriously, if I could go back and replace my crappy first hard tail with an all around bike, it would be the enduro. Its a great ride.

BurlySurly

I am now going to presume that you know NOTHING about mountain bike riding, as an enduro most certainly not a DH or FR bike. It is just a mountain bike. Someones first ride should be an all-mountain bike, as thats what most riding is. Trail riding.

You are steering this man wrong.

hooligan

I have a hardtail, am a newbbie, and I love my bike 100%. Sure, it's 37lbs of bike (Kona Scrap), but as long as I go fun, fast and safe, that's all that matters to me. The hardtail will allow you to choose better lines to go with and give that little extra pop on dirt jumps (if you plan to go on them) that gets the "oohs" and "aahs" out. Not only that, but hardtails are GENERALLY lighter than full suspension.

Dannihilator

This is really good advice.

Maelstrom 

Another one for the enduro. If you ever decide to rough it up a bit. I would be completely confident on that bike. I have seen some enduros take serious abuse on the mountain. Best of all worlds imo. (if I ever go shortish travel dually this is one of 2 or 3 choices)

I like to buy my bikes for what I might do, not what I might not. KNowing my brain I tend to do dumb things sometimes.

vrkelley

Both used bikes are about the same price. I'll have to check 'em out. Thanks for the adivce

a2psyklnut

Tell us more about the "family member".

Is it a young person?

Agressive or timid?

In shape or out?

Although I agree the Enduro is a great bike. I disagree that it's the "right" bike without knowing who's going to be riding it and more details as to 'HOW"

Riding on groomed "rails to trails" and some easy singletrack. The Enduro deserves more! IOW, the Enduro will be too much bike.

For an adult that is an athlete and regularly participates in sports, the Enduro would be my first choice.

For a young pre-puberty teen, it's too heavy for easy trails.

seely

That just pisses me off. To say that Raiyn and I don't know what we are talking about is really, really stupid. We both have quite a bit of experience to back up what we say. You can say you DISAGREE, but you cannot invalidate OUR OPINIONS by simply dismissing us with a wave of your hand. You come across as ignorant keep telling everyone they NEED FS, and you NEED as much travel as is humanly possible. If I missed your point, sorry, but that is what I have taken away from your posts. There are different bikes for different riding, and an all mountain bike is not going to suit everyone, or I would argue, even most for their purposes.

The Stumpjumper *is* an all mountain bike in case you were wondering. Its got a lil over 4" fore and aft, but is still XC race ready, and a respectable weight for an all mountain FS. I think you were maybe thinking of the Epic in your rebuttal which is a purely race oriented FS.

Astra

Hooligan, Surely you meant 27lb!!! My 12 year old steel HT is 26lb .

BurlySurly

Well I hope I invalidated it for the guy who asked, because you two are off base here. Maybe it makes you feel better when people dont ride better bikes than you have, but that's no reason to steer them in the direction of an improper bike. A stumpjumper might qualify as an "all mountain" bike in some respect, but its nowhere near the ride than an enuro is for someone who's just getting into the sport and may want to experience more. I dont care how much experience you have, because your advice clearly shows you're either not in tune with the current progression of sport, or that you're some kind of ulta-simple XC elitist who wishes to convert other riders to his way of thinking. I'll do what I can to work against that type of attitude. Be pissed all you want.

Raiyn

Just ignore him. He doesn't know what he's talking about and wants to stir **** up. It's all he ever does here anyway. Watch he'll have some pithy comment about what I just said.

BurlySurly

You know it.

Why dont you guys just both put me on your ignore lists then? Works out for everyone.

Raiyn your little personal agena is pretty amusing though. I hope it works out for you, I really do.

Raiyn

Told you he'd have something to say.

BurlySurly

Oh, like who doesnt respond when you personally attack them? Only I wont whine to a mod or anything about it, you know, like some people do.

Raiyn

I can only imagine the pithy comment.