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Video: Is Enduro "Too Hard" For The Wrong Reasons? | Pinkbike Weekly Show Ep. 25

May 16, 2024
by Pinkbike Originals  

Welcome back to the Pinkbike Weekly Show. It's been an action-packed week as we saw the start of the EDR World Cup season in Finale Ligure and we prepare for a World Cup double header for the second round of downhill and enduro this weekend in Poland. This week, Henry graces us with a 2 Min of Tech segment before we chat about our items in the $25 Challenge. We let you know about the latest Pinkbike Podcast episode and round it off with the Trailforks Trail of the Week.

0:20 - Latest News
7:39 - 2 Min of Tech
10:20 - $25 Challenge
12:57 - Latest Podcast Episode
13:29 - Trailforks Trail of the Week

Let us know what you think of tight liaison times in the Enduro World Cup races in the comments below! Are they too tight to actually witness top-end racing or is enduro about the survival of the fittest and they should be this tight?

Would you find an extended helmet visor beneficial?







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42 Comments
  • 48 2
 The thing that was so great about enduro racing in the early days was that it emulated how a lot of us were already riding, and it offered a way of racing that that was still fun regardless of how you finished. The 'spirit of enduro' was never about a big stupid day of climbing and being pinned on the climbs to make ridiculous time-cuts. It was about riding at a comfortable pace with friends on the climbs, enjoying the views and camaraderie at the top, and then shredding the shit out of the downhill on a closed course. Unfortunately, like any kind of other bike racing, the UCI found a way to monetize it and ruin it.
  • 15 1
 I agree. When I first started racing enduro events it seemed more like a way to race the DH sections on the trails I usually ride, and on the bike I usually ride. The fastest people were the ones that had the most skill at descending. I feel like that really matched the average rider out there. They climb for the fun of the descents and sometimes they even shuttle. I've seen the argument here on PB quite a bit that you should just race DH if you think there is too much climbing and/ or not enough time to get from stage to stage. But I think people should just race XC if they think there should be a bunch of climbing and tight windows between stages. Smile
  • 5 1
 Great comment
  • 2 0
 My group rides usually include a little friendly uphill competition. I’d love to see one timed uphill or rolling section, even if it’s short. And that might open the door for “trail” bikes which are increasingly capable. To me that would be “Mountain Bike Racing” a true middle ground of DH and XC. But I agree, sufficient time is needed to recover and do fixes…
  • 33 0
 These aren't Johnny Part-timers complaining about the race parameters at the enduro event. It's also part of a season, not a one-off elite tier challenge like Rampage, etc. To have that many DNFs, and that many people vocal about it, I think organizers have to take that into account as it is part of a season of racing. Add time to the liaisons--it's not like it affects the broadcast or anything, we'll just be reading about it on a spreadsheet anyway, lol.
  • 31 2
 Need to leave enough time for repairs. That's part of Enduro. It's not supposed to be that one setback completely puts you out of the race
  • 1 0
 Agree, I know they usually have a technical break in the middle of the race. Not sure if it was not part of the event in Finale, if it was not then it must have especially with the tight times. Can anyone confirm if they had that technical break ?
  • 2 0
 In the early days people used to race in backpacks full of spares.
  • 2 1
 You’re supposed to be self sufficient for the day. In the early days racers had backpacks with spare mechs and other bits in so they could fix their bikes. Now they expect constant access to a mechanic
  • 1 0
 @thenotoriousmic: @chrismac70 you still have to have time to make the repair
  • 27 4
 Enduro should be a challenge based on overall physical demands of the day and days of practice leading up to the race itself. Expecting riders to race both uphill and downhill to make liaison times without enough space to breathe and recover is simply unhealthy and borders on dangerous. Even in extreme endurance events the riding is never demanding enough to compare to the courses EDR and EWS were using. The current model of EDR racing is detrimental and unsustainable for the sport.
  • 5 1
 For the record, some of the prior years' World Cup XC Marathon races have been on the same trails as the EDR this year.
  • 10 3
 @thefantasticfox: Cool but they're not disqualified for missing a liaison time or getting the wrong mechanical support. They can also use downhill segments to recover as opposed to those segments being the only metric by which a race can be won.
  • 5 5
 @Thisguyinkimberley: You clearly have not seen any XCO or marathon races recently. There is no time to rest, every sport is now quicker and more intense. If you can't keep up, you are out.
  • 4 2
 @katko: have now watched XC marathon in a bit. Only direct knowledge I have of XCO descending is from an interview with Blevins where he says that he descends with his legs straight and locked out to rest. He says that you can’t build a sustainable gap on the descent. He says you can get 2 sec and force people do dig deep to catch you. He prefers the rest, and not for lack of skill.

Marathon is rad, but Enduro is not a variant, it is a different race.
  • 1 0
 @beingsisyphus: Sure but they ride the uphill at the limit and the time to rest is extremely short. I could only compare my uphill time in Finale with Lukasik's on a short segment on Strava and he was a minute slower so the pace was not extremely high. Gonna see today in Bielsko how they perform and what they do in uphills Smile
  • 1 0
 @katko: they are not pushing the downhills at remotely the same intensity as enduro.
  • 12 1
 I believe there should be a time limit on liaisons but only enough to keep the race on schedule and avoid shenanigans. I'm not in favor of it being so tight that it starts affecting the race results, regularly causing DNFs or penalties, or turning it into a semi-XC race.
  • 10 1
 I think the wrong poll has been embedded. It's asking about helmet visors, not Enduro liaisons.
  • 1 0
 Yup - the liaisons question was there temporarily and then got replaced by the helmet poll.
  • 8 1
 Irrelevant, the articles exist to create more space for banner ads.
  • 9 0
 Yes, the tip of my saw is broken...I know!
  • 2 0
 As a new proud owner of a Corona 10" folding saw, I agree 100%. In fact, just last weekend I managed to clear a fallen tree about 8" in diameter from the trail using only the folding saw.
  • 2 0
 Hehe, I was just about to post about that poor Silky!
  • 10 2
 Maybe it would be less hard if enduro bikes didn’t weigh 38lbs ?
  • 2 0
 Somewhat faster/easier on the liaisons but more likely to break something and need that time for repairs or have to retire completely.

Will be interesting to see if tight times push the balance back towards lighter bikes.
  • 2 0
 Im sure the racers would love their bikes to be lighter however your trade off is durability.
  • 5 0
 @ischiller: Do you think they could not race a 36 fork, and a 11 speed derailler on a 46t cassette instead of these super heavy AXS drivetrains ?
  • 1 0
 @jpnbrider: I don't know. I'm not a pro. I am friends with Keene, and when he was racing his bike was pretty heavy due to inserts and DH tires. I think it was for the race in Chile. But again, not a pro, ask them.
  • 2 1
 @ischiller: my point is that there is no sense to adapting the courses to the new bikes , few years ago bikes were lighter and they still raced them. Brands wanted to make them heavier , then enduro races get harder. I am still fully convinced riders could easily race lighter reliable bikes , but maybe their sponsors would not agree
  • 2 0
 @jpnbrider: I don't think that is necessarily entirely true. But whatever, difference between 38lbs versus 36 lbs gonna make that much of a difference?
  • 5 1
 Given that the vast majority of the riders managed the liaisons in time and then raced it just sounds like sour grapes from those who haven’t done enough / correct work in the off season
  • 5 2
 There has to be something that separates Enduro from DH. I don't know if tightening up liasons is the answer but 6-7K ft of vertical climbing sees like it should be a minimum for an EWS race.
  • 2 0
 I definitely think tight times need to be considered to a degree. I think of top level sport as a breeding ground for the technology that we end up riding. Enduro translates to the bikes a good proportion of us ride and I do wonder if the bikes were lighter and rolled faster that the liaison climbs would be manageable. If you're super fit sure take that 38lbs monster to the top, but is it worth the energy it takes out of you?
I would like to see efforts to make tough great bikes that don't sacrifice efficiency, making our bikes better for our trail centre/longer rides
  • 2 2
 May the organizers have done the liaison timing using E-bike, loosing notion of nessecery effort and time ? It happens one time here for a local Enduro, with same consequences.
  • 1 0
 Have a FOX Drop frame generation 1 and cut back the visor about an inch. SO much better now. Hated that I could see the front edge of it when riding.
  • 2 3
 If/when I race enduro my ideal race would be long fun flowy descents with technical sections and minimal pedalling, then a chairlift back up.
Unfortunately most enduro races have lots of needless pedalling which takes the fun out of it.
Ews edr or whatever it's called now keeps changing direction and there is no real definition of what enduro is or should be.
  • 5 3
 I vote yes for reasonably tight liaison.
  • 4 2
 Reasonably tight for sure. But no unreasonably. I’ll let the athletes decide what is reasonable.
  • 1 1
 Get riders to wear a DNSYS X1 exo suit and jump on there E bikes, that may kerb the
difficulty issue : )
  • 1 3
 Weird idea. I’d like to see enduro divided into suspension travel classes
  • 4 0
 Key feature of enduro is bike choice. All choices have tread offs. Picking the right bike for the right bike is a skill in of it self. More travel does not mean more faster.







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