Specialized Enduro 29 Expert Carbon - Review

This last weekend I had the opportunity to demo a 2014 Specialized Enduro 29 Expert Carbon from my local shop.

Specialized makes the Enduro 29 in seven different builds and sizes, as well as three frame options. I rode one of the three 29 inch versions, the Expert Carbon, which is the highest tier model without being an S-Works. The bike retails new for $6,600 at your local Specialized dealer. Don't worry, the 26 version of this frame is available for the same price, as well as four other 26" models ranging from $3,300 to $9,250, two of which are the EVO models, whose travel is boosted up to 180mm for park and freeriding. There are many different color schemes available, from the stealth black Expert Carbon frame to the cyan and black Comp frame.
You can see all of the models and colors at http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bikes/mountain/enduro

Enduro Expert 29 Details

• Purpose: all-mountain
• Rear wheel travel: 155mm
• Wheel size: 29"
• FACT IS-X 11m carbon, M5 alloy rear triangle
• RockShox Pike 29
• Roval Traverse 29 wheels, 142+, 15mm
• Stealth Specialized Command Post IR
• Sizes: medium (tested), large, extra-large
• MSRP: $6,600


Fit

Climbing aboard the Enduro 29, your first impression is that it's a big bike. The axle-to-crown of the Pike 29 is near 565mm, which is very close to the ride height of a Fox 40 or Rockshox Boxxer DH fork. For this reason, the front end is comfortably high, and gives you the feeling that you are on a monster truck of a bike. The headtube is 110mm, and with a no rise bar and stem, my hands were right in the position I wanted them. Standover on the medium was 30.6", which felt adequately comfortable for getting on and off the bike. The next thing I noticed was that although the bike is big, when sitting on it you actually get that inside the bike feeling, presumably due to the big wheels and riding position. The top tube is 22" long, but the bike at first seemed too long to get up into a wheelie. After a few attempts, I got used to it and realized that the short chainstays helped the bike pop up into a very controllable wheelie or manual. The 750mm wide bars really helped control the bike, adding to its ability to be flicked or hopped between lines. Overall, there is no denying that the Enduro 29 is big, but once you get used to its size, you can tell it's just as fun of a play bike as anything else. I am 5'11' with a 31" inseam, so my usual bike size is a large, but I was very comfortable on the medium, and don't feel that there is any reason to get a large frame.

Climbing

The Enduro 29 may not get you many road climb KOMs right off the bat, but that's not what it's meant for. When climbing with the CTD shock in Descend mode, there was a very noticeable sag in the suspension which felt a little soul sucking. Flicked into Trail, however, the bike climbed and accelerated with ease over rocky ground. I ran the shock in Climb mode the most, because coming off of a hardtail I wasn’t very used to the suspension activity happening as I pedaled. Another tester with considerable time on full suspension trail bikes remarked at how well the bike climbed with the CTD activated compared to other bikes in the category. The shock was not completely locked out in Climb mode, leaving enough suspension to absorb bumps and roots when climbing. I noticed the big wheels and their ability to carry momentum over rough, rocky ground aided a lot in climbing, and actually helped me get better Strava times!
This bike favors those who sit and spin circles as opposed to the stand-up-and-mash style of pedaling, which, unfortunately, is my go-to for climbing steep terrain. It wasn't slow climbing by any means, it just took a little more effort than an XC rig. Of course, that is to be expected, if you want to smash climbs go get a 29" hardtail, if you want to smash descents get this bike...

Descending

Ah, this is the good part. The first time I pointed this bike downhill into a trail, I felt immediately at home. The stability at high and low speed over the rough was confidence inspiring. It accelerated very quickly, picking up so much speed off of a small roll in that I completely dropped my friend who was following me. (He's usually faster than me downhill!) I kept and kept on accelerating, even through a rocky loose section, staying stable and in control the whole time. The trail quickly leads upward, and I used the gathered momentum to zoom (there's no better word) up the first section and drop the hammer leading into the first corner. Again and again, after every turn in the trail, I would find myself accelerating at a much higher rate than usual, getting up to speed much more quickly after a slow section, and maintaining that speed over anything in the trail. This bike ROLLS.
For this reason, it becomes quite an undertaking to slow the bike down. The Elixir Trail 7 brakes rose to the challenge, offering enough power to slow me down, at least. Braking to a stop took a bit more effort and finesse, even with the 200mm rotor and 4-piston caliper. This was probably due in part to the wet conditions and short bed in period the brakes experienced. I do prefer the power of Shimano's brake offerings, but wouldn't rush to switch them out when buying the bike. The Avids worked great in modulating and scrubbing speed when needed.
The Comp version of the bike comes with a Formula C1 brakeset, which, from my experience with it, doesn't do too well of a job. I have owned some amazing Formulas, even a Oro/Puro pair that I'd go to say are my favorite brakes, but the lower end C1 has poor power and lever feel. Some Elixir 5 or Shimano SLX brakes would be a much better choice.
This bike felt extremely balanced over sections that normally buck me around, since the rolling inertia and plush suspension absorbed most trail obstacles. It felt like riding in a Cadillac. Sending the bike off drops was no problem, it did not want to dive forward and down like many other bikes.


I found that on steep roll and drop-ins it was extremely easy and confidence inspiring to get over the back of the bike, it was a short distance away, and felt very comfortable having the entire bike between me and the trail below. I actually wish I had the chance to ride more steep chutes, because the bike made it easy to point it and hang off the back down ledges and rock piles.


Through chunder and fast, loose descents, this bike tracked very well, with insane amounts of traction. It felt like I could lean it over and farther over in corners......


Some trail riding and descending.

Cornering


I have never ridden a bicycle that corners better. Forget talking about “cornering on rails”, trains have horrible turning circles. When leaned over and pushed into a flat, loose-over-hardpack corner, the Enduro refused to break traction. In order to begin to shralp or drift, you had to tap the brake and lock up the back wheel. We even tried bar dragging on a wet, grassy lawn, and much to our frustration, we couldn’t get the bike to slide. Specialized makes some great tires. The larger contact patch of the 29, plus the super low bottom bracket, short chainstays, and aggressive tires aided the bike’s ability to blow our minds when it came to cornering. There’s no way to describe how the bike hooked up, you have to go test ride one.

Corners!

Jumping


The Enduro 29, with its big wheels and plush suspension, wouldn't sound like the best jumper. It turns out we were wrong. This bike begged to be popped off of small lips at high speed and sent off roadgaps into big tabletops. The snappy suspension and short chainstays really made the bike feel comfortable in the air. The wide bars helped muscle it around in the air, making it very easy to flick sideways for extra style points. What surprised me was the amount the bike flew forward off small rollers and drops. It seemed to stay in the air forever, making it easy to huck over tricky rock sections with little effort. The rotational inertia of the big wheels provided a very predictable stability in the air. Overall, we were very surprised with how well the Enduro 29 took to the air.



Our Take
The 2014 Specialized Enduro 29 Expert Evo is a freakin' sweet bike. End of story.



Just kidding, but really. It descends better than any other bike I've ridden. It climbs relatively well in Trail or Climb. And above all else, it's a blast to ride. This bike is fun, it's fast, it's stable. Like Matt Hunter said: "Prepare for your confidence to get out of control." I rode this bike on my 6th and 7th rides back from a broken leg, only a few weeks off crutches. It gave me the confidence to plow down rock gardens, send some sweet jumps, and go really, really fast. I was very disappointed to go back to my bike, and I'm currently saving and figuring how to get one for my own. This is a bike that could win DH races, it already has. Its a perfect Downieville bike, and it's named ENDURO. Like, duh, its an ENDURO BIKE. They're all the rage right now, and this is one of the best out there. Go ride one, come back, and tell me how awesome it is.

Thanks for reading, and many thanks to Tour Of Nevada City Bike Shop, Specialized Bicycles, and my friend Dylan Mueller for making this test ride possible and a lot of fun.