diff --git a/spec/spec_helper.rb b/spec/spec_helper.rb
index 32db496..7eb2d22 100644
--- a/spec/spec_helper.rb
+++ b/spec/spec_helper.rb
@@ -6,4 +6,9 @@
 Spec::Runner.configure do |config|
   config.use_transactional_fixtures = true
   config.use_instantiated_fixtures  = false
+end
+
+# BC: fix for ruby 1.8.7 + rails 2.0.x Enumerable problem
+unless String.new.respond_to?(:force_encoding)
+  String.send(:remove_method, :chars) rescue nil
 end
\ No newline at end of file