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Enduro Comp vs. SX Trail

6K views 34 replies 12 participants last post by  afp3 
#1 ·
I have been riding my 2011 enduro comp for about 5 months now and so far the bike has been performing the way i thought and coming off of a 2005 hardrock you can't even compare. However, I am finding now that this bike can handle more than my Hardrock can I find myself pushing more and more and now I am starting to feel like things are starting to be pushed slightly to there limits. I am 165 lbs at most and everything is stoock on the bike except for bars and stem. I am finding i am blowing through the suspension rather easy and it feels like the back end wallows a tad.

I hate having buyers remorse especially after dropping $2500.00 on a bike I had to scrape for but now I am wishing i had done a little more research and maybe waited and saved for an SX.

anyone have an Enduro that they can shed some help on to stiffen it up? Is the SX and Enduro that much of a difference?
 
#2 ·
you could put the new mission control compression damper along with the dual flow rebound in your fork.
the high speed compression should keep you from blowing through the travel so quick. for the rear you could swap out the rp2 for an new rp23 which i have heard is a little more progressive. or go with the DHX Air 5.0 which has bottom out progressiveness and bottom out force adjustments.

all i know about the sx trail is that the head angle is 65.5* v 66.5* the wheelbase is 15mm longer and runs a coilover rear shock, fox van on the complete build w/o bottom out control, dhx rc4 on the frameset w/ bottom out adjustment. and you get 20mm more travel.

you could do the upgrades to your suspension for about 600, or buy a new frameset and fork and swap all your parts over...
 
#3 ·
I haven't had enough saddle time on my sxt yet to contrast in detail but the weight is noticeable. Over the enduro. Look at updated shocks first, push monarch's or Evo coils probably good place to start.
The sxt can be ridden up hills but it's painful and in my opinion, the enduro angles are as slack as you want to go for any AM use. I do think the sxt is perfect at 65.5 though because with adjustable cups you can adjust to 64-67. I'm 220lbs and have no suspension issues on my enduro, click the link in my sig to see the build thread and some details.
 
#4 ·
At 165 the Enduro will handle most anything, unless you are hitting some SERIOUS freeride terrain. The SX offers a tad more suspension and a noticeably beefier, and heavier, frame. The SX is an upgrade for DH/FR terrain but a downgrade for everything else. I can pedal it uphill, but its not fun.

I was having similar issues to what you describe, at 200lbs I blamed the shock, not the frame.
I upgraded my 2010 Enduro with the PUSH shock listed below. The PUSH guys set it up so that each of the three settings is exactly how I wanted it (totally revived/transformed rear suspension, i'm thrilled). At your size, you might be able to just have your stock shock PUSH'ed.

Push Industries - 2012 RockShox Monarch RT3
 
#5 ·
Thanks for the input. I have read a few things here and there about people sending there shocks to push but i wasn't real sure that it would be a substantial upgrade. Like I mentioned the bike is great but i am just feeling like is just a matter of time before things start happening. I mean I am no pro or anything but when I ride I like to ride hard and as aggresive as I can. It just seems the more iv'e been riding the more the bike is feeling not as secure. I don't know maybe I am under estimating the potential of it and should just ride the thing and shut up :confused:
 
#6 ·
#7 ·
If you bottom out on a 8 foot drop then it is fine, if you bottom out driving off a curb it isnt.

The SX trail is a park bike, and is built like a park bike. I just got my 2nd enduro, and i have done everything from 20 foot gaps to 8 foot drops and it handles it fine. Do i do this stuff every day, no way.

Check the PSI in the shocks, maybe put a little more in.

Ive heard that the grease mod can cause problems by clogging up the valves if it gets loose. Ive seen that fox makes a shim that does the exact same thing and is pretty easy to install, i know they do for the rp23.

If those fail go to a coil or a dhx.
 
#11 ·
Ive heard that the grease mod can cause problems by clogging up the valves if it gets loose.
Yep. Grease/oil can migrate to the negative air chamber reducing small bump compliance.

Ive seen that fox makes a shim that does the exact same thing and is pretty easy to install, i know they do for the rp23.
And yep. To the OP, just go straight to the fox volume filler, smallest would probably work best.

I used grease to see if volume reduction was viable. It was, so removing the grease for the Fox piece. The fox kit is $25 and "ramps up" the Enduro's abilities :drumroll:

P
 
#10 ·
I actually just got in the DH kit for my Lyrik Air R , having it installed as we speak . Heard nothing but amazing reviews about it. Also i will echo what everyone else has said about having the rear shock PUSHd ... That will be next for me as soon as i dial in some fork settings for my riding . I weigh in around 190-200lbs without gear and i ride hard on steep roots, rocks, and small drop offs in NJ terrain and i have never bottomed out my suspension. Just make sure your getting properly fitted and dialed in .:thumbsup:

I actually had my bike up for sale and was looking into picking up a SX trail but then i really thought about it. Am i taking huge drops or gaps ? No , am i taking it to lift mountains every weekend ? No . I just installed a Reverb hydro seatpost, went tubelss, and now my DH kit is being installed on the fork :) , i couldnt be happier and honestly the bike rips as i am getting to be a better rider and push it even more for AM trails .I hate climbing but i do it, why make it less enjoyable? lol .. I would use the SX as more of a freeride style trails. I would use a Demo for DH tho :p I honestly cant imagine another bike and im super in love with this thing .
 
#12 ·
The enduro can handle pretty much the gnarliest terrain out there. Being that you are probably a beginner as you just came off of a hardrock, I doubt you have outgrown the bike's capabilities already after only 5 months. If you are blowing through your travel as you say and feel sketchy, it sounds like you just need to up the spring rate in the fork / Shock (aka add air pressure). Also, increase BOTH your compression and rebound damping. When you start going big and hitting things hard it will feel sketchy if your rebound is too fast, you can gain a lot of stability by slowing it down.

That being said, it is not a full on downhill bike. If you only care about downhill and want a bike that handles the roughest terrain out there, skip the SX trail and go straight to the Demo/Status. The SX trail is just too much of an in between step to the Demo and you will regret buying it if you actually want a DH bike. SX Trail's SUCK at climbing! So if you're looking for an All mountain bike, that is not the bike to choose despite "trail" being in the name, it is definitely not a trail bike.
 
#13 ·
Yeah I know I mentioned that i'm not a pro but I am far from a beginner. I know it sounds like it coming off a Hardrock and all but I just had a hard time justifying spending $2000.00 or more on a bicycle when I could grab a used dirtbike for a little more. However I don't want to get into a pissing match about how I ride I just was thinking for spending $2500.00 on a bike I figured it would pretty much be set, nothing more to put into it. I am finding out that is not the case.

I look at the terrain I ride and what I like to do. Yeah I don't mind pedaling, it keeps me in shape and honestly I read a lot of comments how the Enduro is not that great of a climber and I think it is fine, doesn't bother me. I guess I will have to get over the fact that even though it is a good bike I am going to have to dump at least another $500.00 or so to get the suspension up to par.
 
#14 · (Edited)
Well you can also look at it this way , people purchase bikes that cost up to 9k , so 2k really isn't much if you think about it :) .... I have a new 2012 enduro and I have already dropped almost 1k into it lol .. Plus I will be building out a wheelset so that's another 1k ... You gotta pay to play man . You should of done some more research before you bought a bike. Nobody is trying to knock ya here but just give you some advice.

If you want a bike that you buy and forget it, then you should of looked into the 4-5k region and comes equipped with top of the line parts, otherwise you should of bought a hardtail .. A FS bike coming in around 2-2500 is a decent entry level bike. If you ride true DH trails then you need a DH bike .Good luck to you man :rolleyes:
 
#15 ·
I hear ya, and I appreciate all the advice and feed back. I guess it's also that little voice in your head that tells you if and when you are satisfied with what you have. I'll look into the DH control for the forks and getting the shock pushed and go from there, maybe even look into a coil for the rear if that is something i can do??
 
#19 ·
No it doesn't pedal that bad IMO but that all boils down to rider experience and strength. My 08 was lighter,had a steeper HA and had trailriding in mind when they developed that suspension. The new 2011 took the bike out of the so called do it all level and clear is stated that it is not designed to be an efficent pedaler.

Did I notice a big change from the 08 and 11..Hell yeah but I have found that I can still make all the same climbs ect . However it takes a bit longer or a bit more energy.

As for the enduro it was abused by me doing stuff day in day out it wasn't meant to do. I also cracked my 08sxtrail using it for what it was meant for however that took 3 years to crack .
 
#20 ·
No it doesn't pedal that bad IMO but that all boils down to rider experience and strength. My 08 was lighter,had a steeper HA and had trailriding in mind when they developed that suspension. The new 2011 took the bike out of the so called do it all level and clear is stated that it is not designed to be an efficent pedaler.

Did I notice a big change from the 08 and 11..Hell yeah but I have found that I can still make all the same climbs ect . However it takes a bit longer or a bit more energy.

As for the enduro it was abused by me doing stuff day in day out it wasn't meant to do. I also cracked my 08sxtrail using it for what it was meant for however that took 3 years to crack .
Interesting.

Yeah, I just read some reviews on the 2011 SX and they did say that you are not going to kill it going up hill but it does climb, it just takes a little more time and patience. I didn't buy a bike like the Enduro or something similar so i could be 1st going up hill. I wanted something that i could climb then ride the wheels off going down or play hard without having to worry that i'm pushing it past it's ability.

It's all good. I will just have to ride, have fun, and see where this takes me.
 
#22 ·
I must say , the DH dampers I upgraded into my fork made a world of a difference ... WOW I gotta say , this thing coasts thru rocks like butter , very active and handles insanely sick .. The lo and hi speed also is just awesome , really helps on the tight switchbacks :) .. 200 dollar upgrade so worth it .. I'm def getting my rp2 shock PUSHd for my next mod .
 
#24 ·
Yeah I think at this time I am going to stick with the Enduro. I am going to look into doing some things to it to stiffen it up, (wheels, suspension work) and just ride the heck out of it. If Specialized has the waranty back up that I have read and heard then I will just continue to ride it hard and see what happens.

MY front hub already has a little annoying side to side movement going on with it, I hope it doesn't get much worse, fork has some top out play that i didn't notice when I first got the bike? Little things here and there that i'm going to have to work on and get dialed in.
 
#25 ·
No worries man, i have the same play as well as others do too .. The hubs that come on the bike suck , ill be building out a wheelset soon . The creaking your probably getting, try re lubing the headset on the underside of it , should take care of that .

I got a video coming up soon from a little run i did today, i ride some chunky boulder rockish trails lol .. Camera is def bouncy but gets better.. Just to show you what kind of abuse it can take :)
 
#26 ·
No worries man, i have the same play as well as others do too .. The hubs that come on the bike suck , ill be building out a wheelset soon . The creaking your probably getting, try re lubing the headset on the underside of it , should take care of that .

I got a video coming up soon from a little run i did today, i ride some chunky boulder rockish trails lol .. Camera is def bouncy but gets better.. Just to show you what kind of abuse it can take :)
it's not that it's creaking (that was actually happening when I first bought the bike so i took the headset apart, cleaned the bearings applied a little grease to them and it's fine now).

yeah post the vid i would like to see.

i will try to post some pics of my bike to show what I have done so far.

thanks man !
 
#31 ·
I just picked up a new enduro, 2011 expert with a '12 fox 36 Fit talas rlc, and jesus christ it rides as fast as my old DH bike. 66.5 head angle w/o sag is just crazy. comin off a 2008 sworks enduro sl, the new bikes suspension climbs better despite the weight, and is so much stiffer. Ive hit 8 ft drops on the old enduro, i cant wait to run them on the new rig.

As far as specialized wheels go, i have had bad luck. Completely taco'd my P1's front wheel on a flat landing the 5th or 6th time riding it. Also f*cked me up pretty bad. Well see how the roval traverses hold out on the new bike.
 
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