What IS Enduro – seriously!?

9th may 2015 Glencoe, Scotland. Bluegrass endure tour

saying that’s fully uplifted is stretching the truth just a tad. Would also be better if there was actually a trail to ride down for half of it 😉

This thread is awesome. Keep it up STW!

Let’s not forget the ‘Enduro’ specific grips too!

Ecky, I don’t think the Dudes have included Kinlochleven as part of the 2015 SES. I was entered in to this years but couldn’t make it. Was pretty gutted as this was to be my first proper Enduro race.

In terms of what Enduro is, for me it’s just the type of riding we all do every time we go out on our bikes as it has a bit of everything chucked in. Yes some of it can be pretty technical but I think any half competent rider can ride most of the stuff that gets thrown at you. Fitness would seem to be the key component of competing well in Enduros more so than skill.

Well I have just been into the bike shop on the way home from work to order a spesh s-works enduro 29 frame, so I am bang on trend.

I am enduro!

MSP a spesh s-works enduro 29 frame, so I am bang on trend.

I am enduro!

Aw mate, a 29er? Didn’t they tell you 650b is Enduro.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

It’s OK, I’ll give you 200 quid for it

jimjam – Member

Go ahead and give me a better one

Already did, on the first page.

Northwind – Member

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

jimjam – Member

Minimum standard of riding is perhaps the wrong way to phrase it, but people should know what they are getting into before they sign up, is that fair?

I think this is one of the problems tbh. Yes, absolutely. People need to not be thrown in too deep, other people need to not be bored, you need to know you can complete the lap etc. Some organisers seem a little bit guilty of trying to be all things to all men. It’s not as big a problem as it was in the early days mind but it’s still an issue, event descriptions need to be clear, honest and informative. If it’s some red route trailcentre thing, there’s nothing wrong with that but I don’t want to do it. If it’s a technical bastard, some other folks won’t want to do that.

I think the POC king/queen of the hill’s a perfect example- in the first year it was really pretty mellow. The hardest thing was broon troot IIRC but it was absolutely bone dry so fairly easy. Then in the next year, in came the cademuir stages and some people who’d loved the first race basically couldn’t do it. I imagine some willy waver’ll be along to declare the cademuir trails to be basically canalpaths mind 😉

Another key difference between DH and enduro is the amount of practice possible in DH – some enduro races are totally blind, few allow enough practice that you can really know the course. That changes how you ride, as does the winning margin when a race is 20+ minutes long rather than 2-5 minutes long.

Also, a different kind of fitness is required when you have to cover mileage and a fair bit of climbing in between the stages. It’s still closer to DH than to XC though.

Fitness would seem to be the key component of competing well in Enduros more so than skill.

Getting fitter wouldn’t get me that near the podium – getting better at riding a bike downhill bloody fast would! And I’m neither super fit nor that slow downhill.

Yes some of it can be pretty technical but I think any half competent rider can ride most of the stuff that gets thrown at you. Fitness would seem to be the key component of competing well in Enduros more so than skill.

I’d say it takes both but skill is more important if you want to do well. Fontana and Fumic are some of the best XC racers but they get thrashed in EWS races whereas Minnaar has done okay as obviously has Barel.

It’s the most complete test of all round ability in mountain biking. The only thing that’s harder are the classic Whistler races.

Northwind – Member

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.

Right, fair enough. Not to sound sound like I am just countering your point for the sake of argument but here’s why I don’t think that’s great. First off it doesn’t tell someone what kind of riding to expect. “It’s like a rally” is explaining the structure but not the content. It also requires your audience actually know about motor sport. Second it’s not even entirely accurate since the transfers are timed, out of necessity yes but sometimes the transfer windows can be tight – apparently the EWS at Whistler was brutal due to this and a lot of privateers and even a few pros were caught out.

And the last thing is it’s not exactly snappy or to the point. I realise there are differences between Enduro and DH but to me they are kissing cousins in many ways and I don’t see that as a bad thing.

jimjam – Member

First off it doesn’t tell someone what kind of riding to expect.

It can’t really, it’s too varied. (your own definition gives a false idea instead)

jimjam – Member

Second it’s not even entirely accurate since the transfers are timed

Usually not, in the UK at least. (I must have done 40+ of the things and exactly 2 have had set stage starts, UKGE and EWS.)

It’s not snappy- but that’s because if you try and make it snappy, you end up with something misleading. You could trim it a little if you want it to be more concise, but not much, it has a couple of ideas to get across. Put it a different way, you asked for it to provide more information.