[math2014]

Hi all,

I currently have a specialized rockhopper frame (2003). My riding habbits are DH/XC ,hmmm now with the riding labels it gets a bit confusing so i ll describe...basically i have to climb a mountain and then go DH flat-out (bike and skill permitting) so many people will call this trailriding or a mix of dh/xc or light FR. Anyhow, i am thinking of going FS and my prime choice is the Enduro S-Works 2004 frame. The frame looks superdurable for heavyXC/LightFR and with the addition of an M5 downtube it looks even stronger. Basically Specialized produced the new Stumpjumper FSR and the Epic for XC only use, so i presume the Enduro goes forward as a more FR friendly machine. I am not Berrecloth or Simmons in terms of going big, i just ride hard, with small (2-3ft) drops if they occur on a normal natural trail.....anyhow your advice will be highly appreciated. Is the S-works Enduro a good deal?
In simpler words, i have a Marzo Z1 dropoff 2003 ETA fork and i love it, it reflects how i ride more or less, and my main point is to get a frame that matches the fork exactly in terms of character and most importantly in terms of durability. I dont want a frame suitable for a SID neither a fork suitable for 888 or Dorados DC.

 

[RD]

Seems like you're the target rider for this bike. It's a solid ride, and if anythign ever did go wrong, Specialized's warranty is better than all except for TREK/Fisher. For some reason they keep on swapping between 5yrs and lifetime warranties on their suspension frames. I think it's lifetime now though.

 

[math2014]

Thanks for the reply man,

I really like specialized, however i contacted them today and they told me not to get the Enduro S-works, they said it is an all day XC bike with give or take the same durability as my current rockhopper. They advised me to get the Enduro SX instead which is basically a beefed up enduro with a coil shock instead of an air unit. What do you think?

 

[RD]

You should definitely get the Enduro SX. I actually own one, and have for almost a year now ( I got one of the first ones). It is a slalom/4x specific bike w/ geometry to match. It is not a bike you can sit down and pedal. It has very very slack geometry and is very heavy. I really do not believe you will have a problem at all with the Enduro S-Works. Who did you talk with at Specialized, i know quite a few of the people over there in Morgan Hill and have extensive experience with pretty much all of their line. I've been selling it, riding it, and warrantying it for almost 5yrs now.

 

[jonikl]

dude, I got an enduro trailbike(not the sworks) and it jumps or drops whatever.
I currently ride a bighit and it's what I prefer....on the other hand I can't ride xc on my bighit and I sacrifice that for big drops etc....

so I have an enduro which I have been jumping and it's holding up, but consider that over time it will fatigue and fail under these riding conditions.........also the 04 sworks enduro uses the "brain" technology with a remote reservoir to lock out the suspension on smooth surfaces, the frame is also meant to be lighter weight while still maintaining the strength, the sworks IS more of an xc bike. the 04 enduro pro or expert would better suit your riding style.

From what it sounded like you do, the enduro will be fine
the enduro mx has a little less travel in the rear, stronger frame
and more durable shock. I don't think you can go wrong with either. if you are looking more towards freeriding go for the MX

 

[math2014]

Originally posted by RD
You should definitely get the Enduro SX. I actually own one, and have for almost a year now ( I got one of the first ones). It is a slalom/4x specific bike w/ geometry to match. It is not a bike you can sit down and pedal. It has very very slack geometry and is very heavy. I really do not believe you will have a problem at all with the Enduro S-Works. Who did you talk with at Specialized, i know quite a few of the people over there in Morgan Hill and have extensive experience with pretty much all of their line. I've been selling it, riding it, and warrantying it for almost 5yrs now.

Thanks again for the reply my friend. I contacted Specialized UK, they told me that the enduro S-works is an XC all day bike, and for more FR stuff i should get the SX. From what i have seen on a side to side comparison of the SX with a normal Enduro, the headtube is 69 (enduro 70) and the seattube 68 or something. These angles look good to me, actually i have the same angles on the rockhopper that i ride now. Basically i dont care about weight a lot, and it seems that my choices for specialized framesets are limited to the SX, S-works or the Bighit DH. The s-works seems too XC-ish to me and i dont want to make the same mistake again (i bought the Rockhopper 1.5yrs ago and at the time i reentered mtbiking and i didnt know about the new trends). The Bighit DH looks like an overkill to me. Anyhow the SX seems like the best compromise between the two. It will behave more or less like a SC Heckler. I really hope that it is a durable frame, and as you say, i should definately get it.

 

[Repack]

Originally posted by RD
Seems like you're the target rider for this bike. It's a solid ride, and if anythign ever did go wrong, Specialized's warranty is better than all except for TREK/Fisher. For some reason they keep on swapping between 5yrs and lifetime warranties on their suspension frames. I think it's lifetime now though.

They are life-time. I talkes to a rep last week. I'll be sending back my '97 Max Backbone FSR for an Enduro pretty soon! Maybe I'll get lucky and they'll send me one of those pretty new brain equiped Enduro's......a man can dream, can't he?

Oh- you won't be disapointed with an Enduro.

 

[math2014]

I contacted Specialized UK and USA and both confirmed to me a 5yr warranty....unfortunately

 

[Repack]

Originally posted by math2014
I contacted Specialized UK and USA and both confirmed to me a 5yr warranty....unfortunately

Thats strange. I talked to the Boston area rep last Monday and he said that Specialized had just gone back to lifetime and were making it retroactive on everything.

 

[math2014]

Beats me, i asked this yesterday.
2001 lifetime
2002 5yrs
2003 lifetime
2004 5yrs...

go figure...anyhow whats your opinion on the enduro SX?

 

[RD]

I just rode an S-Works Enduro about an hour and a half ago. And all i have to say is "WOW" The boston area rep. also just said lifetime warranty about an hour ago.

 

[math2014]

RD i am happy to hear that. I dont know man, here in Europe, Specialized UK told me 5yrs only. Who knows. Anyhow i was thinking for the S-works Enduro as well, but it looks too XC-ish in comparison to the SX, and i am on the lookout for an allday bombproof frame capable of handling both real uphills and real DH. The problem with the S-works is that this year we pay 600$ for the brain alone...

 

[buck]

Hey you may want to check the SX, I'm pretty sure its supposed to be like a dual slalmon, 4X bike, not a trail bike. I remember someone else was looking at that and thats what a few people said. I've also seen them built for dual or 4X. Maybe the changed it, but I'm pretty sure its made for jumping and stuff. I saw an 04 Enduro S-Works and it looked amazing. The frame looked strong and he said the Brain helps a lot. Also I've seen Enduro built up with coil shocks and dual crown forks so I'm sure they are plenty strong for what you want. Maybe the thing that makes the S-Works more XC is the components. Good luck man.

 

[math2014]

Buck,

I have checked with specialized directly. They told me that the S-works enduro is more of an all around XC FS bike...lighter than the normal enduros. For my riding (trailriding, light FR/DH) they told me to go with the SX. Apart from a slightly slacked ht and st angle its the same with normal enduros so i wont have any problems. It has thicker gauge alluminum throughout the frame and stronger linkages in comparison with the normal enduro. Apart from that, a well respected UK magazine, MBR tested the SX as a trailbike and the verdict was " If you passed the SX as a 4x bike only, you are mistaken, it is one of specialized's best kept secrets for hardcore trailbikes...up to now."

 

[buck]

Sounds like a good deal then. The lengths of the SX look sort of small compared to a regular Enduro, but I guess if you dont need a big bike then its all good. Good luck man, post a review and some pictures when you build it up.

 

[math2014]

Buck, the SX has exactly the same lengths as the enduro...it just comes in medium or small sizes....other than that the medium enduro is the same as the SX medium. Given that i am 185cm tall i got problems with my 19" rockhopper so i presume that a medium SX will suit me fine...same tt length (585mm) and lower standover height which is what i need.! What do you reckon?

 

[buck]

You are right about the measurements, they are the same as a medium Enduro. I don't know if the seat tube is the same length though. I'd be a little worried about having enough room to get enough leg extension without test riding one. So I guess with any bike I'd test ride it, but there are also a lot of other bikes that would fit what you need.

 

[math2014]

Dear Buck.

I have ridden a medium enduro and the seattube has almost the same height as my current rockhopper frame. So given a long seatpost (350-400mm) i presume that i ll be able to achieve the perfect climbing or long distance riding position in terms of seat height. Unfortunately i dont have and i wont have the option to test ride an SX in britain since its a frame only option and no dealer close to where i live has any demo frames build up. So i guess i ll just have to order the frame.

 

[buck]

Well even though all the other measurements are the same the seat tube lengths could be different. You may want to call Specialized, I was looking at the site and couldn't find any measurement. Since the stand over is lower the seat tube length could be lower as well. Even if you put a long seat post on there you may not have enough room to run at it full length since a certain amount needs to be in the frame for it to be safe. Also with the design you wont be able to drop the seat very far without it hitting the rear shock. It could work just find, but I would check about the seat tube length. It is marketed as a DS, 4X bike so it could be a bit lower, maybe not enough to make a difference, but you would probably want to check.

 

[math2014]

Well bb height is 318mm and standover is 711mm ...the standover is the same as the nomal enduro...The frame is marketed as a 17 inch frame in general *medium size. I saw the other day a medium enduro and a large rockopper side by side...and the seat clamp appeared to be at roughly the same height. What do you reckon?

 

[buck]

Well man if you think it will work then I'd go for it. Personally I'd get something else, like a regular enduro or maybe the Kona Coiler, Azonic Saber, I think K2 also has a bike like that. There are a lot of lighter weight freeride bikes/heavy xc bikes, trailbike, whatever you want to call it. I would go with something with more travel and different geometery. I was looking at picture of the bike built up and the seat tube angle looks pretty slack, which may make it hard to climb. Like the one guy said he uses it has a 4X, light DH bike, and when he uses it has a trailbike its mostly hike a bike.

 

[math2014]

Thanks buck,

Its true that the seat angle is slacker than the normal enduro...but given a 0 deg seatpost you can rectify things. I would get the coiler or a heckler as options but in the UK they are overpriced in comparison with the US prices and Specialized offers a far bigger warranty than both kona and SC. Other than that, people with SX in the UK reported excellent climbing ability, on par with normal enduros. The way i see it, the SX is a beefed up FR version of the enduro, far more durable and the added bonus of a vanilla shock instead of a float. My current frame 2003 rockhopper has similar geometry to the SX (given a 5" Z1) so i presume that i ll be happy with it

 

[buck]

Well man good luck, post a review and some pictures when you have it built. Looks like a cool frame, so I'd like to see how it works outl.

 

[Enduro]

I onw a 2001 Enduro and use it for XC/trail/light FR. It's holds up great! I weigh 200lbs.