I quite like the idea of giving this racing lark a go…
‘nduro is basically going riding a bike, and sounds like fun, dont need XC race whippet fitness, or a DH bike….

so, as per the title, what would be a recommended 1st event form someone who isn’t going to be particularly fast, will probably drag the girlfriend along, and force her to enter, and is going to give good interesting riding in a relaxed have a laugh atmosphere?

enduro1 in the sport category is a fairly relaxed affair.

transition timings get a bit tighter in the competitive category as I found out at round 4.

Ard rock Enduro in August.

http://redkite-events.co.uk/event.php?id=10
These fit the bill perfectly.Great trails,super relaxed atmosphere and free beer 😀
Best weekends riding I had all year.

+1 for this event as you can ride the transitions together, there’s no set time for you to start stages at.

Are there any maps of recent enduro events that I could use to see the routes and maybe ride them during the Winter?

Any of the mini enduro series http://minienduro.tv/

Are there any maps of recent enduro events that I could use to see the routes and maybe ride them during the Winter?

Pick trail a centre and ride that pretty much.

The PMBA series, or the one race I did of it, was pretty relaxed.

Where are you based. The QECP ones sound great although you have to be quick to get an entry in, I was too slow again this year.

based in the Midlands, Don’t mind traveling a bit and camping if it all adds to the experiance

From my experience PMBA ones are very friendly,roll up, sign on, choose a start time, practice, chill out with mates and race.

Interesting thread, I’m also looking into this too as per OP.

Additional question – which enduro events are the ‘easiest’ from a technical perspective? I’d love to try out an enduro event but am put off by the idea of jumps and big drops, or tech challenges which would be way beyond my ability or risk-take level (I don’t want to do a DH event)

Studying some of the videos from Ard Rock 2014 the course looks fantastic and (good for me) as although steep and tech in parts, seems to have no jumps/drops, or extreme gnar. What other enduro events have a similar course level?

Edit to add – the PMBA events seem to be ‘harder’ from a tech perspective, is that corect?

Ardrock is not particularly techy, certainly nothing like the tweed valley stuff, and has a really good, friendly vibe. I really enjoyed the riding too.

Thanks Nobeerinthefridge. Sounds like one for the list.

Totally respect/understand that more experienced riders will want challenging events, but I’m also sure there is a big place for events that cater for the less-skilled 😉

I did the tweedlove king of the hill last year , it was my first enduro and i had a great couple of days , all the people who overtook me , and there were a few , were nice about it . I am hoping to do it again next year . Quite like the sound of the enduro lite at the Scottish series as if i am honest its more my level

I was gutted to miss the ardrock this year, as last year was so good. I’ll defo be there in 2015.

http://redkite-events.co.uk/event.php?id=10
These fit the bill perfectly.Great trails,super relaxed atmosphere and free beer
Best weekends riding I had all year.

Is that sold out? or have entries not opened yet?

Also same question for the tweed love enduro?

Tweedlove enduro isn’t on sale yet but has always been good.

TBH most enduros have a relaxed, friendly atmosphere, some take themselves more seriously than others but you can still just go out and have a laugh even in the national level events- it’s a format that suits that well. So don’t worry so much about “friendly races”, just try and find one that hits the level of riding you want.

Of course, if it’s not steep and deadly and terrifying and deserving of a full face helmet and basically a downhill race, it’s not a proper enduro and you should just do an XC race instead 😉

Of course, if it’s not steep and deadly and terrifying and deserving of a full face helmet and basically a downhill race, it’s not a proper enduro and you should just do an XC race instead

I would, but the Lycra terrifies me even more 😉 😉

Oh aye, there’s going to be a new Tweedlove enduro on March 29th, not many details out yet though.

QECP events are great fun! Even got a free beer on the finish line on the night one!

chrishc777 – Member
QECP events are great fun! Even got a free beer on the finish line on the night one!

Same again for 2015 😉 and don’t forget free camping & 50+ demo bikes.

qecp, enduro1s and minienduro series all pretty chilled

well worth getting stuck in

Of course, if it’s not steep and deadly and terrifying and deserving of a full face helmet and basically a downhill race, it’s not a proper enduro and you should just do an XC race instead

I know you said that half tongue in cheek NW, but the thread did confuse me a bit.

Im not aware with what’s going on south of the border, but is Enduro being slapped on what would have been marathon or XC rides? Is it now just a title for timed stage races?

I thought enduro was meant to be close to DH technical and require XC fitness.

It’s great that it means more people get out riding and checking out new trails, I just find it odd that enduro to some means trail centre.

Im not aware with what’s going on south of the border, but is Enduro being slapped on what would have been marathon or XC rides? Is it now just a title for timed stage races?

I thought enduro was meant to be close to DH technical and require XC fitness.

It’s great that it means more people get out riding and checking out new trails, I just find it odd that enduro to some means trail centre.

Pretty much my thoughts, there does seem to be a real push by some to eliminate the technical side of things and just tape off 4 sections of a trail centre, time each other and call it ‘Enduro’…because it guarantees entries and is the cool new buzz word in town.

I think the scene will split this year with some organisers going off to do FF technical events in the style of the European SuperEnduros and the rest who’ll be doing events that cater more for beginners….no bad thing, once the scene sorts itself out people will have a better idea of what type of riding to experience at certain events.

rickon – Member

I thought enduro was meant to be close to DH technical and require XC fitness.

Nah, I like the hard ones but it has a difficulty slider- the format works at just about any level, and in the UK we don’t have the history and rigid habits it has elsewhere, which is what makes it the best racing format anyone’s come up with so far.

deviant – Member

Pretty much my thoughts, there does seem to be a real push by some to eliminate the technical side of things and just tape off 4 sections of a trail centre, time each other and call it ‘Enduro’…because it guarantees entries and is the cool new buzz word in town.

I guess it might seem that way to newcomers? But it’s really the other way round.

Ah, I did an edit but I failed to post it- it was way better, and a bit less potentially rude, the “newcomers” line is a bit cheeky by itself- sorry!

Basically, the “4 sections of a trailcentre” was just as accurate or more so in the early days of uk enduro (I’m disregarding older recognisable enduro events, because they didn’t go anywhere- I feel like Repack Rider!). What we have now is a high end on top of that which we lacked a couple of years ago. If anything we maybe lack a bit of the midrange.

But ask yourself- if someone wants to put on, or race, an enduro which is less difficult, why is that a problem? I probably wouldn’t race it, nobody else has to- but some folks will do it and love it, and the sport will be stronger as a result. Why turn your nose up?

The only downside I’ve seen is that some folks like to think of enduro as extremer than it really is. I guess if you’re full of yourself because you raced an enduro last week, and your novice mate says “Yeah, I did one last month”, you might well say “No, that wasn’t a proper enduro like what I do” 😉

There’s never been a sport that benefitted from elitism and unnecessary restriction. IMO it’s impossible to find a single benefit, and the harm’s obvious, to the sport as a whole and to the higher level events which can’t exist by themselves.

Enduro – From the BC piece on not insuring it

Please be aware that this policy concerns only those events termed “Enduro” in the currently accepted sense – a series of time sections joined by linking stages. Some organisers still use “Enduro” to denote a mass start endurance/marathon style event, and such races are unaffected.

Taking the definition as that it could be anywhere from XC trails split into a few stages to every DH track at inners and an uplift to the top each time 🙂

If you want to pick something fun/easy/no pressure to start I’d go for the ones that get picked on by the riding gods for being too easy and ruining the name enduro 😉

To be fair, I can see the point- if I was out on my carbon fibre 160mm 650b 27.5 rig in my #enduro specific helmet and my yellow shorts, feeling elite, and then this **** turned up, I’d feel a bit silly and may well want him banned

OTOH I think that back protector’s probably superenduro legal. I really hope that’s a Davinci

If you’re in the Midlands try Pearce Cycles Gravity Stages at Hopton. I’m not sure what dates it’s on in 2015 but it was sometime in March this year and was a really well organised and friendly event. I think it’s over a weekend with practice on Saturday then camping and the race on Sunday. I’m really not that good at all but had a brilliant time (it was the first enduro I’ve done).

Just been up to mid Wales for the Red Kite Events weekend.

Pretty good stages and a friendly, relaxed atmosphere… a few girlfriends along too.

Recommended for a fun weekend.