Bikes of the Enduro World Series - Finale Ligure, Italy

Finale Ligure, Italy

Bikes of the
Enduro World Series

WORDS Mike Levy
PHOTOS Richard Bord, Matt Wragg, Matt DeLorme

   Hannah Barnes poses with her not so subtle 650B wheeled Orange Five. The bike is set up with a Fox 34 FIT CTD fork with 160mm of travel, and a Cane Creek DBair shock out back. Drivetrain duties are taken care of with a set of Shimano's XTR crank arms and an XTR derailleur, as well as a Straitline Silent Guide teamed up with a Hope's new IBR (integrated bash ring) chain ring/outer guard combination. A set of Continental's 650B Mountain King 2.4" wide tires are mounted to Stan's ZTR Arch EX rims, with Hope's beautiful Pro II hubs at the center.

   Manuel Ducci beachside with his Ibis Ripley 29er. While we've seen him aboard longer travel Ibis' throughout the season, he chose the spritely Ripley for the race in Finale Ligure, Italy, and rode it to the 2013 Superenduro PRO series championship. Suspension is a mixed affair, with a Trace fork from X-Fusion up front and a FOX Float CTD shock in the rear that looks after the bike's 120mm of travel. The same could be said of his drivetrain, with e*thirteen's 665 gram TRSr cranks, integrated ring/spider, and XCX guide, mated with a SRAM X0 derailleur and a set of Shimano pedals.

   Joe Barnes and his 140mm travel Canyon Spectral. He runs a Fox 34 FIT CTD fork and Float X shock, SRAM XX1 drivetrain, and Mavic Crossmax Enduro wheels with the French brand's Charge and Roam XL tires. Note the Brit's RockShox Reverb dropper post with its "enduro collar" clamped at the top of the stanchion that prevents the post from lowering past where Barnes likes it. Slammed isn't always fast.

   Martin Maes, junior EWS champ, with his 650B wheeled, carbon fiber GT Force. A 150mm travel 34 FIT CTD fork matches the bike's rear end with its Float X shock, both of which come from FOX's Racing Application Development program. GT's factory enduro team runs a full Shimano drivetrain, including the rare Shimano chain guide, XTR cranks, cassette, and rear derailleur, and Maes was running a 34 tooth Saint ring in Finale Ligure. Controls are mounted on a 760mm wide Atherton series handlebar from PRO, with a 50mm PRO stem sitting atop 15mm of spacers. The bike rolls on a set of un-labeled aluminum rims laced to Shimano XTR hubs with aluminum nipples, with the 650B rims likely from Stan's given that the GT team has used them in the past. New 2.4" wide Mountain King tires from Continental are run tubeless and at just under 30psi.

   Giant team manager Joe Staub models Carl Decker's Trance X that American cross-country boss Adam Craig was racing on in Italy over the weekend. The carbon bike is sporting a full XX1 drivetrain, a Pike fork and Monarch Plus shock from RockShox, and DT Swiss' new Spline One wheelset in 650B size.

   Alex Lupato was racing aboard one of the more interesting bikes that we saw over the weekend, with his 150mm travel Lapierre Spicy featuring a build kit that should make true bike geeks excited. Marzocchi's new 350 NCR fork takes care of front suspension duties, while the electronically controlled Monarch EI shock is used out back for its ability to increase compression damping on the fly without having to work any sort of remote lever. The carbon bike rolls on a set of FRM's exotic Urano Enduro Carbon wheels that weigh in at 1,630 grams. The wheels, which aren't available in the U.S., use a carbon rim and aluminum hubs that are both made in Italy.

   Cecile Ravanel poses with her new GT Force. The race in Finale Ligure was her first event on the new bike - she spent all of the previous EWS races aboard the older aluminum version - and word is that her new rig is over four pounds lighter than what she was used to. Marzocchi suspension front and rear, and a KS LEV Integra dropper post to get her seat out of the way. Speaking of seats, check out how far back Ravanel's is slid on the post's clamp.

   Cedric Carrez is the man behind the famous Enduro World Series backflip in Val d'Isere, France. His Intense Tracer 2 sports wheels and tires from Mavic, and a SRAM X0 single ring drivetrain and chain guide. Formula brakes slow him down, although word is that Carrez doesn't use them that often.

   Tracy Moseley has handled the move from full-time downhilling to full-time enduro racing about as well she could have hoped, with race wins and an overall Enduro World Series championship in the its inaugural year. Her weapon of choice isn't the longer travel, 650B wheeled Trek Slash or the new Remedy 650B, but rather the 140mm travel Remedy 29er. Her Shimano XTR drivetrain makes use of a dual-ring crankset, a choice that allows her to keep her legs fresh regardless of big climbs in transfer stages, and a dual-ring guide from e*thirteen adds some security.

   Is that lipstick on Cedric Gracia's cheek? More big wheels, this time on Cedric's baby blue Santa Cruz Tallboy LT Carbon. The 135mm travel rig has been fitted with an unlabelled FOX 34 FIT CTD fork, although we expect to see him on DVO's prototype single crown fork in the near future, and a RockShox Reverb dropper post is the only concession on an otherwise mostly Shimano spec'd bike. Like most riders who use Shimano brakes on their enduro bike, Cedric is running lightweight XTR Trail brakes rather than four piston stoppers from the Japanese company, with the lighter two piston brakes providing more than enough power for these mid-travel machines and the trails they're raced on.

   Yet another Ibis, this one the Mojo HDR of Valentina Macheda. The black and yellow bike employs X-Fusion suspension front and back, and a SRAM X9 derailleur and cassette paired with e*thirteen's TRSr cranks, integrated ring/spider, and an XCX guide. Her DT Swiss Spline One wheels have been shod with an interesting combo of a Wild Rock'r from Michelin up front and an Onza Ibex out back. Like a lot of racers in Finale Ligure, she runs plenty of spacers under her stem in order to bring her bar height up a bit.

   Did you catch Anneke Beerten's massive crash at the 4X World Champs in September? Things went south on a rather large jump, and Anneke's leg took the brunt of it. She's back in the game here in Italy, although she did admit that she has to look after the injury a bit. Her Specialized Enduro 29er is using a Pike fork and Monarch Plus shock, and is running a full XX1 drivetrain with Specialized's own chain stay mounted tensioner. Beerten holds onto a set of Lizard Skins' ultra-light tape-on DSP grips.

   Another Enduro 29er, this one ridden by American Curtis Keene. Curtis has raced shorter travel bikes from Specialized at Enduro World Series events in the past, but opted for the more forgiving Enduro 29er for Finale Ligure's rocky trails. He also does a lot of development work for SRAM, so it's no surprise to see his bike kitted out with a mix of XX1 and X01 running gear, with a svelte upper guide for added security. Take note of his unlabelled carbon fiber rims from Specialized, and the older style G2 Cleansweep rotors that his X0 Trail brakes grab hold of.

   Do bikes get any better looking than Nico Quere's Commencal Meta SX? The matte black and pink 26" wheeled machine is running FOX suspension, an XX1 drivetrain, and an e*thirteen chain guide and taco setup that's protecting what appears to be a massive chain ring. Maybe Nico spent the off-season doing squats and dead lifts? The bike's Easton wheels are fitted with a fast rolling tire combo: a Maxxis Larsen TT with a thicker casing out back, and a 2.4" wide Ardent with EXO casing up front.

   Another fast Frenchman with another Commencal in the shape of Remy Absalon and his Meta AM 650B. Again, an XX1 drivetrain with a rather large chain ring (maybe it's a French thing?) paired with an e*thirteen chain guide and taco setup. Remy is also running FOX CTD suspension, although his rear shock is controlled via a handlebar mounted remote. A set of mismatched tires - a Maxxis High Roller II and a 2.3" wide Mavic Charge - are mounted on unlabelled aluminum rims.

   While there's no telling what could have happened, Nico Lau looked like he had a commanding lead until a one minute time penalty, incurred due to a missed time check, scuppered his chances at winning the final round of the series. His Cube Stereo uses 650B wheels and FOX's CTD suspension, with Nico running a 34 fork and a remote controlled Float shock. He is one of the few male racers to go with two chain rings, and he also has chosen to depend on his XTR's clutch function to keep his chain from derailing rather than run any type of guide. Notice anything interesting about his crank and bash guard setup? That ''bash guard'' is actually an XTR big ring with the teeth removed, making for a light and nicely integrated setup.