Specialized S-Works Enduro 650B - Review

For a company whose mantra is “Innovate or Die,” Specialized's reluctance to enter the burgeoning mid-sized wheel market was slightly unexpected. When they finally did decide to release their 27.5” models, it was with little fanfare, lacking the splashy marketing campaign you'd expect from such a large company. This hesitance to fully get behind another wheel size was likely due in part to the efforts they'd spent on developing their line of 29ers, bikes that had earned them countless accolades, including Pinkbike's Bike of the Year for the Enduro 29. Whatever the case may be, the brand has now firmly stepped into the 27.5" arena, with models to cover everything from trail riding to DH racing.

The S-Works denotation on the Enduro 650B we tested signifies that it's Specialized's top of the line offering, a bike spec'd with all the bell and whistles, including a carbon front triangle, carbon wheels, a SRAM XX1 drivetrain, a 160mm RockShox Pike RCT3, and Cane Creek's new DBInline shock. Those high end goodies do add up, bringing the Enduro's price in at $9300 USD, but there are less expensive models available, including the base model aluminum version for $3600 and the base model carbon version for $6000.



The Enduro 650B's frame isn't the complete redesign many expected to see when the bike was announced. Instead, it uses the same carbon front triangle that the 26” version uses, paired with a different chain stay, seat stay, and shock mount to accommodate the slightly larger wheels. The overall look of the bike remains unchanged as well, with Specialized's distinctive X-Wing frame shape that has the rear shock mounted in between the top and down tube, and then connected to the rear seat stays with a U-shaped mounting bracket.


The derailleur and brake housing are routed along the bottom of the down tube, a design that's seen a decrease in popularity with the recent resurgence of internal routing, but at the same time it's one that we haven't had any trouble with, and also allows for easy housing swaps. The housing for Specialized's own dropper post, the Command Post IR, does run internally down the seat tube, but it soon exits on the downtube and runs externally along the underside of the frame as well. The lever for the dropper post is a close replica of the lever shape used by SRAM for their shift levers, making it one of the most ergonomic designs out there.

SRAM's 1x drivetrains have proven to provide excellent chain retention even without any sort of guide, but for a little extra peace of mind Specialized has included minimalist upper chain guide that uses two out of the three ISCG 05 mounting points, a creative way to save a few grams while still providing plenty of security against dropping a chain.


It should come as no surprise that the Enduro uses Specialized's FSR Horst Link suspension layout, a proven design that places the rearmost pivot on the chain stay in order to minimize the effects of hard braking on the suspension. This design is part of the reason Specialized has been able keep the bike's chain stay length down to 422mm, since the chain stays mount directly to the front triangle rather than using some type of secondary link in between. The Enduro 650B also uses Specialized's own 142+ rear dropout spacing, which is intended to increase rear end stiffness. This spacing sees the driveside hub flange moved 2mm farther out, while the end cap on that side is shortened by 2mm, a design that's intended to provide a better spoke angle and to increase wheel stiffness. Don't fret, though, because a 'regular' 12x142 rear wheel will fit just fine if for some reason the stock wheelset gives up the ghost, although it's worth noting that a 142+ wheel won't work on a 12x142 frame.

---

Specifications Price $9300 Travel 165mm Rear Shock Custom Cane Creek DB AIR Inline, high/low-speed compression and rebound adj., w/ climb switch, 8.5"x2.25" Fork Custom RockShox Pike RCT3 650b, Solo Air spring, tapered alloy steerer, w/ lockout, 2-stage compression, rebound adj., 15mm thru-axle, 160mm travel Cassette SRAM XX1, 11-speed, 10-42 Crankarms S-Works FACT carbon, custom XX1 chainring, OSBB, 34T, 104mm BCD spider Rear Derailleur SRAM XX1, 11-speed Chain SRAM PC 1195 Shifter Pods SRAM XX1, 11-speed, trigger Handlebar S-Works All-Mountain, low rise, carbon, 8-degree backsweep, 6-degree upsweep, 31.8mm Stem Syntace F109, 6-degree rise Grips Specialized Sip Grip Brakes SRAM Guide RS Carbon Wheelset Roval Traverse SL Fattie 650b, carbon, 30mm inner width, 24/28h Spokes DT Swiss Revolution Tires Specialized Butcher (F), Slaughter Control (R) Seat Body Geometry Henge Expert, hollow Ti rails, 143mm Seatpost Command Post IR, 3-position height adjustable 125mm Compare to other All Mountain/Enduro/XC

---

Climbing / Handling

Our test bike came equipped with Specialized's 780mm S-Works carbon bars, a good choice given the bike's hard charging intentions, although the 70mm stem that the size large comes equipped with is an oversight – a 50 or even a 40mm stem would be more fitting for all sizes across the board. Suspension setup is fairly straightforward, and although the number of adjustments on the Cane Creek DBInline shock can seem daunting at first, the base tune that Specialized and Cane Creek have come up with is an excellent place to start before turning any dials. Cane Creek have their reasons for forgoing tool-free adjustment option on their shocks, but it'd still be nice to not need to take out a tool for every adjustment.

165mm of travel, a 65.5 degree head angle – look at those numbers and you're probably thinking the Enduro will be another addition to growing “Mediocre climber, comes alive on descents” genre. That's a reasonable expectation, but the truth is, the Enduro 650B is an excellent climber, especially on the chunky, technical stuff, the type of obstacles that Sedona's trails were full of. Initially, I'd felt certain I'd be using the Climb Switch feature that's found on the Cane Creek DBInline shock, where the flick of a lever adds more compression damping while also slowing the rebound to aid with climbing. In reality, I found the feel of the shock in Climb mode to be too harsh for my liking, especially in the full 'On' position – it took away the grip that helped the bike climb so well. This hasn't been the case with other Climb Switch equipped shocks that I've been on in the past, and the custom tune that Cane Creek provides for Specialized may have been the reason for the different feeling. It was also a little tricky to actually reach the Climb Switch lever since the shock is hidden from view by the top tube of the frame. Luckily, the bike's pedaling performance with the shock fully open is nothing to scoff at, and I was surprised more than once by how the bike could clamber up menacing-looking walls of rock without any trouble. The bike's light weight certainly deserves partial credit, but it was the way the rear wheel hugged the ground without losing traction, even during hard, out of the saddle efforts that made the Enduro 650B so capable on the climbs.

Depending on your local terrain and fitness level, the 34t front chain ring may end up feeling a little tall - I was fine with it in Sedona, but I typically run a 32 tooth ring to help with the long, steep and sustained climbs in my neck of the woods back in the Pacific Northwest. Also, since there's no direct mount option on the S-Works carbon cranks a 30 tooth chainring will be the lowest gear option that's possible.


Descending

The Enduro has a Clark Kent / Superman-like personality, one that's mild mannered and easygoing one minute and then transforms into a full-blown superhero the next. This is a bike that's just as comfortable cruising along at a casual pace as it is blasting through technical sections of trail at warp speed. Achieving this level of versatility can be a difficult feat, especially on a bike with 165mm of travel, but Specialized have done it, creating a bike with easy handling at slower speeds that can also be pushed hard on gnarly terrain without skipping a beat. The short, 422mm chain stays make quick direction changes a breeze, and when you combine that with the bike's weight, you've got a lively, nimble machine on your hands. The bike's ride height does feel a touch taller than some of the more low-slung, ground hugging offerings that have recently hit the market, but cornering was still quick and precise, and I didn't have any trouble moving the bike around underneath me in steep, chopped up terrain.

When it comes time to get airborne the Enduro shines as well, with minimal effort required to hop from one side of the trail to the other. There's a liveliness that encourages doubling up trail features and looking for obstacles to bunny hop over, while at the same time bike's suspension has a way of smoothing out rough sections of trail in a way that encourages going faster and faster. I plowed through every shape and size of rock imaginable, but the Enduro refused to get bogged down, even when faced with repeated square edged hits, the type that can easily cause a shock to pack up and lose its responsiveness. However, we did run into an issue with the DBInline shock - it lost its rebound damping after only a couple day of hard riding. Cane Creek quickly sent out a replacement, and after swapping out the faulty shock, it was smooth sailing once again. When it's working properly, the DBInline has a smooth yet supportive feel that's one of the best around, and not just for an inline shock either - its performance is on par with the top reservoir-style shocks on the market as well.



Component Check

• Specialized Roval Fattie SL Wheelset: Wide, light, and as it turns out, strong, the Roval Fattie SL carbon wheels held their own in the desert, even when faced with miles of chunky sandstone that perfectly demonstrate the phrase 'square edged hit.' On more than one occasion the sound of a carbon rim smacking against sandstone had me fearing the worst, but each time the wheels remained true and unscathed. They did occasionally emit a 'thwang' noise under hard cornering or heavy braking that seemed to come from the straight pull spokes, but this didn’t seem to have any adverse affects. We currently have another set on hand for an even longer term test where they'll be subjected to the harsh conditions of a Pacific Northwest winter, but given their excellent performance in the desert there's no reason to think that they won't perform just as well.

• Specialized Command Post IR: It was the Command Post's lever that won me over, a near mirror image of the SRAM shifter on the right side of the bars. It's the most intuitive remote lever I've used, and the lack of a hydraulic line and the fact the it sits under the bar gives it a much greater chance of surviving a crash. I'd still like to see the post offered with an infinite number of stopping points instead of the three positions it currently has, but other than that nitpick the post worked well, with a quick return rate and a solid feel.

• Specialized Slaughter Tire: The Slaughter was an excellent tire for the hardpacked to dusty desert conditions we ran into during the test period, with even more grip than I'd expected. Even when it does lose traction it remains predictable, and it doesn't take long to figure out how to break it free to slide through a turn for even quicker cornering. Riders whose terrain tends to be wet and extremely steep will likely want something a little more substantial, but the range of conditions that the Slaughter is useful in is greater than its appearance belies.

• Cane Creek DBInline: As was mentioned previously, the DBInline is one of the best feeling rear air shocks currently on the market, but unfortunately ours only lasted two days before losing its rebound damping for the first third of its stroke. We didn't run into any issues with the replacement that Cane Creek sent out, but it's too bad that such a stellar performer seems to be having durability issues. Cane Creek is currently evaluating the shock to determine what went wrong, and this review will be updated when more information is available.


Pinkbike's Take:

---

Visit the high-res gallery for more images from this review.

---

Posted In:
Reviews and Tech Reviews Enduro Bikes Specialized Specialized Enduro