Test: Although in the past they were big advocates of the 29-inch wheel size, bike giant Specialized has also been using the new 650B wheel benchmark for a short time. The middle wheel size was presented for the first time on the new Stumpjumper, but the successful Enduro model is now also set to 27.5 inches. In Leogang we found out what the Specialized Enduro S-Works 650B can do and how it compares to the 29er model.
The S-Works Enduro was already one of the fastest of its kind as a 29er, now Specialized is putting the successful model on 650b wheels for the first time, which completely replaces the 26-inch version. As is well known, only the best of the best comes close to the noble carbon wheels of the S-Works line. The component list of our test bike looks accordingly.
Carbon wherever you look, color matching par excellence and a simply beautiful design make the bike an optical treat in a class of its own.
While many of the components such as handlebars, cranks and seat post are made in-house and the wheels are also from Roval, a company initiated by Specialized, a high-end set-up is used for the chassis. In all model variants, the Cane Creek comes at the rear double barrel inlineA damper is used, which is specially tailored to the spring characteristics of the frame and should therefore offer the best possible performance. This generates 165 millimeters of spring travel. A Rock Shox, which has also been adapted, works at the front Pike RCT3 with 160 millimeters of travel.
Sram delivers with the Guide RSC-brake and the XX1-drives the remaining components and reduces the weight of the bike to almost 12 kilograms.
After a few minutes of setting up the right setup, we headed to the bike park. From playful single trails to the World Cup downhill route, everything could be found to push the Enduro 650B to its limits.
If you swing your leg over the bike, you will immediately feel good. The balance of the bike, the geometry, everything feels right. In order to zero in on the bike anyway, we took it easy and took the Hangman under the cleats. The trail has some fast passages, tight corners, jumps and everything that is fun. The Specialized literally flies over the trail. The engineers did a great job adapting the geometry to the 650B wheels and you don't feel unsafe in any situation.
After a few runs you are so familiar with the bike that even the big ten meter jumps on the World Cup course were no problem. The chassis can be set up perfectly and gives neither too much nor too little travel, so that you can accelerate the bike nicely and carry a lot of momentum over waves.
It is almost difficult to identify a weak point. Even when crossing to Saalbach, it is unimpressed by the root trail, even if it doesn't roll as well as its big brother with 29 inch wheels. On the X-Line it was us that ran out of power, not the Sram guideBrakes and so we went back to Leogang for one last descent.
Conclusion
The Specialized Enduro S-Works 650B is a tad better than the previous version with 29 inch wheels. As soon as you swing your leg over the bike, you feel comfortable on the Enduro and can go full throttle after a very short period of getting used to it. It is at home on fast, rough sections as well as on slow, technical passages. However, quality comes at a price and that's how it beats S Works Enduro with a mighty 7.999 euros. However, considering the specifications and the good all-round capabilities of the bike, this price seems quite reasonable to us.
product Highlights
- low weight
- very well balanced
- noble equipment
- high price
price & web
- 7.999 Euros
- www.specialized.com