not really all that new or exciting is it..??

tyre clearance will be a big issue for all mtn use, as will not being able to drop the seat-pin...

oops..

i meant whyte, or however you spell it, you know the one...




its grey, i think...!! ;-)

My Eyes!

Sea-urchin, erm, what...?

I'd say it's pretty big news. Not so much the bike but the return to in house shocks and forks - especially from someone like Spesh, that's going to impact on the industry for sure.

The bike itself looks pretty good and Enduro's always do well in the UK. I'd expect it to be a roaring success.

Oh, and if it is 27lb, it's still a pound lighter than a Whyte 46 with a fork that's a pound heavier.

Interesting move by specialized, going away from the FSR design and making their own shocks.

Possibly its due to them realizing their bikes being currently very expensive for what they are, fox shocks cost a bomb and just bump up the headline price. Will be interesting to see how expensive this new machine will be, sub £2k anyone?

Personally I'm interested in the specialized hardtails, they are beautiful but the M5 S-Works is £700 (I just can't afford that for a frame!).

I like it a lot.

I want one!

I think it looks like prety big news. I like the look of it. It's certainly more "new and exciting" than *yet another* virtually identical hard tail frame...

I don't think they've dumped the FSR 4-bar link design, they've just changed the shock actuation design, and for good reasons as discussed in the article. Another benefit is that the shock is now out of the mud-slinging line from the rear tyre, a big weakness with the older design.

The tyre clearance on the fork looks utterly abismal. And that's with 2.1" tyres, and the article says the production bikes will have 2.3". I assume that fork bridge is going to change before production. I certainly hope so.

I hope the suspension oddities aren't a sign of things to come - there's nothing more annoying than shocks that just plain don't work properly. (ok so maybe there is, but it is incredibly annoying when you've splashed a lot of cash!)

I like the look of the front mech design. I hope you'll be able to replace the mech when you see fit though! I hope standard Shimano E type mechs can be used - I don't know whether you can remove the BB plate or not, never having had to play with one.

The only concerns I'd really have with the design are the bolt on mech and the front tyre clearance. The second can presumedly be easily tweaked but bolt on mechs on an MTB would be a worry to me. What if the mech takes a rock hit or something jams between it and the wheel/chainset? Potential for a written off frame IMO.

BTW Pete, you'll have to check to see if they're doing kids sizes first. ;0P

Mike - any comparisions with the previous (current) version? OK, so they have saved weight, but disadvantaged themselves with dual crown, limited tyre clearance and the risk of in house shocks. As the current Enduro is such an awesome bike is it going to be worth it? I imagine as a long term strategy to world domination for Specialized the answer is probably yes but for the rider?

Don't get me wrong I'm not Specialized bashing - I own one and think it is the absolute business, but every time I have ever gone for an innovative product new to market I've had problems - so I'm now going down the route of wait and see how things perform for a season before investing.

Sandy Thomson wrote:

Will be interesting to see how expensive this new machine will be, sub £2k anyone?

Personally I'm interested in the specialized hardtails, they are beautiful but the M5 S-Works is £700 (I just can't afford that for a frame!).

Bear in mind that's the S-Works they're showing so it'll be priced accordingly. The 2006 Epic and Stumperjumper frames in carbon are £1800 excluding forks. That bike as they've reviewed will be running to 4 grand.

Aye new XTR on it n'all man!

which chodski will have one first?

Sorry Spesh, thought I'd stay with you forever - but THAT's so fugly it makes even a Nomad look good.......

Looks to make the all mountain weight weenies among us very happy.

Bold moving, going in house for your own shocks / forks, cuts someone out of your profit margins hey.

It's going to be 3K to 4K range isn't it.

Drawing the Whyte 46 comparison again, isn't that almost £3K? Economics states that you have to compete with your nearest rivals so a same spec version will probably be a similar price. The S-Works full XTR and carbon custom bling everything will be considerably more. £4K not a bad guess IMO.

I wonder will it be less creaky than a 46?

It's got that 'shitting dog' look to it like a Nomad

Ugly as fuck IMO

LOL @ Kato trying to provoke

Trying to provoke whom? I'm expressing an opinion, like my opinion that you should have been aborted in the womb.................