specialized enduro expert carbon - GIDDY UP-DATE

bennyy

so im back in the AM/enduro scene.

after building my covert earlier this year:




after getting tired of mainly riding downhill I sold it buy a downhill bike:





which I then got tired of rarely riding and having to drive hours to get anywhere decent, I sold that, which leaves me where I am now, bought a new am/enduro bike a few weeks back, a specialized enduro expert carbon 2013..
heres how I got it:



a few of the parts were not to my taste and needed changing, mainly sram drivetrain, 60mm stem and nukeproof 760mm bars, I feel it was set up more towards the xc side, rather than aggressive riding. the tires that were on (spec butcher control front, purgatory rear) were no good for the winter slop my local riding has, so the butcher control was put on the rear, along with a 2.35 trailstar magic mary for the front.

I also gave the brakes a re-vamp with icetech 203/180 rotors, with uberbike race matrix pads, put in a size larger volume spacer (now largest) in the rear shock, now much better.

heres how it stands now






upgrades include:
shimano xtr crankset, with 32t raceface narrow wide
xtr 10sp shifter
xtr 10sp shadow+ rear mech
renthal fatbar carbon 780mm
renthal apex stem 40mm
magic mary 2.35 trailstar

I also have the following parts on their way:
one up 42t & one up rad cage
burgtec offset shock bushing, which will take head angle to 66degrees and drop bb ever so slightly.

I am overhall very happy with the bike, the forks are literally the best trail forks I have ever ridden, (previously had pikes on my covert) just a shame they cannot be kashima coated (for the bling), they are 2010 fox 36's, with 2014 rc2 damper, once I got these dialled in they are so plush, yet ramp up perfectly just by adding a little HSC.

weight is 29.5lbs as it stands with pedals and bender fender mudguard, 2.5lbs lighter than the covert.

enjoy

tatankainlondon

bennyy wrote:

.....
burgtec offset shock bushing, which will take head angle to 66degrees and drop bb ever so slightly.
....

Would you mind explaining how this works?

Lovely bike btw!

The Rookie

Bushing for the shock where the bolt hole is not concentric with the outside diameter, this has the effect of shortening the eye to eye length so at full rebound the rear will ride slightly lower, stroke (therefor travel) stays the same so you have to beware of the possibility of issues at full bump, though in reality it's not usual to have issues over a few mm.

CitizenLee

Awesome bike! Always been a Specialized fan, and love the Enduro in particular.

Before I built my Mega I actually had a 2103 Enduro Evo on pre-order but it kept getting delayed and I ended up spending the money.

bennyy

The offset bushing has the effect of shortening the eye to eye of the shock/running more sag, it slackens the head angle and lowers bb slightly. Of course it does not actually effect the eye to eye, and means you can run normal 25% sag. It will take the head angle from 66.5 to 66, as the enduro only has one shock bushing, the other end has the direct link.

It has still not arrived from burgtec, from an email last week they said they shipped it on the 8th, but say they will send another, I think they were too quick to say they will send another, maybe they just haven't shipped the first one yet?

Quick before and after, new xt cassette, with one up 42t sprocket, 16t sprocket and one up rad cage.

mike hunts alpine

Cracking bike that.

bennyy

Cheers guys, got some dmr vault pedals to order, the nanos are jus not wide enough and causing my little toe to ache when riding

ilovedirt

Much better - spec on that when you bought it was really odd!

bennyy

Cheers lads

I got the offset shock bushing all sorted, it's strange looking down while seated and being able to see all off the fork stanchions lol. Super impressed with the bike now, handles the descents brilliantly and only gets better the faster you go, coming off the long super slack gambler the bike handles like it's on rails.

After a few rides at my local dh push up, I am feeling super confident on the bike and enjoying it even more, around 4 miles pedal down the side of the river, nice short steep climb then a push to the top much beats sticking the gambler in the back of the car and driving 3-4miles.

Shocking picture but here: how I love to colour clash :P :roll:

bennyy

So these came through my door today, Dmr vault pedals and odi Troy lee grips, not had a chance to get out on them yet though

MysticWolf

Great Bike !!!

bennyy

So my enduro carbon frame went off to its new owner Thursday, and I recieved this this morning, new build thread will be started tonight

rockmonkeysc

Which one did you get? Im test riding a Scout tomorrow and a Patrol next weekend. Probably going for the Scout.

bennyy

Got the patrol buddy, just fitted up my old 26" wheels and forks for now, wheels are being built and forks out of stock until 31st, 150mm stealth reverb on the way too, just couldnt resist a ride

rockmonkeysc

Very nice. I think I need to try a Patrol but Im hoping the Scout is what my Mega TR should have been if they got the suspension and geometry right.
The reviews I have seen for the Patrol are extremely good. How does it compare to the Enduro?

felix.london

bennyy wrote:

Got the patrol buddy, just fitted up my old 26" wheels and forks for now, wheels are being built and forks out of stock until 31st, 150mm stealth reverb on the way too, just couldnt resist a ride

nice!

What wheel build? What fork? Lovely looking frame right there

bennyy

I have not ridden it yet, but I think it will suit me down to the ground, the enduro was an excellent all rounder, pretty balanced between ascending and descending, the patrol I think will get up nearly as well, but be better going down. My old covert from what I can remember seemed faster through the rough than the enduro, the enduro seemed to get hung up on real rough stuff, but I had the gambler inbetween and nothing phased that bike.

I think I will be going to my local dh runs tomorrow, nothing too rough but might give me an idea.

Build is pretty solid, nothing fancy, I originally ordered flow ex on pro2 hubs, but got a call today saying they couldn't get hold of any flows at the moment would I be happy with the hope tech enduro rims, so I just said yeah bugger it give them a go. They will be tubeless with a magic mary front rock razor rear, forks will be pikes to match the rear shock. I may go for some saint brakes in the near future also.

ej2320

Yeah Buddy! back with transition

rockmonkeysc

The Hope enduro rims are great. I have got them and had flow ex. The hopes are definitely stronger.
The Patrol should be somewhere between the enduro and your old Transition, the horst link should feel similar to fsr rear suspension.

bennyy

Thanks guys, still not had the chance to properly ride it, and not going to for a couple of weeks, spent the morning sorting brakes and shifter, adjusting chain length, then had to nip for new olive and insert for rear hose, as I needed to remove it to thread through the internal routing, then bled it up,

Now I've just sold my forks and tires (wheels also for sale), new wheels will be here in a couple of days, however forks are out of stock at bike discount.de until 31st, crc out of stock and pretty much everywhere else want a small fortune

elliotmarzo

The patrol looks so good man.