2002 Specialized Enduro Expert FSR - The journey...

EarlofBarnet

I originally bought the Mantra in May/June 2009. I was bike-less at the time and wanted something with an ok spec that I could upgrade overtime. I wanted something slighter more heavy duty than a XC bike, so that I could hammer it on the DH's with a bit more confidence. The RRP on this bike was £799 and I picked it up on sale on Wiggle for £450ish.



After six months I thought I'd try a full suss bike so bought a Coiler frame and Marzocchi 66 forks and transferred most of the Mantra parts across on to them. Which built up to this:



The Coiler was brilliant downhill, but I couldn't get on with it on the flats or uphill. So I sold the frame andforks on a couple of months later. As much as I thoroughly enjoyed the Coiler, I decided it was time to go back to a hardtail and go light.

I still had the Mantra frame which donated some of its parts for the Coiler. It is quite a nice frame, so I rebuilt it! I'd already sold some of the parts when I moved on to the Coiler, but the majority of parts could be swopped straight back.

Here how it looks at the start of this thread:



The first ride out on it was amazing. True, I was slower on the downhills, but I was climbing like a hero! Must have shed 15lbs ish from the Coiler, especially with this being full rigid.

Spec:

Frame 17" 2009 Saracen Mantra 3
Forks: Onza Fly Guy aluminium rigid fork (420mm)
Bars: FSA XC-280 XC Riser Bar
Stem:
Headset: Aheadset w/seals
Grips: Diamond Knurl, soft Kraton

Brakes: Tektro Auriga Comp hydraulic with 180mm front rotor and 160mm rear rotor.

Shifters: SRAM X5 9sp Rear
Front Mech: Shimano Saint
Rear Mech: SRAM X5 9sp
Chain Device: Camo Truvatriv 32T

Seat: SDG Bel Air RL
Seat Post: Saracen "Blade" alloy micro adjust black finish
Seat Post Clamp: 31.8 Black QR

Cranks: Shimano 4 arm, square taper
Chainring: 32T Truvatriv
Chain: Shimano HG53
Cassette: Shimano HG50 11-32T 9 speed
Pedals: Crank Bros Egg Beaters
Bottom Bracket: UN52 square taper

Wheels: CentrePoint Alloy Disc Hubs with QR front and rear Cassette, EX-S alloy single wall tough lightweight rims,
Tires: Continental Mountain King 2.0

Weight: Approx 25lbs?

I've ordered some Tora 302 u-turn (and lock-out) forks for the bike, which should be here any day. The original forks were a similar spec (albeit Tora 289's with no-lockout), and I found them ok but a bit heavy. They'll do for now and I'll probably alternate between the Tora's and the Onza forks.

There's quite a few bits I'd like to change on the bike (wheels, cranks, seatpost), which will all get done when funds allow.

EarlofBarnet

Tora's arrived and they look great. Definitely a bargain. Got them fitted tonight too - will post pics up in the morning. Also hoping some Hope brake boss/hose guides will arrive from CRC along with a new SRAM chain. Got the Skiddaw Loop to do on Sunday, so all ready to give the bike a proper run out.

JamesBrckmn

Nice. that bash goes well with the frame. any idea how much it weighs?

EarlofBarnet

Not sure on the weight, it is light though. Think it was lighter than the big ring that was on before it. Does anyone know of a top chain guide I can use when using a bash guard? Most I've read about say they're not suitable. Quite like the look of the MRP X1.

Quick pic from the first ride out with the rigid forks on:


Now with the Tora's fitted:

JamesBrckmn

thanks. i meant the weight of the whole bike though. the toras look good, they look like they make the bike quite a bit slacker.

EarlofBarnet

That was the Tora's set at 130mm. Think I'll be running them at 100mm most of the time, as the front end is a bit too jacked up like that (for me anyway).

I'd have though with the Tora's on it'd be a tiny bit under 30lbs. Maybe 25-26lbs with the rigid forks on? The wheels aren't the lightest, neither is the chainset & bottom bracket. The frame itself is quite light though, I was suprised when I had it stripped down.

Skiddaw Loop tomorrow, 19 miles should see it right

ilovedirt

looks good, i always though those mantra frames looked alright. Looks better with the toras though now, the bottom bracket looked almost worryingly low with the tuf guy forks

supersonic

I think you are looking at 30-32lbs all in.

EarlofBarnet

Not too bad then for a budget bike. It's certainly a good few lbs lighter than the Coiler was.

Got some o/t pay going on my next pay, so hopefully I can treat it to a few more parts. Although, I've got a 1991/2 Stumpjumper retro build to crack on with too.

EarlofBarnet

That's Skiddaw done Was quite cold and windy up by Skiddaw house, but got round in quite a good time. Impressed with the forks, they did the job nicely. The lock-out was useful on the climb up Latrigg too.

supersonic

How are the forks?

EarlofBarnet

Spot on. Left them at 100mm ish, locked them out on the climbs. Can't fault them really

clodhoppa74

i loved my mantra frame, just the rest of it kept falling apart so took it back to halfords and swapped it.

EarlofBarnet

Haha, doesn't sound too good that. The parts on the bike is what attracted me to buying it in the first place, it was very well specced for the money.

Back to a triple chainset now and fitted some Hope brake hose guides (Gunmetal). Wanted a few more bits for the Mantra, but I'm getting stuck in to my Stumpjumper project at the moment.

EarlofBarnet

Had a good blast around Whinlatter today. First time this year in the sun and the trails being dry. Brilliant! Made for a lot quicker laps.



Still spending on my Stumpjumper at the moment, so no real progress on the Mantra. However, when washing it post-ride I removed the 'S' logo's from the seatpost. Looks a bit cleaner now.

EarlofBarnet

Rode all 3 routes one-after-another at Whinlatter on Sunday. All the training over the Winter has definitely paid off. It was entertaining (to me anyway) passing riders on more expensive bikes on the climbs and the downhills.

I've put the 2.4" MK's back on, as I found the 2" ones were breaking away a little too easily. I've not really noticed the extra drag, so I guess they'll stay on for a bit longer.



My Stumpjumper is nearly finished now, and once done I can start upgrading the Mantra. The rear wheel has a bit of play now and the b/b isn't too smooth so they'll be the first bits to get sorted.

EarlofBarnet

The Stumpy is finished. Some pics of the Stumpy and the Mantra together before this morning's ride.



Bit strange riding a fully rigid bike again, and braking with canti's is a bit more interesting. Still, it climbs and handles brilliantly.

Ryan Jones

Nice bike mate, gotta say i love my mantra too. The last week been over cannock chase and machynlleth on it and it's been the bomb. I'm used to playing around in the woods but riding longer rides needs more and this takes it in it's stride an absolute joy to nail down the trails. It's alarmingly similar to an 05 Zen frame (the front end definitely the zen had circular tubing out back though) and i was giving the more experienced full suss riders in the group a serious run for their money on the downhills. Heres mine anyway in commuter form as thats it's 7-3pm job, getting a few choice upgrades shortly too.

EarlofBarnet

Just ordered a new set of wheels for my Mantra. The originals are heavy and one of the parts I've wanted to upgrade for a while. Superstar Components have just dropped the price on their Subzero XC/AM Wheelset to £80.99 a pair (incl delivery), so it was hard to say no:

Superstars super reliable Slick hubs decked out with easy to replace cartridge bearings, built with high quality Sapim spokes and nipples. Because we are almost out of our own brand rims (new range coming in 6 weeks time) we built these up with rims from our own manufacturer - Mach 1. Very similar in weight, performance and dimensions to Mavic 719s these are a perfect match for trail centre performance wheelset - suitable for tyres upto 2.4" .

Specification:

Slick Hubs - QR only, CNC machined forged bodies, replaceable freehub, full cartridge bearings, black only
Sapim Spokes - Silver PG stainless
Sapim Nipples - Brass
Mach 1 Rims - Sub zero rims, 19mm internal Black anodised, XC/AM, Pinned joint, Stainless eyelets

Weight: 940g front 1190g rear including rim tapes

EarlofBarnet

The rims have arrived and are now on the bike

Using my kitchen scales I got the old front wheel weighing in at 1280g, new wheel is 920g. So that's a saving of 360g.

New rear wheel is 1200g. Not managed to weigh the old rear wheel as the cassette is stuck! Any advice?

Thing next the chainset is up for a change to a Deore one with external b/b.

EarlofBarnet

LBS removed cassette off old rear wheel, job well done.

Recent pics of bike. Changes include: new wheels; DMR grips; White gear cable outers.

EarlofBarnet

Not really done much to the bike recently, apart from ride it

However, I did put a cheeky bid in on a set of Marzocchi XC600 forks on eBay the other night...and 'won'. Slightly more travel than my Tora's as they 140mm, but they weight 1lb less so should lighten the bike up a bit. The XC's are more adjustable too, which will be useful.

I've still not yet got round to changing the chainset, but that is still on the 'to do' list.

EarlofBarnet

The forks have landed! 8)



They've just had a replacement TST cartridge fitted and they're ready to. Initial impressions are that they're not as plush as the Tora's, but I think they'll just need to bed back in after the service.

I compared the weight of the old forks and new forks whilst fitting them and I've saved around 1/2 pound. Can't complain

EarlofBarnet

Really impressed with the new forks. Just rode 12 miles on them on my local trails and found them great. Not as plush in the initial first few mm's of travel, but super plush through the rest of it. TST2 function is great. Forks also seem stiffer than the Tora's. Just need a shock pump now so I can play with the air pressure.

EarlofBarnet

Well, it's nearly pay day and with me getting an increment I decided to finally get a lighter chainset for the Mantra.

I was going to order a Deore Hollowtech 2 chainset, but I've managed to get a used (but good condition) XT one for similar money:



Really pleased, can't wait to receive it. I've got some Deore shifters sitting waiting to go on, so might ditch the SRAM shifters and rear mech off the bike and fit an XT rear mech too. Should have quite a nice set-up there.

I've been looking at spending some money on a skills course later in the year too. My fitness has really progressed on the bike so I think investing in a skills course could be beneficial. I think I am quite good at handling the bike but definitely have open ears to any advise.

EarlofBarnet

Chainset landed and thanks to the quick delivery of CRC with the tool it was fitted this morning. Weighed old and new chainsets and have saved 435g's thanks to the new XT one, the main weight saved in the bottom bracket (circa 300g's). Will have a blast out on it tomorrow and see how how much stiffer it is than the original

Pics to follow...

EarlofBarnet

After a bit of a clearout, the rest of the drivetrain can now be upgraded. I'm just about to order a set of SLX shifters and XT rear mech

Still on the hunt for some 2.2 tyres for winter, but can't decide what to go for!

EarlofBarnet

Quick pic taken earlier today:

macomater

Nice looking bike and defiantly majorly improved from the first pic. I like it

When you say you got a good price on the toras if you wouldn't mind could you say where you got them from and how much they were as just started looking at them as a possible upgrade on my bike.

Thanks and keep it up

EarlofBarnet

The bike originally had Tora's on, but without lock-out. I picked up some with lock-out off eBay for £100. Then rode them for a bit before selling them for £75. They're really decent forks, just a little bit heavy. I got the XC600's for little more than the Tora's and in my opinion got a better fork. Not as plush, but 1lb lighter.

EarlofBarnet

Current spec:

Frame 17" 2009 Saracen Mantra 3
Forks: Marzocchi XC 600 TST2 (2008 model) 140mm travel
Bars: FSA XC-280 XC Riser Bar
Stem: Exotic 90mm o/s
Headset: No name Aheadset w/seals
Grips: DMR dual compound

Brakes: Tektro Auriga Comp hydraulic with 180mm front rotor and 180mm rear rotor.

Shifters: Shimano SLX 9sp
Front Mech: Shimano SLX
Rear Mech: Shimano XT SGS

Seat: SDG Bel Air RL
Seat Post: Saracen "Blade" alloy micro adjust black finish (logo removed)
Seat Post Clamp: 31.8 Black QR

Cranks: Shimano XT Hollowtech 2
Chain: SRAM 69 with Powerlink
Cassette: Shimano HG50 11-32T 9 speed
Pedals: Crank Bros Egg Beaters

Wheels: Superstar Sub-Zero XC/AM front and rear
Tires: Continental Mountain King 2.4 Wire

Weight: Approx 27lbs?