FSR Enduro v. FSR camber in Midwest

[Jampa56]

I ride a12 year old Stumpy. Want to go full susp. In the Midwest, IN, KY, some TN, is the Enduro too much? Weight, shock travel? Is the Camber ,Especial. 29er, suff?

[treky92]

I ride a lot of those same areas and even though I ride a hardtail solely, I see most people riding 140mm of suspension or less. This being said, I see a lot of Stumpy FSR and Epics as far as specialized and EX8s for Trek and Trances from Giant. I have never run into anything that couldn’t be ridden rather comfortably on a similar bike

[Jampa56]

Thanks Treky.

[stumpyfsr ✓ supporter]

I have never rode KY or TN yet, but here in MN, WI, MI my Stumpy FSR 29 works perfect. I think that Enduro would be an overkill. Same about Remedy. Don’t get me wrong, Enduro and Remedy are great bikes and will do the job, but in my opinion you’ll enjoy your ride with something lighter like Camber, Fuel etc.

[Jared13 ✓ supporter]

I think the Enduro would be overkill (this is based on Iowa mtb’ing.)

I think the Camber would be a great choice. It probably would have been the bike I bought if I was staying in Iowa. I rode one for a week out in AZ and on the trails that were close to Iowa trails (once you replaced the cacti with trees), the Camber was awesome. When the trails were a bit rougher/steeper I wanted something "less XC-y."

I wouldn’t go with the Enduro, but the Camber or the Stumpy FSR (or any companies’ equivalent) should suit you just fine.

My .02

[Jampa56]

Thanks stumpy and Jared.

[grandlakejames]

I own an Enduro and love the bike, it handles everything I throw at it. Now I also live in CO so it is a perfect bike for this terrain and I would guess it would be to much for back east. Just wanted to tell you the Enduro is a great bike just in case you are still looking at it.

[JSatch]

i’m not familiar with the terrain in the midwest, is there no variation whatsoever?

the bike you choose should mate with the riding you want to do, ie where you want to go with your riding level. as mentioned, the enduro would be the better suited for rougher, faster, steeper, maybe not full guns downhill, but very adequate for advanced techy rides, and still a very capable bike to climb. i’m more a person that prefers the bike handle the tougher, faster parts of the rides i do. i’ve tried dh on bikes not set up for it and it’s challenging to say the least, and not safe, at least for my skills.

check out head angles to see how the bike is set up. there were a couple of excellent articles a little while ago here explaining bike set-up and what to look for in bike design for different terrain.

if you are going to challenge yourself with steep, fast and technical, the enduro is a capable machine that will give you confidence and can also get you back up the hill. if not, go for the lighter, steeper head angle bike.

(disclaimer- i own an older model speshi sx trail)

[Bubblehead10MM ✓ supporter]

I ride a Camber. I love this bike but do often second guess the 29" thing. There’s a lot to be said for a 26er with more travel for the$ and if you get in twisty trails it feels over done, and the weals are a bit flexy, and fragile.

[Jampa56]

Thanks for all the input. I bought the fsr comp 29er. Primarily because we couldn’t find a camber comp 29 and my loving wife agreed I could bump up a level. The shock travel is at the upper end of what is required for my area but the adjustability of the rear shock was a big selling point . May I have permission to enormously stoked?

[Jared13 ✓ supporter]

"Jampa56" wrote

Thanks for all the input. I bought the fsr comp 29er. Primarily because we couldn’t find a camber comp 29 and my loving wife agreed I could bump up a level. The shock travel is at the upper end of what is required for my area but the adjustability of the rear shock was a big selling point . May I have permission to enormously stoked?

Without a doubt 😆

Congrats on the new wheels!

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