Jeeze Louise Ive Been Spoiled with my E29

My bro is visiting from out east and he wanted to check out riding on the Shore. Hes a novice so we stuck to the easy stuff.

So I gave him my SWorks Enduro 29r to ride and I pulled my neglected SWorks Epic (26r) off the wall. Its been a long time since I rode that bike although I did put a dropper on it a few months ago to keep it in the game. Its a crazy fast bike when riden where it is meant to.

I don't know if the shocks on the Epic need a complete overhaul but man that bike was a handful on some pretty easy stuff!

The small brake bumps on Bobsled were jarring. The stunts on Floppy were not for it, although it did just fine on the starting drop. The wheels felt like every root and rock grabbed a hold of them and sent them flying in bizarre directions. My Banshee Legend has 26in wheels and those things track straight. Maybe its because the Epic has an XC race tire set up or its super steep head angle. I rode that bike exclusively out east and it destroyed out there - here, its like hanging on for dear life!

Both my E29 and Epic are shockingly great bikes but the difference between them was striking on terrain that you'd think is tame enough that the two would overlap a lot.

The E29 devours pretty much everything in its path that I've got the balls to give a go- It has spoiled me!

That sounds like a properly tuned 26" Epic to me.  Without 29" wheels that frame is a major handful.

Excellent Ontario bike though.

Posted by: Ddean

So I gave him my SWorks Enduro 29r ...

What year is your Enduro?

2014. The bike still slays.

Imagine if you had the 2017 and it's 66 head angle or 2018 (or 2017 with updated yoke) with a 65.5 low setting option.

I was surprised to see just how big of a stability difference there was on some pretty tame stuff. I had forgotten about what its like to ride a XC race bike on even the easiest trails around here. I know many have the skills to rip that bike on the gnarly stuff but I remember when I first moved here and I kept falling ass over tea kettle on my first ride on the Shore, on Cypress' Roach Clip at full XC seat height and no dropper. It was a new world for me. The gear matters more than I thought and it didn't take long for me to get that Enduro.

On the plus side that Epic accelerates like an ebike!

Has anyone here tried both the old E29 and the new E29 (2017/2018)? I have a 2015 E29 (original Geo + offset bushing for an extra -0.5 deg HTA) and am curious how the newer one rides. Climb just as well as the old E29 but descend better? or is that too good to be true?

I want to try a 2017 or 2018 Enduro 29.  Likely the comp as the others are too spendy for me.  I'm trying to justify that it would be a quiver killer and I could take it bikepacking or in the bcbr but I think I might be trying to convince myself because otherwise it looks like a great bike for me (on paper.)  ;)

I just picked up a 2017 E29 Ohlins edition over the weekend and promptly stripped it to have it wrapped by RideWrap, pretty excited to get her built up and rolling.

The stock build (except for the suspension) is fairly min-max, to use an Andrew Major term. I wanted something a bit fancier, so it's going to Saint brakes, carbon RaceFace cockpit and cranks, and Eagle X01 drive. Should have pics in the next week or so.

I also plan on swapping in the adjustable geo link from the 2018 E29 once it's made available aftermarket by Specialized.

Teaser for now (from mtb.uk):

Oooh nice!  I haven't heard of RideWrap before, and they dont have much info online.  In Whistler from what I can gather?  How much is it to wrap a complete frame?  What wrap do they use?

My friend Chris had his bike wrapped earlier this year and highly recommended it, after seeing his bike with some serious miles looking new, I was convinced. I emailed Callum, the owner [email protected], and he quoted me a very reasonable sum (as someone else on nsmb mentioned, the cost of a Chromag saddle). 

I'm not sure what brand of wrap they use. The quote said, "Our paint protection films are clear high gloss or satin finish polyurethane films... Our entire line of kits are hand drawn, measured and test fitted, the films use industry leading technology, that incorporates elastomeric polymer technology which allows the film to heal its self from scratches or swirl marks in a matter of minutes using only warm water, gentle heating with a heat gun or even just direct sunlight."

Having seen the finished product, to me, it seemed thicker than the clear 3M stuff from the auto parts store. The application is the key here, and it was the main selling factor because it doesn't look like there is anything there.

Callum will pick up and drop off your bike in Van/North Van, but he only comes down once a week or so, so you might need to wait. He will also meet you halfway in Squamish on a more frequent basis.

So what happens when they get a request for a bike that they don't have a template for?  Do they still do it with an increased cost?  I planned on getting an invisiframe kit for my next bike, but if the price is similar to do it locally I might be interested.

http://www.invisiframe.co.uk/

Sweet! Not that Ive riden a ton of modern trail slayers but I think that you are going to love the E29, and that build sounds terrific.

I cant believe the difference in energy that my Legend requires to get down hills versus the E29. If my E29 had a triple and a slacker head angle, the DH bike would be of no use. But then I guess the new E29 wouldn't climb as well....Always give and take but I find that E29 gives soooo much. Enjoy yours and post about it!

Thanks! I liked the idea of coil suspension, because of the reasons that you just mentioned. Unfortunately to hit an MSRP figure below the S-Works the coil model had some compromises. It comes with a similar layup to the S-Works frame (Fact 11M carbon layup), but with a GX build kit and Guide R brakes, brakes that don't make much sense given the potential of the chassis. I wish that there had been two coil models, an S-Works level (Ohlins/Eagle/DH brakes) and a Fact 9 model (GX/Code R/Marzocchi fork/shock). Instead, they only fancy frame and suspension, with an entry level build.

Build is a bit better for the 2018, with carbon roval rims and Code brakes, but the end of season pricing justified the 2017 + upgrades, considering the very moderate frame updates and no suspension difference.