2013 Predictions: Matt Wragg's Euro Enduro Edition
The decline of the DH bike:
Mid-travel begins to rule
Modern 160mm bikes are incredible pieces of engineering. It's now possible to buy one relatively affordable bike that can climb mountains and then tear apart the descents on the way back down. That starts to beg the question, why would you need a more specialized downhill bike? For racing, you need the right bike, of course, or if you're lucky enough to live around serious terrain, then it makes sense. But for the rest of us who just want to have fun, grab laps at a bike park, or shuttle a few descents, then the truth is that if you stick a wide handlebar, short stem and big tyres on one of these
aggressive trail bikes it can be just as much fun (not as fast, but as much fun). The difference is that you can take it out for a quick XC loop in the evening, or head out to find wild, natural descents that no shuttle or chairlift will ever reach. As people catch on to just how little you give up on the way down and how much more of the world they open up, then how do you keep justifying an expensive, specialist bike sitting there in your garage?Mid-travel begins to rule
Modern 160mm bikes are incredible pieces of engineering. It's now possible to buy one relatively affordable bike that can climb mountains and then tear apart the descents on the way back down. That starts to beg the question, why would you need a more specialized downhill bike? For racing, you need the right bike, of course, or if you're lucky enough to live around serious terrain, then it makes sense. But for the rest of us who just want to have fun, grab laps at a bike park, or shuttle a few descents, then the truth is that if you stick a wide handlebar, short stem and big tyres on one of these
One less shift:
The death of the front mech
I have moral issues with front mechs. I think they are unnecessary complication and weight on a bike and should have died out with purple anodizing. A 32-tooth chainring and 36 -11 cassette is the lowest gearing I believe you should ever need, but I'm a minority voice, a grumpy man with a box full of chainguides and sore knees. It was when talking to a bike designer this year that I discovered a much more profound reason to hate them - they are holding up bike design, especially on big-wheeled bikes. One of the biggest factors in making a bike handle well is chainstay length.The problem is that the
wheel needs to clear the front mech, so the stays have remained long. If you remove the front mech, the possibilities for bike design open up. With the introduction of SRAM's XX1 group this year and its wide-range cassette, even the most timid of riders should have enough gears to stay happy and the front mech can finally meet its well-deserved death.The death of the front mech
I have moral issues with front mechs. I think they are unnecessary complication and weight on a bike and should have died out with purple anodizing. A 32-tooth chainring and 36 -11 cassette is the lowest gearing I believe you should ever need, but I'm a minority voice, a grumpy man with a box full of chainguides and sore knees. It was when talking to a bike designer this year that I discovered a much more profound reason to hate them - they are holding up bike design, especially on big-wheeled bikes. One of the biggest factors in making a bike handle well is chainstay length.The problem is that the
Enduro: Kill the Hype
"Enduro might just become mountain biking's participant sport." Those are the words of Santa Cruz Bikes' owner Rob Roskopp in a recent interview. Today cross-country racing tends to be a test of who can pedal up hills the fastest and downhill racing is who has the balls to stay off the brakes longest coming down the hardest lines. Mountain biking needs a middle ground, a race format that isn't too physically demanding, isn't too technically challenging, but is fun and accessible to riders of all abilities. Enduro could very well be that, but what it needs to grow and reach that potential is patience; it needs to be left to develop and spread. The danger for
enduro is that right now there is a gap between its media profile and the reality on the ground. Progress is good with more national and local races springing up, and the World Series has a lot of people excited. However, people and companies (us journalists included) becoming over-enthusiastic because enduro is fashionable right now and then pulling back if they don't see immediate results is a real threat to the future of the discipline. The potential for enduro is very real, but it won't get there overnight."Enduro might just become mountain biking's participant sport." Those are the words of Santa Cruz Bikes' owner Rob Roskopp in a recent interview. Today cross-country racing tends to be a test of who can pedal up hills the fastest and downhill racing is who has the balls to stay off the brakes longest coming down the hardest lines. Mountain biking needs a middle ground, a race format that isn't too physically demanding, isn't too technically challenging, but is fun and accessible to riders of all abilities. Enduro could very well be that, but what it needs to grow and reach that potential is patience; it needs to be left to develop and spread. The danger for
Electric Bikes:
Not quite Enduro, but...
Electric bikes are going to become a big deal, whether you like it or not. Chances are that if you're reading Pinkbike you're somewhere in the top few percentage of cyclists. Anyone who's ever ridden a downhill track, cleared a dirt jump or hopped a railing is somewhere in the upper echelons of cycling ability. While the difference between an average mountain biker and Steve Peat may be huge, the difference between an average mountain biker and a member of the public is equally vast. And that public is much bigger than we are. It's to that market electric bikes appeal, people who don't have
the athletic ability, technical skills or interest to ride seriously, but would like to experience a bit of it. We need to welcome these people. Anything that gets more people interested in cycling, that gets more people out on bikes is good for us. It means a healthier cycling industry and more understanding from the general public for what we do and why we do it, which is what we need if we want more land access in the future. What's more, electric bikes might just be fun too - a wise man sketched out a stunning-looking 96km back country loop for me this week, and it would only be possible on an electric bike.Not quite Enduro, but...
Electric bikes are going to become a big deal, whether you like it or not. Chances are that if you're reading Pinkbike you're somewhere in the top few percentage of cyclists. Anyone who's ever ridden a downhill track, cleared a dirt jump or hopped a railing is somewhere in the upper echelons of cycling ability. While the difference between an average mountain biker and Steve Peat may be huge, the difference between an average mountain biker and a member of the public is equally vast. And that public is much bigger than we are. It's to that market electric bikes appeal, people who don't have
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Matt nailed it by saying that we need to welcome these people to cycling. E-bikes open up possibilities for them that weren't there in the past. People can now ride longer (both distance and age) and can now explore and enjoy nature that otherwise would not be possible for them.
what i mean is.. round my way its ultra hard if not impossible to build, illegaly or legaly, good technical trails that test skills for all types of mountain biking weather its XC or more dirt bike style riding
more peolple just pedaling round the forrest enjoying nature is only gonna hinder mountain biking....
but hey... as long as the "industry" makes a buck out of it..........................
I am with you on trail development, I would like nothing more than better trails in my area!!! But ebikes cannot be blamed for the lack of trail development. If anything it is currently greatly helping in improving bike infrastructure in the alps and hotels welcoming bikers and facilitating them with transport, storing and maintenance.
It's also encouraging people to get out of their cars ! People have become incredibly lazy and if they need something like this to get them out in the fresh air, then I'm all for it.
Yes, E-bikes are the future !
I was an early adopter of ghetto tubless, but lately it seems too much hassle compared to running dh tires and xc tubes. Havn't yet found a single ply tire that doesn't get slashed and the 729 is about the lightest rim that will last, and even then I've got some dents in the rear. I'm about to try an 823. I run the rear at 40lbs and the front at 25-30.
Frames I've broken or worn out prematurely ( the list would be longer if I spent some time trying to remember)
Iron horse sgs
Giant AC broken frame
Canfield Balance broken frame
Canfield F1 (only the shock and mounting bolt)
Ellsworth Joker (swingarm axle)
I admit that riding DH is big fun on a 6" bike, but will continue to ride the dh bike for lift assist to save wear and tear on the "light" bike.
The only reason I want to get a Wilson is because I like spending money on bikes, and I want to be competitive in races. I wish everyone would ride DH on hardtails to be honest. It would make the sport a lot cheaper. Make the tracks smoother and the jumps smaller and you'll get the same sensation at a much lower and safer speeds.
RE: The Canfield One. I've heard nothing but glowing praise for its performance. I looked into it when my mate recommended one, but they look dog shit hey. To me, the bike's looks are as important as its performance. The One doesn't cut the mustard in the looks department. One word: hydroforming.
This can be achieved with a 10-40 cassette. No-one needs 11 gears (or even 10) on an AM bike, so if someone would just develop an affordable freehub body that takes a 10t lockring and a light, 9 or 10-speed 10-40 cassette with the 3 largest cogs in aluminum, I'll buy one.
Nah, 33T up front and a 11..32 or 11.34 out back.
Once upon a time I was on holiday in Spain with FreeRide Spain (an XC holiday company). I was a 22/34 climber, I could climb all day in that gear. Simon who owned FRS and was a top Elite XC racer said to me...
Simon: "John, you gonna race the boys up this climb?"
Me: "Nah, as I said, I can climb all day in a 22/34, what is the point in changing",
Simon: "I bet you can, that but you could not climb in a 32/34 for any distance can you",
Me: "No, not really, not my thing",
Simon: "It is because you have trained your legs to spin that small gear all day and never go fast".
I remember this advice very well, and I changed, I kept all my gears but middle ringed everything, my arms, shoulders, back and legs got stronger quickly, I ditched the 1lb of front gears and have never looked back.
Thank to Simon, I changed for the better. We can all change, it is not easy, but we can change.
On XX1: both 9 and 10sp rear meachs wont take more than respectively 36 and 38t respectively, as there will be not enough room for the chain between pulley wheel and cassette to allow good shifting. They had to make a new rear mech with paraeleogram moving at a steeper angle. That also means that indexing on a shifter had to be changed. So if you need a new mech and shifter they probably thought lets kick it up to 11sp for XC racers. My only doubt is: 10sp gives already less precise shifts than 9sp and is harder to setup.
Meantime the local hammer headers take single speeds up slopes that make motorbikes go over backwards.
We could all get by with less. Too bad we can't buy new high end wheels with 11- 32 on a 7 speed cassette. A nice hope pro 2 with a shorter body and a wider spoke spread would mean less wheel wear too.
You do realise that means a minimum 1 and probably 2 stops to recharge batteries, how many power sockets there are in the back country?
I will admit that "enduro" sounds cooler than "all mountain", but I don't understand why we have to have races and special enduro clothes and bikes and videos and stuff to justify our decision to have fun on our bikes. Once again, the bike companies see $$$ and the bike media is all too happy to help prime the gravy pump.
Enduro is about using the most common kind of decsent in a race. It is really fun. And most people who do it use the same bike at the park.
I've raced downhill all over Europe for years, and I've loved it, but now I'm finding increasingly that I pull out the 'wee' 150mm bike that weighs 28lb's and truly means that I can ride all day rather than spend the day shuttling. We ride the same trails, arguably more technical trails, than the big bikes and yet they can get you into descents that you could only dream of on the bigger DH specific bikes. Big bikes are great in parks, great for shuttling, and great if you have chairlifts. Not everywhere in the world has this.
The equipment argument to me is null and void (they're mini DH bikes), as is that for armour (I don't wear any on either bike). Maybe you're scared of pain, maybe you're unfit, or maybe you just don't enjoy the technical challenge of riding the smaller bikes, only you can answer that. Personally, I find myself increasingly bored of riding such short tracks on such big bikes that take away so much of the challenge and subtle nuances of bike riding. Big bikes are good, small bikes are good; people who preach that their opinion is the only way is boring.their opinion like gospel are boring.
Enduro isn't new, it's the same stuff we've been riding for years; the difference is that we're now getting the gear capable of dealing with the punishment while being lighter than the previous generation.
I started serious dh on a Marin Pinemountain in 92, Mt.Tam, Ca. For most of that time since rigs were utter crap. I never even updated my 1998 Kinesis dh bike till 2007 - there was nothing better - just same or worse.
Only lately a huge leap in functionality: More and better controlled travel, really flat head angles, long and low wheelbase. Would I want to go back to short travel am-style bikes - no f&/= way.
Here in the alps great shuttling/chairlifts, long/fast/technical descents and no Enduroriders in sight. If you see one of them - they usually patch their tires for the umpteenth time or just ripped a bearing out of their crap frames - consumercattle? They also block the tracks because of their lack of abilites and generally dont learn anything because that AM (aka Enduro) holds them back. They tend not to wear protection - and that is a very bad thing - I was in ER last year - and that was just a minor and slow dh-crash with full protection. Do I take Enduro riders seriously? No I dont.
Enduros are definitely not MiniDh - I have a Commencal Supreme Racing Mini DH - that is a Mini DH by definition. Its beefy, DC fork, serious rearend, supersoft Minions, quick and safe. Enduros lack all the qualities of a DH - are renamed AM - it pays to understand the term markeneering. Does a MiniDh pedal? Not likely at tirepressure of 1.6 and an Enduro would pop the tires of the rim at this pressure. Low pressure is key to grip - an Enduro cant even do that.
Nope - I dont enjoy AM bikes at all - Its the 8.5 inch Intense battleaxe always for everything and I learn something new everyday on a level an AM rider will never know.
That is why enduro rocks. I don't have to buy another bike to have fun.
Also, I have ridden by plenty of DH bikes as people push them up the hill. I make it up and down in the time it takes them to climb up once. Yes their bikes are faster. Nobody is claiming otherwise. The question is, how fast does it take to be a total blast? I may not be able to smoke a DH rider who's skill level is the same as mine, but I also don't have to go as fast to have the same amount of fun, making less padding necessary. I just wear soft shin and knee pads and a full face at the park and just the knees and a RED hybrid helmet on the trails at home. Where you live a DH bike might make more sense, but don't slander enduro because you get stuck behind people on the trails. If you really doubt enduro take your DH rig and do the Megavalanche. See who dusts you and what they are riding. I bet you it will have 6" of travel or less. It might even be a 650b.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=sujPqjmmB68
3-5 miles descents, big rocks, drops, slippery when wet, slippery when dry. Hard to see - really steep.
This track eats tires, pads, boils fluids, kills gaskets till you get the hang of it and your bike is made of the thoughest components (not necessarily expensive). Yep everybody hates trackshutdowns because an enduro-idiot not wearing proper protection ends up helilifted to the next ER for spinal treatment.
Boxxer and Domain are fine. Single crown with less volume is not. DHX5 Air wont last one ride. DHX 3 with coil will last a very long time. 12 and 20mm axle are good, smaller diameter means trouble, rear derailleur will go south in half a season, Shimano even faster, cheap Sram will do. Lowend Sram and Raceface cranks last, Shimano not. Avid 1 and 2 will last, most other brakes will not. Minion Supersoft at 1.6 will work fine, other tires will get you fast to ER. Notube is deadly.
Carbon anything will brake the bank first, then your neck.
Frames: 951, Voltage, Supreme last, Specialized, Giant, some Boutiquebrands etc. wont.
Megavalanche? This is for the pain crowd, pretty flat track, except 500m in the midlowerpart. Not DH. Uninteresting to the max...
My domain fork was nice, but the steerer and lowers were identical to my lyric's. the stantions are almost the same volume as the domains and are the same diameter and material as the boxxers. Volume is different so there may be a performance difference there, but between the lyrik and domain the only difference I've noticed was the domain sucked in the rock gardens, making it worse for DH.
SLX crank is rated super tough and the reviews back that up. I ditched sram cranks in 2 months of "all mountain" after going through 2 pair (yes 2!). Simply a bad interface design between spindle and crank. Cheap race faces have a rep for bending in the drive way. Expensive ones (atlas) are legendary, but cheapos suck. Shimano is the only crank set I've had that hasn't had a problem. These and the saints I had previously.
My Avid elixer CRs are better than what a lot of the rentals at mountain creek (formerly diablo) have and they held up for a buddy for a long time previously. They have never boiled and failed thatI'm aware of, but maybe I am not on the brakes as much as a true DH rider. . .
DHX air is on a lot of dh bikes. Needs a lot of maintenance, I'll give you that. Doesn't blow out though. Not as often as my brother's coil shocks seem to. That may have more to do with care for the parts. he's a set and forget kind of guy.
I've seen all kinds at the bike park. I saw a guy in an xc helmet on a carbon cannondale putting the DH armored guys to shame. (he switched to his cannondale 5" after his giant Reign X busted at the horseshoe link). I saw a lot of beginners blocking my way on dh rigs. Skill is the biggest variable. Sam hill would probably school us all on a tricycle.
As far as I can tell, a lot of great parts will break if not cared for well, but most of what is out there can hold up to most of what most of us do. You don't like shorter travel. That's nice. I can tell you though, it's the rider, not the bike.
Hahaha how much neg props am I going to rack up from this?
I don't remember which sanctioning body it is that specifies that a frame must be used for an entire event, but they are on the right track. Some may say, "well there goes carbon", but it's not really about that. It's more about making sure teams with deep pockets don't go out there on super light exotica knowing it may brake or be useful for only one or two runs.
That said, I think they should stipulate a max number of frames to be used per season with allowances based on accidents or some such.
Keeping costs down is huge in many classes in motorsports and would make a lot of sense here in Enduro racing where we want everyone to come out and have a good time.
It never intended to be the best. It was born of racing based on what everyday riders had in garage. To that end, I think it has done a great job.
It doesn't want to punish you with huge climbs or 20' doubles that are cased.
It's a racing format that is more about fun than results.
In Europe, I believe the racers group themselves at the start to make the race more competitive and fun in general.
Out here in California, we have one of the original Super D's " The Downieville Classic"
Last time I checked that race filled up in about an hour.
Again, Enduro is a every mans sport, similar to NASCAR. It's not as fast a F1, but it was started with the Everyman ( well bootleggers ) racing the car in his garage.
I guess it's Mountain biking's version of bowling: you laugh at it all you want, but at the end of the day it cares more about participation than results. You win by entering the race. If you want to be best ,XC and DH will always be there waiting for you.
Can't say i'd noticed ..........
Agree 100% with it and thats actually not often here on the board
Agreed. I'll be waiting for the trickle down of the tech before I dive into such a drivetrain. Love the concept though and definitely like how it cleans up your cockpit and the overall mechanics/ appearance of the bike...
Can someone answer this? Does SRAM have to have an 11 speed cassette to get that crazy big cog on the rear? Could it be done with existing 10speed setups?
I know when from my set up that not all of the gears on the cassette get used equally id likely say its a case of 1,2,3,5,7,9 that get the most abuse and i can only really forsee this being exagerated with 11 speed. you dont need all the gears in super close ratios.
made the way it is. And I was dising it all the way before. I will surelybuy X91 with 11-42t cassette if it ever comes out