An all-new tire designed to satisfy the most demanding rider in any situation. The Enduro has a higher air volume for both a plush ride and protection from pinch flats. Pro level offers longer wearing tread compound than our S-Works racing version. Throw our Flak Jacket puncture protection into the mix and you've got a bullet-proof lightweight tire.
Submitted by
Tardif
a Cross Country Rider
from Montreal
Date Reviewed: June 15, 2004
Strengths: Very good 4 climbing, in sand, on wet surfaces, and trails
Weaknesses: Not sthong ennough 4 downhill
Bottom Line:
These tires are very good for trails. I tried them twice at Bromont for downhill. They were ok in the lightest downhill trails. The only pinch flat I got wth these tires is been on the "very difficult" rated downhill trail @ 32psi (40psi is better). So these tires are excellent for the purpose tey are made for.
I went straight down the hill (on the ski track) with no air in the front tire, ant this tire is still ok !!
Bike Setup: hard tail Specialized Hardrock comp 2002 /80mm RockShock
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Brad
a Weekend Warrior
from Oakville, ON
Date Reviewed: October 18, 2003
Strengths: None, so far
Weaknesses: Very hard tires.
Bottom Line:
Can anyone out there tell me why these tires are so incredibly hard with little tire pressure? The current tire pressure setting is 26psi both front and rear. I have never had to run a tire so low to get adequate traction. I aslo have a RM Instinct and I keep the pressure around 40psi. I thought my tire guage was wrong so I checked with three others. Nope, these tires are like rocks. I have ordered new and different tires to replace these ones. If anybody has any ideas or suggestions for why they may be so hard, let me know.
Similar Products Used: IRC Mythos, Panaracer Fire XC Pro, Michelin Comp S.
Bike Setup: Stock Enduro Expert
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Chuck7
a Cross Country Rider
from Tucson
Date Reviewed: June 19, 2003
Bottom Line:
I wanted to post a followup review to my comments below where I give the tire low marks for steering, as a front tire, and for downhill front tire stability.
After one and a half weeks of continuting average rides (rough and rocky around here in Arizona), approximately 100 miles, the tire is starting to lose side knobs, all in one area, about 5 knobs, either cracked or hanging off by a thread. It looks as if a strip of weaker material was put on, unevenly, on the side-knob area.
I never had this problem on other tires this early, e.g. my Jones tire held out about 6 months, my Continental Verticals about 10 months, and never w/in the 11 months did the Geax Sturdy 2.25 I tried crack or lose a knob.
I've been noticing the tire's steering trouble after putting it in the back- IMO, it drags around like dead weight when you do any serious steering. It's just easier to cope with in the back.
Overall, I give the tire low marks because of manufacturing defects and poor design, i.e. tire does pretty good in some areas, like climbing up a steep hill or traction till you hit a certian angle, then drops dead and falls apart when you have to do anything on rough stuff. It's almost as if "coprorate" somewhere up the line changed the design of the edge area at the last minute.
Submitted by
chuck7
a Cross Country Rider
from Tucson, AZ
Date Reviewed: June 13, 2003
Strengths: Big and cushy. Good traction. Good in sand. Seems like a decent back tire. Good climber.
Weaknesses: Tire, when on front wheel, does not corner well over rough terrian, or handle safely on rough downhills. I had it on the front for a couple weeks and noticed in rocky areas when you start to corner it dumps over to one side quickly, with kind of a zone where you feel there is no traction or steering available at all. It was frightening going down rocky slopes.
Bottom Line:
A terrible front tire for me!! Going down rocky hills it had a halting motion on bumps and rocks that was miserable. I switched the front tire to a Geax Sturdy 2.10 and the halting motion disappeared.
The Enduro, when in the front, really did not corner well when things got rough. I could feel it as soon as put the thing on there, doing tight circles in a rock strewn parking lot.
I've got the Enduro on the back now, where it is working out much better. It has a quality ride feel, but not the best corning tire in the rough. It is confident in sand, climbs gnarly stuff well, and handles fine on the smoother varieties of the dry dusty trails in the area.
Similar Products Used: other specialized, WTB and Michelin tires
Bike Setup: Specialized Stumpjumper FSR
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Christopher Green
a Cross Country Rider
from Phoenix, Arizona
Date Reviewed: December 31, 2002
Strengths: These tires came with my new 02 Enduro and the first 7 weeks I loved them. Great grip in various conditions. Nice float on soft sand and they hook up nicely on climbs. I experienced very little slippage.
Weaknesses: Today, following our "goodbye to 2002" ride, I found two sidewall knobs missing off the back tire and a side wall split-- rim to knobs-- in the front! Good lesson for always cleaning and inspecting your rig following a good ride!
Bottom Line:
At 200lbs and only moderately aggressive, I would have expected the Specialized Enduro Pro to hold up a little better. We ride typical desert stuff out here (crushed granite, rock, sand and dirt) and I LOVED these tires until today. I typically roll off descents and rarely skid the rear tire. The missing knobs I can understand given our terrain, but the split side wall... kinda wierd!
I'm returning to mountain biking after a 7 year layoff and don't know which way to go on the next set of tires. Any suggestions? I think these tires may do better in less rocky environments.
Submitted by
Shawn Austin
a Cross Country Rider
from Milford, MA
Date Reviewed: December 31, 2002
Strengths: Light, good traction when new and intact, good flat resistance (at least for me).
Weaknesses: Specialized makes he weakest side knobs in the biz. I ripped them off the original Team Master and Control tires, and now have done same with the Enduro 02. There is not enough rubber to secure the knobs to the casing, so when you're pedalling hard up rocky terrain, they tear off. This is probably why they can make a tire this wide only weight 570 g.
Bottom Line:
If you ride trails w/out rocky terrain (i.e. dirt only), they would probably work good for you. I kicked the crap out of these tires, and got good traction, and NO flats (on a Mavic 317 rim no less, which I did dent in a couple of spots) over six months, but the lack of side knob durability and tread wear on the rocks somewhat limits the usefulness of these tires. I ripped off about 12 knobs by the time I decided the tire had to go. Too bad, because I liked it as much as the Conti Vertical Pro, and they cost less and flatted less (not sure what the guy below was doing to flat them so much. I weigh about 185 and run about 40 to 45 psi). It seems this is a chronic problem with specialized tires. The same thing happened to me with the old Team Master/Control tires, and after going through two of those really quick, I swore off Specialized tires. The Enduro drew me back in with its size/weight combo, but you know what they say, fool be once shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. I am going to try a Conti Survival Pro-tection to see how that fairs. Heavier, and probably won't roll as well, but it looks like it will have good traction for a reat tire, and the knobs are beefy looking.
Worst tire I have ever had! The first ride back in the Spring I blew out the sidewall. My LBS replaced it with another, which I have just ditched this last weekend. This tire has shed several side knobbies and worn down very quickly (riding about once a week – 10 mile ride). It also seems to have a propensity for pinch flats (never had a single one with other tires in 13 years of mountain biking). It doesn’t even hook up well; every time the going got loose on climbs I had to ride with sensitivity (ha!) to keep from spinning out. I just switched back to a PanaracerXC Pro that I liked from a couple of years ago.
In fairness to the reviewers below who like this tire, it may just be that the tire isn’t suited to my trails, my style (or lack thereof) or bike. I ride very rocky, frequently loose trails, I have no finesse in my riding style, I tend to ride through obstacles and I ride a five/six inch travel fs bike.
Strengths: Volume, hooks-up well, good all round tire.
Weaknesses: Sidewalls, sidewalls, sidewalls.
Bottom Line:
I felt like I'd found THE tire until I slashed a sidewall. Patched it up and assigned it to urban duty, pinched a tube on the first ride. Never had a tire fail as easily. Can't be trusted to handle any abuse. Three flamin' turds.
Favorite Trail: Upper Stoney Squaw, Banff, Alberta
Duration Product Used: 6 months
Price Paid:
$30.00
Purchased At: Mountain Magic, Banff, Alberta
Similar Products Used: Pananracer FireXC PRO
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
BrianL
a Cross Country Rider
from Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Date Reviewed: September 29, 2002
Strengths: fairly light fairly fat
Weaknesses: fairly slippy? side knobs could be a bit bigger (I could happily live with 100 more grams to get more grip)
Bottom Line:
I just did my first ride with the Enduro, on the front wheel, and I found it washed out on one off-camber switchback, so I didn't really trust it for the rest of the ride. I was riding the same way I would with the Michelin Front S which I had on before. My riding partner said he experienced that with a new Specialized tire in the past, and it stuck better after a few rides. Where I washed out was a loose switchback corner, so I'm not sure a coating on the rubber was as much a factor as the tread compound.
I must say, later in the ride it got progressively wetter, and the tire didn't fail me, which might mean the rubber compound is pretty good in the wet. Anyone else find their Enduro tires worked better after a few rides? Anyone not happy with front cornering grip in loose dirt/rock?
I'm not rating them high overall for now, but if cornering improves after a few rides I'll post again.
Similar Products Used: On the front - Michelin Front S 2.1, Tioga Factory XC 2.1, Rokko 2.4DH
Bike Setup: '01 Specialized FSR XC Enduro pro 2.2 on the front, Rokko 2.4DH on the rear (hooks up great, but very close to rubbing on the frame)
I ran the Rokko on the front last winter, but it seems a better rear tire, mostly paddle tread.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
CW
a Cross Country Rider
from Santa Fe, NM
Date Reviewed: August 15, 2002
Strengths: Good traction in both loose dirt/rocks and mud
Weaknesses: Weak sidewalls
Bottom Line:
I will not use this tire again. Twice in my last three cross country rides I have nicked a rock or tree stump with the side of the tire and ripped through the sidewall to completely blow out the tube. I have never had this problem with any other tire in 15 years. The sidewall doesn't seem to be much thicker than a standard tire tube!
Submitted by
emory ehrenfeld
a Cross Country Rider
from mechanicsburg, pa usa
Date Reviewed: August 13, 2002
Strengths: No pinch flats, roll great for low resistance, and less air has no effect on roll resistance. also can run less air for better grip. High profile tire which rolls over rocks great.
Weaknesses: Not best tire for rocky terrian when used as rear tire. Ripped 25 knobs off right side of tire (rear tire) in 3 rides. One trail had moderate rocks, which only had a few short rock gardens/baby heads.
Bottom Line:
Saw this tire had some good reviews, so I figured I give them a try. I needed a beefy front tire, but since I ripped my last rear tire in a race, I bought 2 of them. This help keep the bike level because the tire has a high profile compared to 2.1 xc tire.
I had great feedback from the front tire. I did washout a few times on logs and gravel roads, but lowering tire pressure to 35psi (185 lbs) seemed to help this problem. My lbs said the tire doesn't like mud and would slip in cornering. Trails are dry now, so I got the results I expected for riding rocky trails (we have sharp/big granite slate rocks in PA).
As for the rear tire results weren't good at all. I did a fat tire festival in western pa (laurel highland area by somerset) and the tire did great for the rocks on the first ride. But when I rode them at home I started to rip knobs of the tires on every ride. I would lose 5 to 10 knobs a ride.
My LBS sent it back to specialize to warrenty it for me. I bought team tire model in 1995 and they warrenty it for me when I ripped alot of knobs off in two rides.
I stick to keeping this tire as a front tire to ride in dry weather.
Similar Products Used: IRC Mythos, Panaracer smoke, Fire, dart, WTB velociraptor, Continentals cross country, vecter protection, and many other xc tires in the pass 12 years.
Bike Setup: 2002 Cannondale Jekyll 800. Cross country setup for racing xc and long trail rides (20 to 25 miles rides).
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Fat Jeff
a Weekend Warrior
from Honolulu, Hawaii
Date Reviewed: August 4, 2002
Strengths: Large air volume, grippy, can get them everywhere
Weaknesses: May be too big...and growing!
Bottom Line:
Great all around tire (Pro model), especially good for agressive riding. I like it better as a front tire than a rear tire (I prefer a more square edged tire in the rear). I've pushed them hard on downhills and had to get stupid to make them break loose. Great braking grip too. Combine them with disc brakes and you'll have all the "whhhhoa" you'll ever need. Now here's what I meant by "growing". I bought these initially to run on my 3 year old Heckler. I mounted them up and although the clearence with the brake bridge was minimal, they did fit. I packed the bike for a trip and when I arrived at the destination two days later the tire, once inflated up to 55 psi, had expanded to the point that it hung up on the brake bridge. This was the tire growing about a 1/4" from when I mounted the new tires. Strange huh? Then I put them on my IF. Same thing, from 1/4" of clearence a week ago to "buzz buzz buzz" today. I've never encountered anything like this before. So....bottom line, great all around tire, just be sure you have good frame clearence.
Bike Setup: Run on both a Santa Cruz Heckler & a Independent Fabrications deLuxe
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Nicolas Tremblay
a Cross Country Rider
from Clermont, Québec, Canada
Date Reviewed: July 28, 2002
Strengths: Volume, Can ride it with low pressure, very good traction front and rear, roll fast, comfort ride
Weaknesses: Sometime too big for the frame, not at his best in mud
Bottom Line:
This is by far the best tire I ever use in maybe 12 years of mountain biking. I love everything about this tire. I'm 170 pounds and an agressive rider and I run 34 psi in front and 39 psi and rear and nerver pinch flat in more than 3 mounths (and don't think I'm going slow!!). These tires roll and hook on everything. Put it on your bike and you'll increase your downhill speed, your confort. On the front, you can trust it. On the rear, the climbing traction is good but maybe not in par with a real rear tire (my michelin hot S climb better but offer a less better ride in average). Before buy this tire, check carefully your frame because these tires are very big. On my bike the clearance is less than 1/4 inch!! In big sticky mud, they are not at their best but It's not a problem for me because 99% of my trail are sandy.
