In its final year of production, this iteration of the Enduro were equipped with Brain remote shocks. It was a very XC touch, though the Enduro would soon move in the other direction.

If all that sounds like just so much gimmickry and cleverly-trademarked names (the latter of which is, admittedly, a Specialized specialty), there’s also this: The 2002-2004 Enduro was one of the most competent bikes of its time. Which bike is “the best” at any given time is always a matter of debate, but it’s hard to argue with this point: The Enduro defined its niche during this period. Lightweight, crazy-versatile and sexy as all hell. "We wanted it to be the longest-travel trail bike going--yet as light as most XC bikes," recalls Chamberlain, who cut his teeth working on this model. "We never really had another bike on our radar. We usually never do. We just build what we personally want to ride ourselves. Back then, a lot of trail riders liked to stop and session stuff on the side of the trail, so we designed this to handle big stuff (big for the day) while being light enough to get anywhere you wanted to go. It was like the Swiss Army Knife of bikes – adjustable to do it all."

If all that sounds like just so much gimmickry and cleverly-trademarked names (the latter of which is, admittedly, a Specialized specialty), there’s also this: The 2002-2004 Enduro was one of the most competent bikes of its time. Which bike is “the best” at any given time is always a matter of debate, but it’s hard to argue with this point: The Enduro defined its niche during this period. Lightweight, crazy-versatile and sexy as all hell. "We wanted it to be the longest-travel trail bike going--yet as light as most XC bikes," recalls Chamberlain, who cut his teeth working on this model. "We never really had another bike on our radar. We usually never do. We just build what we personally want to ride ourselves. Back then, a lot of trail riders liked to stop and session stuff on the side of the trail, so we designed this to handle big stuff (big for the day) while being light enough to get anywhere you wanted to go. It was like the Swiss Army Knife of bikes – adjustable to do it all."

What could have been improved? “It wasn’t possible to vary the wall thickness with monocoque technology at the time,” says Chamberlain, “so it wasn’t as light as it could be, but the Enduro was still one of the lightest bikes of its type at the time.”

If the 2002-2004 Enduro was the all-purpose, people-pleaser bike, the 2005 and 2006 editions marked the Enduro’s angry adolescent phase. You want a bike that locks out and climbs like an XC bike? Screw you, buddy. This Enduro lived to descend. Simple as that. The 2005 and 2006 Enduros were fierce (and polarizing) bikes.

Enduro Goes Aggro If the 2002-2004 Enduro was the all-purpose, people-pleaser bike, the 2005 and 2006 editions marked the Enduro’s angry adolescent phase. You want a bike that locks out and climbs like an XC bike? Screw you, buddy. This Enduro lived to descend. Simple as that. The 2005 and 2006 Enduros were fierce (and polarizing) bikes.

The Enduro was equipped with the new Fox 36—the longest-travel, single-crown fork of the day, as well as an extra-long stroke, large- volume air shock. In an effort to maximize the smooth, the new Enduro eliminated DU bushings in the shock, replacing them with outboard ball bearings, which lasted much longer and provided a more supple feel.



The bike was a ripper. In 2006, the Enduro line diverged with a new SX Trail model getting a rowdier build kit and a bump in travel, from 150 to 168 millimeters. With its low center of gravity, slack angles and deep suspension, the Enduro was a go-to model for the descending set. Which also means that it didn’t appeal to as broad an audience as earlier Enduros.



“Riders continued to progress and develop increasingly aggro expectations of their trail bike, so we went big” says Chamberlain. “Journalists, connoisseurs and shop guys loved it. And internally this Enduro was the personal bike of choice for most of the product development team. Sales were good, but it was probably ahead of its time—too much bike for most people. A lot of people still wanted XC bikes that locked out.”

The Black Sheep



The 2007 Enduro was a head turner and a departure. Specialized boldly ditched the basic swing-link shock layout in favor a rocker link. Moreover, this Enduro was equipped with forks and shocks designed by Specialized. The bike had big potential…and a few big problems.

2007-2009 Enduro SL

• Lifespan: Three years

• Designed by: Jan Talavasek, Jason Chamberlain and Robert Egger

• Design intent: "A lighter weight, XC version of the Enduro"

• Frame material: Carbon/aluminum and all-aluminum models

• Fork travel: 150 millimeters (6 inches)

• Rear wheel travel: 150 millimeters (6 inches)

• Geek facts: Carbon Enduro debuts. Specialized-branded suspension, dual-crown forks.



While the 2005-2006 era Enduro was much loved by downhillers, it was more bike than many riders wanted. This new version aimed to correct that. In fact, it aimed to do a lot of things. Lightweight and efficiency were, again, at the top of the priority list, but how Specialized achieved it was radical.



The frame was an entirely new, swoopy-tubed affair. For the first time, there were both carbon-fiber (front triangle) and aluminum Enduro models. Frame weight dropped significantly. The carbon edition tipped the scales at a feather 5.5 pounds with its shock. The complete pro model weighed less than 28 pounds. Those figures are still impressive today.

For 2007, Specialized went all in on “Total System Integration”. By designing more than just the frame, Specialized intended to make a bike that worked better as a unit. The bike would now wear Specialized forks, shocks and wheels. The company rehired Mike McAndrews to head up a new suspension unit. McAndrews had previously led R&D at RockShox, launched Fox’s fork line and designed some of the key suspension components at Paul Turner’s Maverick brand.



The initial results were impressive. Consider the FutureShock E150, a 4.5-pound, 150-millimeter (six-inch) travel, dual-crown fork with 35-millimeter stanchions and a massive 25-millimeter through axle. If those stats don’t get your geek blood boiling, I question whether your heart is even beating. Or, maybe, you just know how this chapter of the story ends. Badly.

Specialized's first carbon Enduro had a frame weight of less than 5.5 pounds. Complete bikes weighed less than 28 pounds-and that was with the dual-crown fork. Damn. Reliability issues, however, plagued both the shock and fork.

Both the radical fork and the Specialized “AFR” shocks were prone to failing. The bike developed a reputation as a brilliant idea that didn’t pan out. When it comes to manufacturing reliable suspension, the execution is just as critical as the design itself.



“I think we underestimated the complexity in manufacturing shocks and forks,” says Chamberlain. “It was a collaboration with a young factory (at the time) and I think both parties struggled with the volume and time challenges.”



What did Specialized learn from this version of the Enduro?



“Riders preferred brand name suspension and they didn’t like proprietary parts (stem and 25mm hub). We also learned,” continues Chamberlain, “that lightweight is always a driver and that carbon was a suitable material for aggressive, heavy-duty trail bikes.”

A Return to Form



The 2010-2012 Enduro ushered in a new era. Gone was the rocker-link design of the previous model. The new bike was, in many ways, a more efficient, featherweight version of the company's 2009 SX Trail model.



The all-new “X-Wing” front triangle debuted on this Enduro and it would prove (after the Horst Link, itself) one of the most resilient design features to ever grace the Enduro line. This new bike was stiffer, lighter, more capable and more reliable than the model that preceded it.

2010-2012 Enduro

• Lifespan: Three years

• Designed by: Jan Talavasek and Ian Hamilton

• Design intent: "Even longer travel. Even lighter."

• Frame material: Both Carbon/aluminum and all-aluminum models

• Fork travel: 160 millimeters (6.3 inches)

• Rear wheel travel: 160 millimeters (6.3 inches)

• Geek facts: 20 percent boost in frame stiffness. Shock extension allowed for full-length seat post to co-exist with swing-link design.



By the time 2010 rolled around, Specialized found itself in a new position—they needed to catch up. There were plenty of great bikes out there that were only too happy to eat the Enduro’s all-mountain lunch, including the Santa Cruz Nomad and Trek Remedy. Specialized responded with this—a sleeker, svelter version of their 2009 SX Trail. The SX Trail was a downhill assassin, which gives you a sense of where this new Enduro was going. Specialized improved upon the SX Trail’s pedaling efficiency, lopped off plenty of weight and were back in the game.

2010's Enduro, with its "X-Wing" frame borrowed heavily from the company's lightweight freeride SX Trail, and proved a return to form. The company hadn’t entirely given up on proprietary suspension bits. The high-end carbon versions were equipped with a carbon-crowned, 160-millimeter travel Specialized E160TA fork that weighed a mere 4 pounds and featured adjustable travel.



This fork required a proprietary headset lower assembly, though the company had clearly learned from the previous Enduro—they sold an aftermarket bearing kit that let you also run non-Specialized forks. That bearing kit came in handy since the Specialized fork still wasn’t as reliable as most of the competition.



At the rear of the bike, Specialized wisely opted for a Fox shock. The shock, however, was a proprietary affair which mated to a shock extension. Again, this was a feature that debuted the prior year on the SX Trail.



"The 'shock extension' is an idea that I had because I was tired of designing seat tubes around shocks, and decided to start designing shocks around seat tubes," says Chamberlain. "Riders still wanted to slam their saddles and we just couldn’t eke out any more seatpost travel with the shock in the way. A 'rocker' design was really the only other option, but too many competitors owned that look. We wanted to get back to a unique 'Specialized' look." The design also left more room for a water bottle mount in the main triangle



Though Specialized owns five patents surrounding the shock extension concept, they clearly haven't fought to keep it out of other companies' hands - it's a feature that's popped up on plenty of competitors' bikes since then.

The All 'Rounder



At first glance, it doesn’t look like the Enduro changed much in 2013 (same X-Wing design, same geometry). The tweaks are subtle on paper, but profound on the trail.



This version handily dropped its predecessor on the climbs, lost a bit of weight and gained stiffness. Moreover, the Enduro managed to maintain its nimble go kart handling while weathering the wheelsize storm that blew through the bike industry during these years. Hello, 29er and 27.5 Enduro.

2013-2016

• Lifespan: Four years

• Designed by: Jason Chamberlain and Dennis Wrobleski

• Design intent: "More travel and lighter--again. And in every wheelsize."

• Frame material: Both Carbon/aluminum and aluminum models

• Fork travel: 160 millimeters (6.3 inches)

• Rear wheel travel: 165 millimeters (6.5 inches) for 26 and 27.5. 155 millimeters (6.1 inches) for 29er

• Geek facts: Eventually available with 26, 29 and 27.5-wheels.



All-mountain bikes are the most demanding models to design. People want their burly six-inch travel bike to climb like a goat and descend like a DH bikes. That’s a lot to ask for. It’s also why this niche generally turns out the most innovative models—people demand it. No surprise, then, Specialized tweaked the 2013 Enduro’s kinematics and shock tune to improve the bike’s pedaling efficiency, they bumped up rear-suspension travel a smidge (five millimeters) and trimmed about a quarter pound from the carbon frame and boosted stiffness with the adoption of a 142x12 rear through axle. The changes sound small, but they were immediately noticeable the moment you began pedaling.

Those changes might have been enough, but they paled in comparison to the next tweak to the formula: 29-inch wheels. Let’s be clear, no one asked for a 29er Enduro. At least, I never heard anyone ask for one. Most long-travel 29ers of the era had all the handling grace of shopping carts. The 26-inch wheeled Enduro, by contrast, was a low-slung, nimble bike with a long top tube and a short rear end. That formula is all the rage these days, but it had been a hallmark of the Enduro for a decade by this point. Adding 29-inch wheels to that formula? It didn’t make sense. But Specialized did it anyway. Amazingly, it worked out.

Specialized wasn't first to market with a long-travel 29er, but they broke molds with this one - which featured a much shorter rear-end, and it changed a lot of peoples' perceptions of what a 29er was capable of.

“I still remember the exact moment when Brandon Sloan told me to stop working on the 26 version and get a 29 version into production. And it had to have all the same geo as the 26 bike,” recalls Jason Chamberlain. “I just sat there and deflated in my chair as the reality hit me. Short chainstays with wagon wheels simply weren’t possible with existing front derailleur technology, and 1x had not taken over yet. I had to get really creative and convince SRAM to partner with us. I had to design a front derailleur mount that was easy enough that SRAM could get on board.”



The end result, however, was stunning: A 29er with 155 millimeters of travel and 430-millimeter (16.9-inch) chainstays… Many riders climbed aboard expecting to hate the thing and wound up eating crow instead. Make no mistake, a new crop of nimble-yet-capable 29ers was already sprouting up, but the Enduro 29er was the most extreme and innovative of them.



And yet the wheelsize that many riders wanted was neither 26 nor 29: They wanted an Enduro with 27.5 (aka “650b”) wheels. Though plenty of Specialized engineers personally preferred the wagon-wheeled Enduro, the company released a 27.5 version as well in 2015.

This Year's Model



And here we are…looking at the new Enduro, which makes its debut today. For 2017, Specialized refined, rather than reinvented, the Enduro.



The latest Enduro receives a modest bump in suspension travel and several tweaks aimed at upping the ante on frame stiffness and reliability. The most obvious change, however, is that there are now Enduros that mesh with every wheel size, including, you guessed it, 27-plus.

2017 Enduro

• Lifespan: Time will tell

• Design intent: "Do it all. From steep, root-laden climbs to white-knuckle descents."

• Frame material: Full-carbon models, carbon/aluminum and all-aluminum models

• Fork travel: 160 millimeters (6.3 inches) in 29/27+ and 170 millimeters (6.7 inches) in 27.5

• Rear wheel travel: 165 millimeters (6.5 inches) in 29/27+ and 170 millimeters (6.7 inches) in 27.5

• Geek facts: Press-fit bottom brackets go away, SWAT storage door arrives. Two frames (29/27+ and 27.5) allow for three wheel options.



Fatter “plus-size” tires are making their way into more and more bike lines and they show up here as well. For 2017, Specialized is offering a line of Enduros that play nice with both 29 and 27-plus (what Specialized calls “6Fattie”) wheels and tires. The chassis is designed on a 29er frame platform “with tire clearance and wheelsize options as a consideration.” In other words: you can fit both 27.5x2.8 tires and 29x2.5 inches tires in the thing.



Still hate wagon wheels and you’d rather burn in hell than rock a set of 2.8-inch tires? If that’s you, you’ll be glad to know there’s also a complete line of Enduros specifically designed around “normal” 27.5-inch wheels. You can fit a 27.5x2.6 tire in that sucker if you are sorta plus-curious.

When it comes to new-bike launches, reliability and utility tend to get short shrift in favor of bells and whistles. Not this time. The 2017 Enduro receives larger linkage hardware and bearings, improving stiffness and reliability. Boost 148 also shows up this time around. Specialized improved the Enduro's Internal cable routing, adding independently-molded tubes within the down tube that should reduce fist-shaking and cursing at the heavens when it’s time to run a line through the frame.



The rat’s nest of cables that always hung beneath the Enduro’s bottom bracket is gone. And speaking of bottom brackets, the press-fit bottom bracket that took root on the Enduro in 2013 is, thankfully, banished and replaced with a threaded bottom bracket. Finally, if you always felt that the Enduro desperately lacked a burrito storage unit, there’s a new SWAT utility door on the down tube.



this How will the latest Enduro fare over the long run? We'll see. In the meantime, Tech Editor, Mike Kazimer, has spent some time aboard the bike and hasto say about it.

Burly. There’s no mistaking this Enduro’s intentions. The bike is one big orgy of forged frame components, a low-slung cockpit and suspension components aimed squarely at descending. If you want to climb big peaks all day, you were knocking on the wrong door. Amazingly, the new aluminum frame didn’t gain weight—it tipped the scales at 6.9 pounds, but there was no shortening the bike’s six inches of rear suspension or “locking-out” of either the fork or shock.