A random ride on a random trail off a random exit
You’re grinding out a long solo drive, and you have a brand new bike, and you’re feeling antsy.
This exit looks good.
|
Unloaded and ready to roll. |
Pull off the ramp and turn toward the hills.
Turn left on this dirt road, right on this one.
Wow, check out that climb. You bet it goes on forever.
Park and unload.
Warmups are for sissies with spare time. Pin it now.
Wow, this is steeper than it looks. And looser.
Up, up, up. Spinning flat pedals, floating above red line and bouncing off the rev limiter.
Bummer, this climb is shorter than it looks.
Have a look around. Take a picture. Pretty sweet.
Pedal pedal pedal and you’re blasting downhill. Big knobs grab loose dirt — not completely, but enough. The bike feels good, but not good enough.
Back to the van. Adjust the suspension.
Up and down, up and down until dark.
Drive.
 That feels better. |
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So how did it finally feel? How does it compare to the previous model? And finally, how does it compare to the stumpjumper? I know, several questions, but i’m very curious!
Same here Lee
Specifically compared to the ‘older’ SL
Climbing ability and singletrack action.
Wow, those new enduros kind of look like an Ibis now. How much travel in the rear and fork?
160mm front and rear.
I need more rides and space to fully explain this bike, but real quick:
– Feels bigger, smoother, stiffer and more stable than Stumpy and Enduro SL
– Climbs just fine. Just did my home loop — 10 mins of tech trail and 35+ mins of road climbing — in the same time as the Stumpy. With fat, sticky tires.
– I’m running a non-stock rear shock with more compression damping through the mid stroke. That makes it feel more connected — more pumpable — than stock.
– I’ve been struggling with the fork settings. For my last ride I went back to stock, and it feels pretty good. I also have a different fork coming, to work better with the rear shock.
Needing more time and decent weather to truly wring this bad boy out.
What shock are you using? I had called Specialized about changing the shock as well and they said it was a non-standard eye to eye and it would be difficult to find something that work other than the stock unit. Also, what fork are you going to use that would work better with a shock with more compression…the stock fork? I’ve ridden the Enduro and thought more compression in the shock would be nice for out-of-the-saddle efforts. Would PUSH be able to solve that concern?
Thanks Lee!
I’m testing an X-Fusion shock and fork. Let’s see how they stack up.
Yes: PUSH can totally dial you in. Tell ’em I sent ya.