[Closed] What IS Enduro - seriously!?

What IS 'core XC riding style at race events-Seriously?.

Its the racing side of what most people would call a fun xc ride.

Nope...still no idea.

Best comparison is rallying- you have timed special stages, and untimed liaison stages so instead of racing over say 30 miles, you ride 30 miles but you're only racing on the good bits. So for me it's the race format that's most like how I ride anyway- bimble to the top, on a bike built mostly for the descents, and then charge down the fun bits.

Also you need yellow stuff

Enduro sounds like an XC race where only the downhill bits are timed. Probably makes them more enjoyable than my memories of XC races.

XC is mincing around in lycra.
Enduro is super gnarr riding for those not fit enough for xc or fast enough for DH (like me for example).
Its great 🙂

Racing for people who don't like climbing all that much?

I feel the same. A big part of Enduro seems to be the emphasis on the stuff, aimed at the disposable income crowd, rather than the riding.

I seem to meet people new to cycling who think the "Serious Enduro Attitude" is paramount and sneer at my reckless & fun approach to riding. Yeah I get off and push my singlespeed, what!?

Downhill may be considered for people too lazy to climb, but I still think it is the most exiting, purest form of fun cycling can offer.

Pop it alongside:

"All Mountain"
"Freeride"

Etc

You get the gist.........

Nah, think about a big day out in the hills. Only you race flat out occasionally. Remember how knackered you get on the big day out without the short full out efforts thrown in? Just enter one and find out how hard they are compared to what they look on paper.

Some of them, maybe - 'ard rock enduro in Swaledale seems to fit that pretty well. But others - the Gisburn one near me, just involved a shortened lap of the trail centre (less than 10 miles) with four couple of minute flat-out bursts.

Still fun, if that's your thing.

I hope folk don't enter enduro's thinking that there's no climbing!

It's a vibe dude.

I think there was a Rampant Rabbit or some such, called the Enduro. Possibly only with Duracell's inserted.

It might well have been yellow too.

The lighting was dim and it disappeared all too easily IIRC...

I hope folk don't enter enduro's thinking that it's a race!

enduro = to last longer than five thrusts

@ slackalice - lmfao!

It's more than just a race format..
It's a vibe, it's a feeling, it's a state of mind and a way of life..
It's saying hell yeah when others are saying hell no, it's a way to transcend the every day, it's a function, it's a process, it's reaching higher and further than you thought possible..

Its touching cloth while you touch yourself and then stretching out your hand to touch others

Least I get the gist now of what Enduro entails.

According to one bloke above sounds like I'm already an endurorer. Just without all the disposable income spent on yellow goodies.

Now am wondering whether it's enduro to take some more psi out of tyres to be IN with the crowd. ;-d

Reporting Yunki as that made me laugh so hard, I actually did just touch cloth haha!

I'm feeling it yunki.

Hell yeah!

Touching the cloth. Man you take me to places I've never been.

And to never revisit, but the nostalgia...

Enduro is the mountain bike equivalent of the Sportive.

In the case of the Crankworx EWS, it'll most likely be the hardest thing you'll ever do on a bike.

If you don't get it, enter an EWS. That'll sort out any confusion or questions you might have.

Enduro is the product of a dark meeting among heads of corps, a huddle of suits looking for a way to domineer the blind sheep, squeeze them dry, break families and create monsters on odd sized wheels. Enduro is not a kind thing. It's being held to ransom to carry on with what you always did. It's paying money to ride the exact same trails as 300 other people in a weekend instead of ruling your own trail. It's the creation of a world of stuff for two wheeled monsters to chow down on in the most vulgar way, one upmanship based on the ticket prices of the alloy and carbon that you own.

It's wearing silly looking helmets without figuring out why. It's wearing clothing that matches what we wore in the '80s, its spending more on your bike than your car and more on one bike wheel than 4 car wheels, it's deciding it's cool to camp.

Mleh.

Whoever that numpty is a few posts up that says downhill is for people too lazy to climb - you haven't a clue have you

Enduro = Aggressive XC

You need a special towel to clean your balls.
or is that golf?

It's simple - limp uphill and then race the fun bits. Basically normal riding but with the fun bits timed. Pretentious videos about enduro being a state of mind etc entirely optional.

I quite enjoy the events, but only when the race is held somewhere where the trails are interesting (e.g. Exmoor gravity enduro) rather than paying to ride the same trail centre I could ride any other time but with hundreds of other people.

I see a bit of whining above about the 'disposable income crowd' spending lots of money on their kit. Good for them I say - they supply the second hand market with nice stuff for me to buy in a year's time at half the price, which lets me spend the difference on a biking holiday 🙂

glasgowdan - Member

Enduro is the product of a dark meeting among heads of corps

Well no. Enduro is the product of riders and local race organisers doing cool things together. Of course the industry was always going to climb on board anything so popular and use it to sell things but they didn't create it. Anyone'd think it was a new thing the way some folks talk.

I was thinking about this earlier as I parked the Audi outside the LBS to try on some Mavic shoes for size that I've seen cheaper online.

For me it's a lifestyle choice, I've had to make significant sacrifices like only riding trails with 'enduro' in their name on Strava, but on the other hand my commitment to enduro means I've really pushed myself to new levels, for example I've now owned three bikes worth over £4k and I've never had so many riding outfits. It feels really great to be able to advise people online about tyre choice and offer strangers at glentress advice on their riding posture.

Maybe next year I'll enter an enduro race, I find it hard to ride more than once a fortnight but sometimes feel racing would really inspire others and allow me to say I have the race results to prove it when online.

http://singletrackworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/state-of-the-enduro-nation-chris-ball-replies/

It's to give people on All Mountain bikes a special website to put their times on so they can pretend they are racing like wot the proper racers do 😀

All of this was making me more interested in enduro. It sounds like fun. Then I read yunki's post and ordered some anti bacterial hand gel 🙂

It sounds like fun, but I still don't really understand the format.

So there's a lap, but you're only timed on certain bits.
That I get.

Do you have to do a certain number of laps?
Is there a time limit of any kind, or can you take as long as you like per lap?
How hard are the hard bits?
Can I just turn up with my 100mm XC hardtail and ride, or is it all scary downhill type stuff?
Is there a brass band? Or a disco? I've never entered a race that didn't have either a brass band or a disco.
And how expensive is it to enter?

Depends.

Fairly sure it used to be a long xc type race.

what are all the sub sections of cycling? who wants to have a crack at listing them all?

For me, it's the competitive discipline that most closely mirrors the kind of riding most people like, ie cruise up, blast down.

It's blown up recently not due to the evil lizard capitalist rulers as some on this site would have you believe, but due to the accessibility. At the top end, to do well you need the full skillset and bikes & kit are the best out there, but there's nothing stopping you riding your current bike on that same course as the pro's and having a laugh.

Couple the accessible nature with fun loving and friendlier riders than your average XC/marathon type person and you see why it's so popular.

I've not seen a single person say they've tried the format and not enjoy it.

andyrm - Member

Couple the accessible nature with fun loving and friendlier riders than your average XC/marathon type person and you see why it's so popular.

The only XC/marathon types I know are the ones I've met at Hit the North.
They're pretty friendly, tbh...... 🙂

Rusty Spanner - Member

Do you have to do a certain number of laps?
Is there a time limit of any kind, or can you take as long as you like per lap?
How hard are the hard bits?
Can I just turn up with my 100mm XC hardtail and ride, or is it all scary downhill type stuff?

Almost always just 1 lap. Occasionally you might do a stage more than once but that's not common.
Time limit- some organisers do place on a time limit (which ime is rarely actually enforced), some give you specific start times for your stages so you have to get to the right place at the right time
How hard- depends entirely on the race, some are aimed pretty low, some are damn hard
100mm hardtail- depends on you really. I've not done many events where I think I couldn't have done it on an XC bike, but it'd be a lot harder and slower. Never done an enduro where it'd really be the right tool for the job.

One of the strengths of enduro can also be a weakness- it's really flexible. So that means that organisers can more or less make it do what they want, meaning it's welcoming and rewarding for a wider range of riders, and can work in a huge range of venues. But it does mean it's a bit confusing, since you could enter 2 different races and have a fairly different experience.

Is there any element of head to head racing or do you set off at intervals that prevent one rider having to pass another?

Isn't it like going out on a ride and smashing a few strava segments?

Yes....whilst paying £50.

Ta for the response, NW.
I'll go and watch one in the new year and see how it grabs me.

Rorschach - Member

Yes....whilst paying £50.

HOW MUCH?!?
It'd better be a bloody good brass band for £50.00.
Besses o'th Barn at HtN - I'd expect Foden's for £50.00, possibly even Tredegar.

You missing getting heckled at HTN Pete ? Just have a go, better than watching.

Peter and Jane, missing HTN also.