Fabien's Spectral
WORDS/PHOTOS Jordan Carr
Fabien Barel has proven that he can go fast and go fast consistently on a huge variety of terrain. As a three-time downhill World Champion, Barel recently switched over to the enduro scene, where his consistency and speed have held true. Partnering with his bike sponsor, Canyon, he has had a big part in the development of Canyon's enduro and all-mountain bikes. We recently caught up with him near his home in Nice, France, and checked out his 650B wheeled Canyon Spectral race bike.
| Barel's Spectral details: • Rear wheel travel: 140mm • Wheel size: 650B • Frame material: aluminum • Frame size: large • FOX CTD RAD suspension • Rockshox Reverb Stealth • Sram XX1 drivetrain • Renthal bar and stem • Mavic Crossmax Enduro wheels • Michelin Rock'R2 tires |
Frame: The new Spectral utilizes a four-bar linkage system that is based around the same principles as the previous version, but should really be considered as a complete redesign. The bike has a sleek look to it, with the seat stays and top tube following the same line from front to back, and subtle graphics that aren't offensive to the eye. A stout but curvy rocker arm actuates a RAD-spec FOX Float X that employs custom internals that have been tuned to suit his riding style by FOX Europe, and he usually runs it somewhere between 160 - 175 PSI depending on the terrain.
Although the Enduro World Series sees most racers sporting 150 - 160mm of travel, Barel chooses to run the 140mm Spectral with a 160mm travel FOX Float up front for its balance of efficiency and capability on a variety of terrain, but he does admit that he spends a good amount of time swapping out specific components to better suit each of the courses that he races on. "Most races are filled with technical bits and pedalling bits, but for me the pedalling sections are where the time is made up," Barel explains. "140mm of travel is perfect for most of the enduro tracks out there, and I usually just make small adjustments to compensate for terrain, but there are some tracks that require more suspension for me." Pairing Barel's top notch technical ability with the light and agile Spectral seems to be a winning combination, and combining this aluminum race bike with the right mix of components is exactly what makes it Barel's steed.
Barel runs a stock XX1 eleven speed drivetrain with a simple and lightweight e*thirteen chain guide, and he swaps between 34, 36, and 38 tooth X-Sync chain rings depending on the terrain.
Components: Barel has the ability to work with sponsors that he fully believes in after years of performing at the sharp end of the World Cup field, and he's chosen to run a full SRAM XX1 drivetrain to give him the most simplicity and a wide range of gears for the variety of terrain encountered on enduro courses around the world. Chain ring size varies between 34 and 38 teeth depending on how much climbing is required during the day, and he has also added an e*thirteen chain guide for a bit of extra insurance on those rough stages. A set of Mavic's new 1,660 gram Crossmax Enduro wheels are shod with Michelin's just released Rock'R 2 tires and pumped to between 26 and 29 PSI, rubber that the Frenchman has spent the last year developing.
Michelin's New Rock'R 2 tire (left) has received a lot of development input from Barel. Ergon's SM30 seat (right) features an angle that we would have a hard time getting used to, although it seems to work great for Fabien.
A Rockshox Reverb Stealth provides quick and easy saddle adjustment when the terrain gets steep and rowdy, a feature Barel uses often, and the right hand Reverb remote is mounted upside down in place of a front shifter, a far more ergonomic setup than locating over the top. An Ergon SM30 Pro seat is perched atop the post at an downward angle that looks a bit drastic to us, although it seems to work great for Fabien. On the bars, he runs a pretty standard setup for easy one-finger braking and quick shifter actuation, while a set of Ergon's GA1 Evo grips offer a shape that he prefers. The Renthal Fatbars and Duo stem combo provide a stout cockpit for Barel to maneuver the rig with ease.
A Renthal cockpit is complimented with Ergon grips and a set of powerful Avid Trail X0 four piston brakes.
Barel has spent enough time on two wheels to know what works with his riding style, and he sets his bikes up pretty consistently across the board in this regard. However, he does make minor changes to suspension, tire pressure, chain ring size, and stem and bar dimensions depending on the specific track. And while the bike pictured here is running production componentry, he does spend the majority of the season aboard different prototype frames and components to help with the development of new products.
Barel spends many hours riding and helping develop products for his sponsors.
www.canyon.com
133 Comments
This would be the bike that I wanna ride so bad, if I was Barel: www.pinkbike.com/photo/10305293
Lol. Try Enve, Renolds or Stans laced to Kings. You might have heard of of them, they're all American companies and almost all are stiffer, lighter and more reliable than this Mavic wheelset and they all have wide rims. Don't get me wrong, the Enduro wheelset is good. But it's not great. And to call it World Class like it's some sort of benchmark is laughable to anyone who's tried them all.
Someone will cleverly point out that some of the products I listed aren't made in the States - go check to see where the Mavics come from... Hint - It Ain't France. =)
Now it is official: There is no pleasing you!
The point is that if I consistently moaned about bikes being too expensive or having too many gadgets (for like 50 articles back) I'd feel the pressure and responsibility to prop that particular bike a lot... and it seems it isn't happening, some people don't have that. I like myself for having that... maybe I'm wrong...
karaknic - certain very relevant sources report that 5th stage of EWS in Whistler had more gnar in terms of quality and length, than all 2014 DH WC stages all together. Then all stages in Whistler combined had more gnar than a decade of DH WC racing... DH isn't tough just because of steepness of terrain. Sometimes riding an offcamber corner on wet roots is trickier than a shute im Champery... I believe that after various MTb events of 2014, DH lost a lot of it's badassness. off course everyone is entitled to his own opinion, and everyone may be biased
I'm puzzled by the 42t back sprocket though. If he uses a 34-38t ring, wouldn't it be better to use a 32 and a smaller range on the cassette? 38-42 would be similar to 32-36 or 37 no?
I the 11 speed cassette only available in one gear range currently?
Don't think there are any other sizes of XX Cassette available, even for the pros.
@jaame That 42 is only used for climbing and the bigger it is the larger the front ring can be which allows for higher speed in that 10 which can't get smaller.
Thank you for your interest in Canyon Bicycles. You may have recently noticed that Canyon has suspended our sales to North America & Australia / New Zealand. Currently we are re-evaluating our customer service and support in these markets.
1. why did canyon spec 99% of their production bikes with flimsy 32mm forks when he is clearly using bigger stantions.
2. why didnt they do a Fab replica as it looks like a wepon.
someone at canyon should get sacked for the spec balls up. until it gets bigger forks its not gonna sell
see here
www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=624409920933866&set=a.164176306957232.30779.161231463918383&type=1&theater
the seat angle has also changed
Here's the article where it shows the picture with the stack height and riser bars and he says the higher bars help him keep the front end down. Maybe he was just high that day??
www.vitalmtb.com/photos/features/Pro-Bike-Check-Fabien-Barels-Canyon-Strive-AL,5340/Slideshow,0/sspomer,2
www.canyon.com/_en/mountainbikes/bike.html?b=3250
If its half the fun my Norco Sight2 se was I will be very happy I couldn't buy the parts without the frame for the cost of the the bike
Enduro is good for one thing - getting manufacturers to make very strong but light components
www.pinkbike.com/photo/10348462