[matts73240]

hi monkeys-
i am in the process of getting a new bike, and have it narrowed down to 2 bikes, the specialized enduro and the kona stinky.

lately i have been doing a lot of climbing, but after the climb, its a fast desent on the fireroads. the trails i ride arent too technical right now, but by the end of summer, some of my buddies want to go to some local ski reosrt and ride down the mountain.

i am just trying to see that the other monkeys think of the 2 bikes.

i know that the enduro will climb better, but the stinky wil take hits better.

my LBS guy said that if I go with the enduro, he would throw a coil spring (ex: vanila rc, rl) at cost and put it on my bike, and let me keep the ail shock for milder trails and xc. sort of a happy medium between the 2 bikes.

please let me know what you guys think.

 

[Echo]

Personally I like Kona bikes better than Specialized.

 

[arcteryx33]

I had a stinky and loved it. Mine had a vanilla R on it which gave me many headaches but once upgraded to an RC the bike felt great. The only thing about the kona though is that it is going to be heavier. It will also definitly be a more downhill friendly bike at the local resorts. The whole 2 shock deal seems like you have a very friendly local shop which is something I wish I had.

 

[Evilmunch]

Originally posted by matts73240
hi monkeys-
...

please let me know what you guts think.

My gut tells me i'm hungry


Tough decision (assuming you're looking at the base models). If it were me making the decision I would go with the stinky just because of the uninterrupted seat tube. If you're gonna be doing a lot of climbing and DH the full seat height adjustability would be a big plus IMO.

You could use the cash you were gonna spend on the coil shock to lighten up yer stinky, if you so desire.

 

[NAUGHTY SHORTY]

A riding buddy of mine just picked up a stinky deluxe as a 2nd bike(He's 57). He felt his NRS was too twitchy on the rougher stuff and downhills. He loves it going down, but going up he's not so much of a fan. He's already going to put on some lighter pedals, tyres and tubes and then he'll enjoy going up a little more. If your xc orientated then the enduro may be the better option, but if you like doing everything on one bike then the stinky will be the better bike to ride ANY terrain on.

 

[MikeD]

I threw my vote in for the Enduro on your other thread...IF you can get full seat height adjustability with it. Personally, I can...but I have a short inseam and a long torso, so I don't need much height.

Again, this is coming from a guy who rides his freerider everwhere...it's painful, and unless you're doing 90% freeride stuff, I think the Enduro is plainly the better choice.

 

[FlipSide]

I would go for an Enduro without a doubt.

 

[MikeD]

Yeah, seriously, if you're even close to keeping up with your buddies on XC bikes (on climbs and flat) while you're on a Stinky, you have some seriously out-of-shape riding buddies.

Just cuz it has a triple chainring doesn't mean it'll climb well or quickly. Climbing a freeride bike is either an all-out attack on a short pitch, or a long, slow, raise-your-seatpost and saw at the granny grind.

(says the man going out on an RFX for a jaunt around the park...)

MD

 

[rockstar]

both bikes are great but my preference is thw kona. i've heard such good things about they're durability and ride that i'd lead towards them. also another thing to consider would be is there a local kona dealer in a your area.

 

[Zark]

I say the enduro. An extremely light build on a Stinky is 33-35 pounds. They are tanks made for more freeride abuse. I like Stinky's but the enduro is just a better riding trail bike that are usually sub 30 pounds. If seat height range is a problem, get an Axiom telescoping seatpost to get all the range you need. An enduro will probably be my next trail bike.

 

[mobius]

Get the kona coiler the 5/5 trail lighter fr bike they are putting out. Pretty much an stinky hwo they use to be setup.

 

[Headcrash]

Hey Matts,
I think you are compairing 2 fairly different bikes. The Stinky is way more burl than the Enduro. A closer match would be the Kona Dawg I think.

I don't think there is much question the Enduro is going to crush the Stinky on the way up and vice versa on the way down (especially if the down involves lots of fun stuff - steeps, drops, hucks etc). Both are quality rides from quality companies.

I've been a Kona Stinky rider since '99 when I bought a Dee-lux and have been loving it as my Freerider. I even did a couple of laps at the 2000 2hr Hrs of Adrenaline at Silver Star with it - and it was quite painful! Of course the Gazzi 2.6's I had on it and didn't have time to replace before the race didn't help

If you are planning on getting more into the freeride side of riding, go with the Stinky - it'll go as far/big as you ever wish to progress.

-- headcrash

 

[Babar]

ENDURO !!!

 

[BurlyShirley]

I say, look at the Kona Dawg Delux....even though it wasnte exactly the question...it really is the middle point between the two bikes...

 

[vitox]

ive got an enduro and id vote for that one, i didnt get a stinky or even considered it much because the enduro is a LOT lighter and has great quality travel, the only reason could be if your really heavy and are worried about breaking the frame, but any else and i wouldnt doubt it, my bike is at 27lbs with a 5" coil fork up front, plus you can adjust travel and shock, so i can set mine up as a real freeride machine with a 2,5"/2,35" tire set and fork and frame at full travel, or as an xc racer with dropped fork and short travel with an xc wheelset and tires, only drawbacks to it i would say is poor seatpost adjustment (curable with a telescoping post though, theyre available from titec in 30,9mm) and that its pretty short in the cockpit. mine is the previous generation though, that might have changed, oh, and, its low, i just had my 6 month old 959`s fail from the beating they took when learning to adjust to the low bb.