Specialized officially adopted the mid-size wheel standard, two years after it sent out a memo to the press that the pioneer mountain bike brand had no intention of producing a 27.5-inch-wheel bike, stating that they were convinced that the 26-inch format was fine the way it was, that the 29er was a far better choice for a bigger wheel bike, and that the mid-sized wheel “...represented the worst of both worlds.” Specialized also covered their butts, writing that they would consider producing 27.5-inch bikes if there was sufficient consumer demand. Well that day has apparently arrived, and Pinkbike was invited to Hood River, Oregon to test ride Specialized’s 2015 S-Works Enduros: The Enduro 29 and its direct descendant, the Enduro 650b. The plan was to ride the two bikes back to back on the eight stages of the
Oregon Enduro Series event, held on the spectacular Post Canyon trail network.
About the 2015 EndurosSpeaking very candidly about their decision to build a 27.5-wheeled version of what may turn out to be the best performing mountain bike that the brand has produced in a decade, Specialized said that the primary motivation was market driven – there is massive interest in 27.5 – and also, after evaluating the potential benefits of the mid-sized wheel, that, while the great majority of riders at Specialized are sold on 29ers for trailbikes, that the 27.5-inch wheel can outperform the 26-inch to the point where there is no reason to continue to develop new models in the original mountain bike wheel size. Without putting it in writing, Specialized stated that 27.5 is the new 26 – and that said, they were now tasked with building the best-performing 27.5 bikes made.
Is the Enduro 650b a ground-up design based upon 27.5-inch wheels?No, in fact, the new chassis uses the 26-inch-wheeled Enduro front section, paired to a new chain stay, seat stay, and shock extension design. When Specialized engineers did the math, they realized that, once they adjusted the steering geometry to be slightly slacker for the slightly larger wheel, that using a 160-millimeter-stroke fork would still fit almost exactly in the same space. To achieve the correct bottom bracket height and also to take advantage of the larger-diameter wheel, while keeping the new bike’s chainstays short, the team designed a new swingarm and seatstay strut, thus creating a “new” chassis for the Enduro 650b.
Compare the geometry of the two bikes below, but before you get hot about the fact that the 29er and 27.5-inch Enduros do not share the exact numbers, it must be so. To achieve similar steering and handling qualities between two different wheel diameters, the head angles, fork offset, chainstay length and other minutia must be tweaked. Smaller wheels, for instance, require slacker head angles. Some numbers, like the Enduro 650b’s shorter chainstay length
(422mm), however, are benefits endemic to the smaller diameter wheel. Shorter stays give the Enduro 650 better weight transfer for climbing and the smaller wheels allow for a more compact wheelbase for crisp handling.
That said, being restricted to using a front section predesigned for a 26er to come up with a competitive 27.5 bike presupposes that compromises were made in the Enduro 650b’s numbers – geometry tweaks that could or may be addressed with a dedicated mold in the near future. Recent history shows that every brand who has adapted an existing bike to a new wheelsize has returned shortly thereafter with a dedicated design. To Specialized’s credit, however, the Enduro 650b absolutely shreds in its present form.
What’s new about the Enduro 29?Aside from some cosmetics and new upper shock mount that saves some weight, the 2015 Enduro 29 chassis is carried over from model year 2014 – which is a good thing, because it remains one of the most outstanding AM/trailbikes available in any wheel size. Rear-suspension travel sits at the same 155-millimeters, and it uses a 160-millimeter-stroke RockShox Pike Solo Air fork. Most of the Enduro 29’s upgrades for 2015 are in its components, which are duplicated in the Enduro 650b range.
Specialized's SRL dropper post lever is brilliantly
simple and effective. We hope that they intend to
offer it as an aftermarket item. It should operate
any cable type post. Twin Component Specs
Four Enduro models will be offered in each wheel size, with the same spec at each level. The S-Works and Expert have carbon frames, while the more affordable Elite and Comp have an aluminum chassis. Drivetrains are SRAM XX1 for the top-drawer S-Works, SRAM X01 for the Expert, SRAM X1 for the Elite, and an single ring drivetrain for the Comp. The entire lineup gets some version of RockShox’s highly touted 160-millimeter Pike fork, and Specialized offers its top three Enduros ready to race, with Cane Creek’s DB Air in-line shocks, and internally routed Command Post IR dropper posts that showcase Specialized’s, sweet new below-the-handlebar remote lever called the SRL (Single-Ring-Lever). The S-Works gets and Specialized’s carbon 30-millimeter inside-width Roval Traverse Fattie SL wheels, while the Expert, Elite and Comp share the aluminum versions. All models feature the new Slaughter Control rear tire, with a Butcher Control up front. https://www.pinkbike.com/news/specialized-slaughter-tire-first-ride.html. The entry-level Comp sport lacks a dropper post and its rear suspension is powered by a Fox CTD Evolution shock.
Sizes offered for the Enduro 650b are different, because of the 27.5-inch wheel frame’s lower stand-over height
(10-millimeters) and its average, 38-millimeter shorter wheelbase. Enduro 650bs come in small, medium, and large, while the longer and taller 29er chassis comes in medium, large and X-large. Prices for the Enduro 29 and Enduro 650b, however, are the same for each level, with the S-Works at $9300, the Expert at $6600, the Elite at $4900 and the Comp at $3600 USD. Weights for each bike were not given, but a look at last year’s Enduro 29 models should get you within 100 grams plus or minus. Specialized says that the Enduro 650b is about a half pound lighter than its 29er kinfolk.
FIRST RIDE:
S-Works Enduro 29 vs
S-Works Enduro 650b
Riding with the folks at Specialized is not to be taken lightly. Every ride begins with light conversation and then quickly evolves into a World Championship. Curtis Keene was our guide – calling for two ride sessions each day, repeating key stages of the Hood River Enduro so we could get our game on as quickly as possible. Stages varied from bike-park type flow trails, to thin forest tracks littered with steeps and rocks. With good line-of-sight on much of the course, speeds were as high as courage would allow on many descents. It was easy to find trouble in the heavily wooded sections, though, as thick dust hung in the air and forced trailing riders to fly blind into chunky sections. Keene was loving life. Enduro was his job and the Specialized S-Works Enduro 29 was his office. The eventual race winner was intent on giving us a crash course on both.
The Enduro 29:I won’t give a blow by blow on how the S-Works Enduro 29 rides, because PB Tech Editor Mike Levy covered the very similar 2014 version in depth a few months ago in this
excellent review, and I would report a much similar experience. On the Oregon dirt, and armed with Specialized’s super grippy Butcher Control 2.3-inch tire up front and the speedy, Slaughter Control 2.3-inch rear tire, the latest rendition of the carbon fiber S-Works Enduro 29 was a weapon. I had not ridden one in over a year, and thus expected that I would need few miles of trail to adapt to its handling. Nope. It fit me perfectly, and the initial setup for the Cane Creek DB Air shock and RockShox Pike Solo Air fork proved to be spot on. Beginning on a bike that felt familiar, I spent over six hours on the S-Works 29er before switching to the Enduro 650 – enough time to get pretty confident with its handling and power transfer.
Enduro 29 strong points: It is rare to ride a 29er with 155 millimeters of suspension travel that changes direction with relative ease and responds lightly to steering inputs. Its climbing is efficient as long as one can maintain a minimum speed and flow. Specialized has developed an offset 30-tooth narrow-wide chainring for its S-Works carbon crankset that works with a 104mm bolt circle. The 30 makes long climbs livable, compared to the typical 32-tooth ring that cranks with a similar BCD are limited to. Finally, the more obvious strength of the 29-inch Enduro is its ability to carry speed when the track is bumpy or rock-strewn. Add the stabilizing effect and smoother ride that the Roval Fattie rims give to the tires, and its already stellar performance in the rough get one level better. Summed up, the new S-Works Enduro 29 is strong in every corner of the all-mountain/enduro performance envelope. It requires very little from a rider to cover semi-technical terrain at pace – up or down.
Enduro 29 weak points: Get too slow on a climb and the Enduro 29’s extra rubber and heavier wheels will start to tax your legs. The S-Works model that we rode had lightweight carbon Roval Fattie SL wheels and the lighter tire casing option, but as the day grew longer, the legs were reminded that there are flywheels attached to the bike when hitting punchy climbs. The faster roll-over of the 29er S-Works plays a larger role at slow to moderate speeds. The force of impacts grow exponentially larger with an increase in velocity, so there reaches a point where the moderate reduction of the 29-inch-wheel’s strike angle cannot mask the fact that the fork and shock only move 155 millimeters. As we adapted to the race course and speeds increased, so did the occurrence of flat tires. Everyone who returned on a 29-inch-wheel Enduro did so with the O-rings glued to the fork crowns and pushed to the end of the shock body. Not so much with the longer legged Enduro 650b. The Enduro 29 also requires more time to set up for a turn, and its 780-millimeter handlebar slows steering input further. It take little time to get used to – especially if one is coming off a super slack AM bike or a DH sled, but the Enduro 650b sets up quicker and easier.
Enduro 650b:During the launch, Specialized officials made it clear that, given their druthers, they would not be having the 27.5-inch launch at all and that, “Everyone here chooses to ride an Enduro 29.” This actually made the Enduro 650b better, I believe, because the engineers, marketing staff and test riders were honed on a damn good big wheel bike, so when the time came to crank out a mid-sized wheel version, they tuned the new Enduro 650 to emulate the best qualities of their Enduro 29s. Had Specialized followed the more predominant trend and modeled the new bike after the well-evolved, but perhaps dated traits of a 26-inch wheel bike, I don’t believe it would possess the high-speed stability and easy handling qualities that make it a stand-out performer. In short, Specialized’s first 27.5-inch-wheel AM/trailbike may prove to be the best of both worlds – not the worst, as predicted.
Enduro 650b Strong Points: As mentioned, there is much parity in the handling qualities of the 29-inch and 27.5-inch Enduros – to the point where, once I became at home on the Enduro 650b, I sometimes had to question which version that I was on. The 650 turns into a corner more aggressively. I first noticed this on flatter turns or when setting up for a berm, where I would sometimes slide the front tire momentarily because I was steering into the turn more than necessary. The 29er requires more steering input to get the same results – so when I first switched to mid-size wheels, I was over correcting. Once you commit to your line or set up for a turn, the Enduro 29 will want to stay the course. The positive side of the 650’s sharper steering is that the bike can be moved around in a turn and it is easier to make mid-course adjustments should your original plan go wrong. For a trail rider, that could mean safely riding out of an otherwise untenable situation – for an enduro racer, it could be a real time saver.
Enduro 650b Weak Points: Argue all you want about wheel diameters, but the Enduro 29 will roll faster than the 650 over most of the race course. Back to back riding illustrates this well enough so that no other conclusion can be reached – but the margin is much less than 29er advocates will likely admit. In an enduro situation
(you can substitute ‘shuttling’ or ‘lift access' here), where climbing is minimized and descending can approximate the speed and technicality of DH racing, having the 650’s extra measure of suspension travel, more agility and lighter, sturdier wheels could win the day – and often does. On Post Canyon’s varied tracks, and without the pressure of timed competition, I would choose the Enduro 650b, because it felt more like an extension of my body when I was pushing hard or hitting an unknown feature. That said, if I was looking for seconds on a timed stage, I may find myself wondering if I was giving up something to an unseen Enduro 29 rider.
First Impressions: | As most of my riding is testing bikes, and I rarely enter races, I would choose the Enduro 650b because it is a more playful feeling, easier bike to ride than the 29er version. Physically, there are men and women who simply will not comfortably fit on the Enduro 29, and for them, the 650's handling and performance are so close to the 29er's that the efficiency afforded by the better fit and measure of control should boost or at least match the performance of that same rider uncomfortably patched onto the big-wheel version. Granted, there is a lot of speculation in this first ride report of Specialized's latest S-Works Enduro 29 and 650 that only a definitive long-term test or metered comparison can sort out. For now, I can wholeheartedly say that Specialized's first 27.5-inch-wheel bike is a sweet ride - and worthy of its namesake. - RC |
No, the bike doesn't back pedal. You pedal and it goes forward. If you back pedal, the freewheel kicks in, and lacks any backward movement. You can put a fixed gear on it if you want to pedal backwards, but I don't think that works very well on a full-suspension bicycle.
Regards,
Lack of Irony
A quote or link perhaps?
And I understand that 650b might be better for racing but for people who want to have the most fun 26 is better IMO. I just hope at the very least specialized continues to offer a 26 inch enduro. Maybe they could focus on developing the 27.5 and 29 but just continue to offer the 26 inch version.
Specialized was likely correct in that 27.5 was not necessary when 26 was already here. But going out of business was a stupider move than not only remaining profitable, but continuing to flourish.
One of those unnecessary things is mountain bikes which need to be selling out on a regular basis or the bicycle industry will disintegrate like economy. The only way to keep the cash flow is to reinvent the wheel. It has LITTLE to do with making us having more fun on bikes, vast majority of bike tech and the accompanying Racing fairy tale is for us to keep buying. That is not all because human factor of skill and fitness is so dominating over the bike tech. That is because we do not really need all that stuff, we also do not need to race, and we defo don't need to watch others race. We do it because we like to think that we need all that. If any of you thinks that it plays any bigger role if we ride 26 or 27.5 or even 29" wheels, you are bloody deluded, because as Deeeight told all of us numerous times, 26" happened by mistake anyways. And going up a wheel size is definitely not going to make any bigger difference to how you ride and how you perform.
So drop the seriousness in this pointless discussion because we are all fated to pretend, particularly those who use words like "facts". Biking brings us closer to nature, gives us fun and provides a chance for mental and physical training. One cannot measure that.
Everyone should just read this and then we should all just take a chill pill and go ride. I realize I'm changing my tone here but yeah it all comes down to preference that's what gets me upset about this its like we're getting the right to chose taken away. Specialized if you're reading this just keep making all 3 wheel sizes for the love of our sport.
And the reason most people go "oh but i tried a new 27.5 and it was amazing" is....its a new bike!! And new bikes are always amazing when people buy them and ride them for the first time. I never remember people saying how poorly their brand new 26 inch bike rolled 2 years ago. Most people do not have a clue what they are talking about is the simple truth.
great post!
the irony of the "26 is real" line of thinking is that it was only decided by a business decision - the "safe" supply of an abundance of existing 26" beach cruiser tire stock sitting in warehouses
if the originators of the commercial mountain bike had followed their hearts and taken the big risk (choosing what they felt was better i.e. Nokian tire in 700c x 2", but very limited supply) we would all have known the MTB as 29" from the first day it was commercially available
BUT, it (29" MTB) may have never been available in commercial quantities so perhaps the "wrong choice" of the 26" was the right choice for MTB to come into cycling and effectively save the cycling world which was in steady decline due to the rise of the automobile and the stale state of road cycling
Only 3 years ago it was border line blasphemous to insult the top of the line 29ers. The debate between 29 and 26 was fierce. Now, with a new wheel size all the negative things about 29 inch tires are plastered all over the reviews and the most common 27.5 benefit is, "man, you can still maneuver it like a 26! OR "it can almost roll over stuff like a 29er!" Which to me is like saying you don't need this bike but here's the koolaid,drink up drink up and buy. Kinda funny.
Say what you will, but there is no top-secret meeting of the bike industry demi-gods wherein they all formed a conspiracy to update wheel standards. The simple fact is, bikes these days are pretty damn good. Suspension technology rivals that found in formula 1 and motorcycle application, and engineers are using advanced materials to create bikes with incredible attributes. Progress is going to be harder to come by - and examining what the "ideal" wheel size might be is going to be a great way to eek out a little more performance.
If you really want to define yourself as a biker who only cares about fun and agility, then why aren't your riding BMX or shouting for a 24" wheel size? I bought an S-Works Enduro 29, and it is faster than my old Enduro 26. It makes it easier for me to get to speed, carry speed, and corner....and it is more fun to ride than my 26" bikes before it. Keep on filling blogs with your distaste for progress; the rest of us will be out on the trails, enjoying the speed and fun.
Curtis Keene admits the big S was forcing his to race on a 29er.
Get out of here with that nonsense.
It's cute that the 26 for lyfe crowd have so taken to the unquantifiable term "playful" as their raison d'être.
*a violin plays*
= "and after almost missing the train, we finally got an idea about the market trend and the $ we would lose if we did not follow the trend"
s mostly aesthetics (except the ones on this demo bike seem excessively long)
After a weekend of riding 650b against 26 and 29, I believe that 95% of people in a double blind test could not identify a 650b from a 26 unless they looked at a receipt.
I'm so curious how the TK 26 2.4 measure up to moderate size 650B tires.
I know my TK 2.4 measure about 27"
FRGuild: 26" Enduro has 66° HA. But I think it the 26" is still the better bike
I've heard that Specialized's hospitality is good, I take it the free wine went down well and made things a little hazy... ;-)
Maybe Niner will get on board now!
on a side note, you can make your front shifter work by taking the return spring for the little thumb release (down shift lever), that way it never clicks in to place.
Take a deep breath and enjoy this article "cough cough" advertisement.
Yeti ended production mid-year due to a slump in demand (though I still think frames are still available as new old-stock). I'd be willing to bet that if you wanted to pick up a new one with a warranty you could find one. However, the market has spoken on 26" wheels. Regardless of the reason, consumers are simply not buying them at the same rate as 29 or 27.5.
Have you checked your eBay or Clist for amazing 26" bikes? It's really awesome or sad depending on how you look at it. As a recent passenger of the 650b bandwagon I didn't want to buy something that I won't be able to sell in 2-3 years...and unfortunately a 26" bike has less resale value.
Truth is - usually people that cant feckin ride them!!
They sit at the top of the hill with all the gear and no idea, talkin pish & quoting magazine articles about uni directional carbon lay outs, then get blown away by a 15 year old on a clapped out hard tail circa 2004.
Hopefully 26inch bikes will become cheaper now.
Owned
Now would be a great time for a new manufacturer to enter the market with a durable and affordable 26" wheelset, since so many people still run 26" and all the manufacturers have killed off the size for their product lineups. Basically what's going to happen is people are going to be looking for a new wheelset for their bike and 26" wheels will become scarce on the used market since you won't be able to get them new. Ultimately people will be forced with the decision to buy a new bike somewhere down the line. I would rather buy a new wheelset if I love my damn bike so much.
And lol@specialized.
Armchair engineer, at best.
I figured the 27.5" Stumpy was just a stop-gap on their part, can't believe they took the same approach for the Enduro.
I think @miles-e is from a competing bike company (1 post) and upset that Big S makes bikes better than theirs.
The 1mm increase is obviously minimal, but along with everything going slacker, the trend has also been lower- the new Nomad dropped ~2/3" and is now 1/2" lower than the 650B Enduro. Just comparing the 26" Enduro/Stump Jumper to the 27.5" variants, the difference in bottom bracket height changed from 16mm to 25mm, while the difference in head tube angle went from 1 degree to 2.5 (!)- they're clearly going in different directions on those two metrics based on the constraints of which front triangle they started with.
I think the 27.5" Stumpy is probably more of a compromise than the Enduro (as one would expect with 27.5" being closer to 26" than 29"), but I stand by my original point that you can't just take existing front triangles and throw on different sized wheels and fork and claim everything ends up exactly where you'd want it any way. Evidently it's "close enough" for Specialized, and undoubtedly many riders as well (Fan bois or not), I just think they could have done better.
YMMV, of course.
Thanks for going back on your word, I owe ya one...(Or should I say ~3000$ worth).
Close though on the city, I think "bullshit city" is probably somewhere on I70 in Colorado. The city where I snagged my deal was in Utah.
also, his name is: Curtis Keene -- just saying.
I just saw a specialized 650b Stump jumper at my loal shop over a month ago - go figure...
www.pinkbike.com/news/video-carpenter-vs-atherton-leogang-2014.html
another thought, back to back riding to determine which is better? I don't know but i am always way faster and more relaxed on the second run on the same trail no mater which bike... RC's your reviews are always really weird... sorry man...
When brands simply force things upon the industry, these things die out quickly without dealer support and end user purchase. When you see 650b/27.5 becoming more popular, it isn't a brand conspiracy- the reality is that dealers are supporting it and end users are purchasing it. End of story.
Speaking of better brakes/suspension. The lighter your wheels/tires, the better both those things perform. Since 27.5 is only 25mm bigger the weight savings aren't huge but between two rims and tires it adds up. Even if 27.5 was the same weight, bigger wheels don't zip around corners and change lines as well. That's a physics issue that's never going to change just as 26" will always hang up more and roll slower. Choose what's important to you, there's always going to be a compromise! All things equal, 27.5 physically can't be as agile, light and stiff as 26, or roll as fast as 29" To me that's worst of both worlds, to you it's the perfect compromise.
That aside, it's a very nice, fairly in-depth review. But really...all it takes is testing the 29er back to back with a 650b bike and instead of having amazing big hit response and crazy nice steering there's suddenly complaints about the 29er? I mean the last review treated the enduro 29er as the second coming is all.
major complaint there.. reviews of Spesh products tend to be favorable in most publications, could it be they make good stuff? You do have an Enduro after all so it can't be such a surprise...
Oh wait, the 2104 version was tested already?
.....or go somewhere else......
If you can promise me it's as light as my 26" and I'm still smiling after testing it....then you and I are still friends......
If it's as light as the 26" 2 years ago and I'm still smiling after I ride it....then we are still friends!
Specialized needs to drop all of the proprietary bulls&!t and spec some real parts. Their rims suck, shocks have to be custom, seat post sucks, tires suck, stems suck, bars suck. Now they are making their own chainrings? F##k off.
@Richard Cunningham:
So you use all travel on a 160mm fork and 155mm shock travel 29er, but don't on a 160mm fork and 165mm shock 650B (note the only difference is 5mm travel in the shock only)?
Are you sure you've set up the suspension the same?
another thought, back to back riding to determine which is better? I don't know but i am always way faster and more relaxed on the second run on the same trail no mater which bike... RC's your reviews are always really weird... sorry man...
Someone apparently needs to tell this guy that the 2015 Enduro 650b USES THE OLD 26' FRAME.
Not being a mechanical engineer, but having ridden MTB's since the late '80s, I'm of the opinion that I've developed a reasonable understanding of MTB chassis basics. IMO, since they're using the 26" frame, there's not a whole lot they can change up with the linkage. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm of the understanding that the shock is more or less the same length, plus the frame was designed to use if not a SPECIFIC linkage ratio, then a very small range.
We've been here before with the Tracer 27.5" among others, and when it first came out Intense used the 26" frame, if not the entire chassis.
Like the Enduro 650b, the Tracer was 'terrific', and the fact that it was using the recycled 26' frame was largely minimized by the media.
Not until the DEDICATED 27.5 came out this year, did the media finally rip on the old design, or use it to show how much better the dedicated 27.5" chassis is because of it's improved geo.
Review after review of 27.5" bikes tout the particular bike in the review because IT has a dedicated 'Clean Sheet' 27.5" design, and they all like to 'compare' said bike to the nameless masses of 27.5" bikes who's manufacturer(s) were too lazy or cheap to do the same, instead [re]using their 26" frames/chassis, and simply slapping on 27.5" wheels and doing as little re-working as possible to get 'em to 'work'.
Having owned a '13 Enduro Expert 26", and currently owning the 29" version, I'm anything but anti-Specialized.
It is my strong opinion however, that the Enduro 650b is LESS than what it could/SHOULD have been.
Specialized new Solgan: Why Inovate when we can Cobble it!
The front triangles are indeed 26" wheel units and no 29ers .
Somebody at PB please revise!
You should be a bit more discreet, collectively you're telling sellers that the market is still there and so not to give you your cheap knockdown price. Shhhh!
specialized go home.
Specialized just needs to admit they were wrong and spoke too soon before the new tires were giving a fair chance to be tested thoroughly.