what makes a great bike for putting the miles in then?
I notice a lot of bikes for enduro races are rigid - this puzzles me, surely suspension would make things more comfortable for not much weight?
you are going to start a barney about the definition of enduro yknow.
depends what you like to spend lot's of time on, personaly i like a 100mm travel full sus bike that is fairly light.
Cake holder.
Do you mean marathon? Long distance races? I doubt many front runners use rigid(?) or a hardtail for an enduro race.
The rider 8)
ok lets say - what would the ideal bike/setup be for a 50mile ride in the lakes/wales?
an engine?
light, comfortable & efficient.
For bigger distances - for me? Defo a nice hardtail 29er! If the course is smooth then there is nothing wrong with rigid (still big wheels).
Fundamentally it needs to be light, comfortable and reliable.
Not that I've ever ridden 50 miles in the Lakes, but I reckon you'd be pretty beaten up after that distance on a hardtail. I used to ride my hardtail a lot in the Lakes and it was fine but the rockiness can get quite tiring on the legs after a while.
I would imagine something like an Anthem X or Epic with some reasonably sturdy tyres would be good.
So, so dependant on personal preferance. If you take mine, it'll be an Anthem X1, built with slightly longer forks, shorter stem, wider bars and a set of hope hoops. That ticks all MY boxes.
Other people will want a ridgid 29er* so nothing works for all
*cos they're very strange / dense / niche
The Alps.
Unless that's 50 road miles, that's going to hurt. Off road in the lakes as little as 10 miles can really hurt and take hours!
As for the best bike, no idea, depends on the route and rider, if you pick 2 big downhills and carry up to the top then a DH bike probably isn't far off ideal. If you want to do 50 miles in an afternoon on moorland landrover tracks then an XC/marathon bikes probably better.
Once did 50 miles in mid wales on a hardtail, I've never felt so much pain!
Lightweight 100mm travel FS, just like for all my riding!
I bought an Epic expert for that type of riding and it suits me fine!
300cc, showas front n rear, 8 - 10 litre tank, sub 100kg weight so Gas Gas, KTM or Husqvarna.
Depends on the course but my ideal bike would be 100 -120mm up front, 100mm out back, carbon and light with comfy grips and saddle.
You could do rigid etc. but for me over a distance comfort helps. Being able to pedal smoothly while seated (i.e. full suss over bumpy ground) makes you more efficient over distance.
Having said all that I do all my racing on a 140mm full suss as the other bike is a singlespeed but I don't just race I like to have aq bike that can do it all.