More travel, more wheel size options and more Öhlins
In its first makeover since 2013 the 2017 Specialized Enduro sports some significant changes and refinements. More travel and more wheel size options.
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2017 Specialized Enduro
Need to know
- 27.5 frame and a 29er/6Fattie (27.5+) frame
- Travel upped to 170mm (650B) and 165mm (29/6Fattie)
- Lower, longer, slacker (65.5° head angle on 650B, 66° on the 29/6Fattie)
- SWAT box in the down tube
- Öhlins suspension on the higher end models
- Carbon or alloy models (no SWAT on the alloy Enduros)
- Boost
Boost-ed at both ends
2017 Specialized Enduro
The Enduro model name actually dates back to the last century. The 1999 Enduro was something of an oddball that didn’t really catch people’s attention.
Perhaps the first incarnation of the modern day Enduro was the 2005 version. Remember that six inch travel beast with the brown Fox 36 forks and the 5th Element rear shock? Of course you do.
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Tidy internal cable routing
The 2017 Enduro is actually two Enduros. Actually it’s three. Let us explain.
There are only two frame designs. One is for 650B, the other is for 29in wheels or 27.5+ tyres. So there will be 650B Enduros, 29er Enduros and 27.5+ Enduros (although Specialized insist on calling them 6Fatties).
All the Enduro 29/6Fattie models will come with 29er wheelsets. If you want a 27.5+ Enduro then you’ll have to sort that out with the bike shop.
No surprises with 4-bar
It’s going to be interesting to see who buys the Enduro 6Fattie models and what they use them for. On the one hand, the 2017 Enduros appear to have much more enduro racing specific but then Spesh have thrown in this 27-5+ curveball.
27.5+ for 2017 is going to be ALL about tyre choice. Specialized have some interesting looking options on that front. We’ll have more about that sort of stuff soon though. Hang tight.
We will say that it’s great to see the Enduro 29 coming with Grid casing Specialized Butcher and Slaughter tyres. Good move.
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Some rumours to dispel
The 2017 Specialized Enduro has been the subject of a ridiculous amount of internet guesswork and rumour milling. Some of the rumours have turned out to be true but some have not.
No flip-chip. There is no travel/geometry adjusting flip-chip to be seen anywhere.
No open-sided seattube like the Demo 8. That photo you saw on Facebook was a Photoshop fake.
No pull shock. Although ex-Scott and ex-Cannondale pull-shock proponent Peter Denk is now a designer at Specialized he hasn’t introduced pull-shocks to the Enduro.
No Öhlins fork for 650B. The Öhlins RXF 36 fork is just for the Enduro 29/6Fattie.
Shock Block rear shock mounting
No change to the Shock Block rear shock mounting.
Iconic X-wing profile
No change to the X-wing frame design. There’s no way Specialized would want to ditch this iconic frame profile. Not to mention the cool name.
No longer Command Post dropper. Still only 125mm of drop. Maybe 2018 eh?
So what is new on the Enduro?
It’s slacker…
The Enduro 650B now sports a 65.5° head angle. Whilst the 29/6Fattie Enduro is rocking a 66° head angle. It’s worth pointing out that the Öhlins RXF 36 fork is a larger 51mm offset fork which will reign the front end in a bit.
It’s lower…
The Enduro 650B has a 345mm BB height. The Enduro 29 has a 352mm, which is significantly lower than the previous Enduro 29. The 6Fattie guise of the Enduro will have a 339mm BB height (with 2.8″ tyres).
It’s longer…
On a Large 650B reach has gone up 7mm, chainstays have gone up 1mm, wheelbase has lengthened by 5mm. On a Large Enduro 29/6Fattie reach has gone up 5mm, chainstays have got er, 2mm shorter actually (that’s Boost for ya), wheelbase has lengthened by 17mm.
More travel…
The Enduro 650B comes with 170mm at both ends. The Enduro 29/6Fattie has 165mm at the back and 160mm up front.
More wheel sizes…
There’ll be Enduro 650B bikes and Enduro 29 bikes. The latter bikes will actually also be Enduro 6Fattie bikes with 27.5+ tyres.
More sizes…
Some previous Enduro carbon models only went up to Large. All Enduro for 2017 are available in XL too.
Less suspension adjustment…
This refers to the Öhlins stuff on some of the higher end Enduros. Nine clicks of low speed compression, six clicks of low speed rebound, just three clicks of high speed compression.
SWAT box storage
It’s got a SWAT box…
You know that downtube-located ‘spares cupboard’ that Specialized Stumpjumpers have had a year or so? That’s been introduced into the carbon Enduros for 2017.
Threaded bottom bracket…
Goodbye Pressfit, hello (again) threaded bottom bracket shells. We don’t think they’ll be many riders or mechanics who’ll be sad to see Pressfit disappear from the scene.
Larger bearings…
Larger bearings used everywhere and – get this people – all the bearings are the same size. Woo!
Cabling now goes above the BB
Revised cable routing…
It’s internal and no longer passes through the SWAT box. It runs inside its own special channels. The gear and brake cabling now passes over the BB for less bending/pulling forces.
Öhlins önly for 29in
Öhlins for high end Enduro 29/6Fatties only
We’ve brought you info on the new Öhlins RXF 36 fork and STX 22 rear shocks already. The Öhlins RXF 36 will only be specced on the S-Works Enduro 29/6Fattie.
Öhlins RXF 36 fork dials
The Öhlins STX 22 rear shock will be on that bike but also on the S-Works Enduro 650B, Enduro Pro Carbon 29/6Fattie and Enduro Pro Carbon 650B.
RockShox supply the rest of the builds. With Lyrik and Yari forks and Monarch rear shocks.
How much?
Comp Alloy – £2,600
Elite Carbon – £3,700
Pro Carbon – £5,200
S-Works Carbon – £6,600
S-Works frame only – £2,800