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Downhill/enduro crossover

PB Forum :: All Mountain, Enduro & Cross-Country
Downhill/enduro crossover
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flag RUNKMC
Posted: Jul 8, 2020 at 18:49 Quote
Hi y'all. I'm looking to buy a used bike. I bought a 2007? norco shore 5 years ago and while it weighed 48 lbs, i took it everywhere i went and needless to say i got used to the downhill style. I'm now looking for something more trail adept and was wondering what sort of bike can bridge that gap (maybe a lil more travel than the regular eduro, specific suspension details, geometry?). any help with identifying bike brands or specific set ups to look for would be most appreciated. also I've never posted before so if this is the wrong place my bad team.
flag SS-Minox
Posted: Jul 8, 2020 at 19:14 Quote
RUNKMC wrote:
Hi y'all. I'm looking to buy a used bike. I bought a 2007? norco shore 5 years ago and while it weighed 48 lbs, i took it everywhere i went and needless to say i got used to the downhill style. I'm now looking for something more trail adept and was wondering what sort of bike can bridge that gap (maybe a lil more travel than the regular eduro, specific suspension details, geometry?). any help with identifying bike brands or specific set ups to look for would be most appreciated. also I've never posted before so if this is the wrong place my bad team.

I heard the Specialized Enduro was good.
flag Matt7082
O+
Posted: Jul 9, 2020 at 4:04 Quote
I’m in the market for the same sort of bike this winter. I am very interested in the Yeti SB165 and the Rocky Mountain Slayer. Both bikes have more travel than your typical enduro bike, and slack geometry similar to a DH bike, but they allegedly are rather pedal friendly considering their design and suspension.
flag Elgaucher
Posted: Jul 9, 2020 at 4:55 Quote
+ 1 for the Rocky mountain slayer

here's some other suggestion for big mountain enduro bike (160+ rear travel)

- Knolly Delirium
- Commencal Clash
- Ferrum NV-170
- Privateer 161
flag Dkutassy
Posted: Jul 9, 2020 at 6:05 Quote
I'm pretty partial to the Banshee Rune. Not sure how the V3 rides but I do everything on my Rune V2. From 30+ mile backcountry rides with major climbs to double diamond downhill runs at the bike park.

I'm not to sure it's worth trying for 170mm+ travel unless most of what you do is park or shuttle runs. Quality suspension usually wins out vs more travel. Any 160mm bike you ride now will be a dream to ride compared to something from 10+ years ago.
flag a-prince
Posted: Jul 9, 2020 at 7:33 Quote
The 2020 Specialized Enduro is a great bike. I just took mine out on a little road trip to break her in and logged 300 miles and 49,000’ of climbing plus one day of bike park over two weeks.

Things I noticed with the bike. It’s not a trail bike by any means. The true capabilities of the bike really only are used on 10% of the trails out there. When it gets really steep and fast the bike is king, but to be honest the vast majority of trail riding is not this. Even when the trail points downhill, but isn’t as aggressive, smaller travel bikes would be quicker and more fun.

I ride trails, bike park, and race some enduros so I thought the 2020 Enduro would be a good compromise. I came off a 2018 Norco Range C9.1 which is a 29er with 150mm rear travel. The Enduro is really PLUSH and forgiving. It’s incredibly stable at high speed, but is a bit of a pig as far as maneuverability goes. I did some punishing climbs with a 32 T chainring and eagle setup. Yes the enduro can climb but it’s not spirited by any means. You keep the cranks turning and the bike goes uphill.

I am loving my enduro so far especially for the steep and deep trails, but I am beginning to wonder if it’s too much bike. I did back to back days of ~40 miles / 6,000’ of climbing and was WORKED at the end. A more agile bike with less travel might be in my future. Be honest about the type of riding you do because the current crop of 160-170mm enduro bikes are a lot of bike.
flag SS-Minox
Posted: Jul 9, 2020 at 8:34 Quote
a-prince wrote:
The 2020 Specialized Enduro is a great bike. I just took mine out on a little road trip to break her in and logged 300 miles and 49,000’ of climbing plus one day of bike park over two weeks.

Things I noticed with the bike. It’s not a trail bike by any means. The true capabilities of the bike really only are used on 10% of the trails out there. When it gets really steep and fast the bike is king, but to be honest the vast majority of trail riding is not this. Even when the trail points downhill, but isn’t as aggressive, smaller travel bikes would be quicker and more fun.

I ride trails, bike park, and race some enduros so I thought the 2020 Enduro would be a good compromise. I came off a 2018 Norco Range C9.1 which is a 29er with 150mm rear travel. The Enduro is really PLUSH and forgiving. It’s incredibly stable at high speed, but is a bit of a pig as far as maneuverability goes. I did some punishing climbs with a 32 T chainring and eagle setup. Yes the enduro can climb but it’s not spirited by any means. You keep the cranks turning and the bike goes uphill.

I am loving my enduro so far especially for the steep and deep trails, but I am beginning to wonder if it’s too much bike. I did back to back days of ~40 miles / 6,000’ of climbing and was WORKED at the end. A more agile bike with less travel might be in my future. Be honest about the type of riding you do because the current crop of 160-170mm enduro bikes are a lot of bike.

Were you underbiked at the park? Considering if I should go with an enduro bike only, or a DH bike & a trail bike to supplement my aggressive trail & xc hardtails. Most of the time I feel underbiked around here like I need to slow down just to stay on the trail.
flag Danzzz88
Posted: Jul 9, 2020 at 8:44 Quote
I am looking gor the exact same type of bike, the closest 'normal' type bike you will get that fit's what you want is a Geometron G1. As slack as a downhill bike, longer wheelbase than a downhill bike, but a steep seat angle so you can go uphill too. I considered one but the owners attitude Chris Porter put me off, he is knowledgable and produces good bikes but arrogance and disregard for other opinions and bikes puts me right off. About 170/180mm travel

https://geometronbikes.co.uk/bikes/g1/

As someone here said, quality of suspension is more important than quantity, as such I am pretty set on a Zerode, slightly more conservative geometry than a Geometron but due to the gearbox and low unsprung mass, super plush rear suspension unrivalled by anything else in it's 160mm travel range.
flag Dkutassy
Posted: Jul 9, 2020 at 9:40 Quote
SS-Minox wrote:
a-prince wrote:
The 2020 Specialized Enduro is a great bike. I just took mine out on a little road trip to break her in and logged 300 miles and 49,000’ of climbing plus one day of bike park over two weeks.

Things I noticed with the bike. It’s not a trail bike by any means. The true capabilities of the bike really only are used on 10% of the trails out there. When it gets really steep and fast the bike is king, but to be honest the vast majority of trail riding is not this. Even when the trail points downhill, but isn’t as aggressive, smaller travel bikes would be quicker and more fun.

I ride trails, bike park, and race some enduros so I thought the 2020 Enduro would be a good compromise. I came off a 2018 Norco Range C9.1 which is a 29er with 150mm rear travel. The Enduro is really PLUSH and forgiving. It’s incredibly stable at high speed, but is a bit of a pig as far as maneuverability goes. I did some punishing climbs with a 32 T chainring and eagle setup. Yes the enduro can climb but it’s not spirited by any means. You keep the cranks turning and the bike goes uphill.

I am loving my enduro so far especially for the steep and deep trails, but I am beginning to wonder if it’s too much bike. I did back to back days of ~40 miles / 6,000’ of climbing and was WORKED at the end. A more agile bike with less travel might be in my future. Be honest about the type of riding you do because the current crop of 160-170mm enduro bikes are a lot of bike.

Were you underbiked at the park? Considering if I should go with an enduro bike only, or a DH bike & a trail bike to supplement my aggressive trail & xc hardtails. Most of the time I feel underbiked around here like I need to slow down just to stay on the trail.

If you have the option of two bikes it's definitely the best way to go. My Banshee is really designed around Enduro racing too and it's definitely a pig to climb with. Excellent performance when things get steep, rough and fast but there's a cost for that pretty much everywhere else.
flag Danzzz88
Posted: Jul 9, 2020 at 9:54 Quote
Well yea if you can afford two nice bikes that would be ideal. A Yeti SB100 and a Santa Cruz V10 for me please.
flag a-prince
Posted: Jul 9, 2020 at 10:33 Quote
SS-Minox wrote:

Were you underbiked at the park? Considering if I should go with an enduro bike only, or a DH bike & a trail bike to supplement my aggressive trail & xc hardtails. Most of the time I feel underbiked around here like I need to slow down just to stay on the trail.

Nah, she held her own at the bike park. I run cushcore and have a DHX2 coil though which help. Not an even substitute for a DH rig, but she’s plenty capable.
flag alaskarider89
O+
Posted: Jul 9, 2020 at 10:39 Quote
Nukeproof Mega seems to be a mean machine. Sam Hill clobbers some rough ground with it and still has the ability to pedal around (not with trail bike efficiency but good for what it is). and pretty good price for the components package that come with it.
flag Danzzz88
Posted: Jul 9, 2020 at 10:48 Quote
I think one thing to consider is pros can ride fast on anything and don't use that to dictate bike choice. I made the amateur mistake buying a Yeti SB6 due to all the hype in reviews and Richie Rude dominating the EWS at the time. Turned out I didn't really like that bike at all and tbh much preferred my mates Capra. Pros like a very sporty on the bike feel and stiff suspension as this allows them to be quick and efficient, I personally like a bike that is very ground huggy, runs a lot of sag and puts you deeply integrated between the wheels to give confidence, Richie Rude was the fastest at the time riding an SB6 but I can tell you from owning one that bike doesn't feel half as planted as even a Capra, Cube Stereo or Canyon Strive. If you want a taught feeling racebike then maybe look at some of the pros rides, but if you want more of a freeride, downhill plow style bikes I think there is better alternatives than bikes like the SB150 ect. Them bikes are very focussed on pedal efficiency, I think the OP wants a bike more like myself, a no holds barred plow thar can still be pedalled if necessary but is all about riding down fast, smoothly and confidently.
flag alaskarider89
O+
Posted: Jul 9, 2020 at 10:54 Quote
Danzzz88 wrote:
I think one thing to consider is pros can ride fast on anything and don't use that to dictate bike choice. I made the amateur mistake buying a Yeti SB6 due to all the hype in reviews and Richie Rude dominating the EWS at the time. Turned out I didn't really like that bike at all and tbh much preferred my mates Capra. Pros like a very sporty on the bike feel and stiff suspension as this allows them to be quick and efficient, I personally like a bike that is very ground huggy, runs a lot of sag and puts you deeply integrated between the wheels to give confidence, Richie Rude was the fastest at the time riding an SB6 but I can tell you from owning one that bike doesn't feel half as planted as even a Capra, Cube Stereo or Canyon Strive. If you want a taught feeling racebike then maybe look at some of the pros rides, but if you want more of a freeride, downhill plow style bikes I think there is better alternatives than bikes like the SB150 ect. Them bikes are very focussed on pedal efficiency, I think the OP wants a bike more like myself, a no holds barred plow thar can still be pedalled if necessary but is all about riding down fast, smoothly and confidently.

i understand that the pros can ride a bike in ways 99% of us can never understand...i just threw that out there because the OP talked about his DH background and guessing he will still hit stuff that needs to handle it but he also mentioned he wanted to move to something that is more trail friendly and ive been reading great things about the Mega and its ability to handle intense terrain and still pedal back to the top without killing ya. another one is the Whyte G-170 which was also near the top of my list.
flag Danzzz88
Posted: Jul 9, 2020 at 11:14 Quote
Other than riding the bikes himself then the best reviews and comparisons he will find is this.
https://enduro-mtb.com/en/the-best-enduro-mtb-review/

Just click on each individual bike and look at the graphs near the bottom of each bikes article and compare them and see what traits you have preference towards. Those seem like pretty comprehensive and honest reviews about the bikes. You don't need to read the main article and side with their choices but looking at the comparable stats will give you a basis to make an informed decision of your own.
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