The Latest and Greatest takes on Old Faithful - a Mountain Bike Showdown
A few months ago, I picked up a 2007 Specialized Enduro SL Comp to replace my trusty 2004 Cannondale Jekyll 800. With more travel, less weight, I figured it made sense. People were raving about it in different reviews - with a price tag of almost $3000, my expectations were high.
After several trips to different places with the Enduro, it still didn't feel right - I wasn't clicking with it. I figure a bike can be the greatest, most awesome in the world - but if I'm not connecting with it, it's not going to happen. I fine tuned the factory recommended settings, and used a different top crown and seat post to adjust my riding position. Still, it didn't quite feel the way I wanted it to feel.
So I put it to the test. Enduro SL vs Jekyll, Specialized vs Cannondale, the Latest and Greatest vs Old Faithful on the Tamarancho Trail - 7.3 miles of singletrack, with around 1,800 feet of climbing Riding the Specialized, I felt solid on the climbs, easily scaled "The Rock", made it through the rock garden without any incidents, and carved the descent fairly well. It wasn't all rosy though, as the technical stuff tied me up in knots - the high center of gravity and the limited steering lock made things a little tricky. After the final descent, I checked my watch.
First lap was a 59:30.
I gave it another go, pinning the throttle a little more where I could. I pushed hard, and checked my watch at the end.
Second lap was a 59:10.
Two weeks later, I took out the Cannondale. With no front lockout, it moved around a little more during the climb, and "The Rock" was a little tougher to scale. It seemed to flowed much better on the descents than the Specialized, as the shorter wheelbase and more compact dimensions allowed me to get into a good position, way down and well back for the rocky stuff. Despite having 15mm less travel than the Specialized, the coil-sprung Lefty front end let me float through the rock garden - it's as though the bike had more travel than it actually did.
My final time was a 57:59.
Yup - over a minute faster than I went on the $3000 Specialized. And if I didn't fall on a washed out section of trail, I probably would have gone about 20-30 seconds faster than I did.
The end result - the Specialized is for sale. I really like it, but between the attachment kinda I have with the Cannondale and my need for some additional funds (I'm in the market for a carbon time trial bike), I've decided it's best to let the Specialized go.
With another month or two until the rains probably start up (and Downieville shuts down), I'm looking to make the most of things on the trusty Cannondale :)
x-posted to mrcrash and mountain_biking