Enduro

Key facts

Bike types

MTB, eMTB

Typical travel

150–180 mm

Wheel size

29″

Terrain

steep, rough, technical descents

Protection

Medium

Racing

UCI Enduro World Cup (Enduro World Series 2013–2022)

How a race works

A race day has several stages, each a mostly downhill section of trail. Only the stages are timed; the climbs between them have a generous time limit. The winner has the lowest total time of all stages — so consistency beats one hero run.

The bike

150–180 mm of travel, slack geometry, strong wheels and tyres, 29′′ or mullet wheels. It has to be fast downhill and still pedal up the transfers, often for thousands of metres of climbing in a day.

Protection

Knee pads always; a helmet with a chin bar — a full-face or a convertible — on the stages. Many races make both compulsory.

Related articles

• Electric mountain bike (eMTB) — A mountain bike with a pedal-assist motor and battery. The motor helps only while you pedal, so you climb more, ride further and spend the day descending.
• Full-suspension bike — A mountain bike with suspension at both ends. The rear shock keeps the back wheel on the ground over roots and rocks, which means more grip, more control and less fatigue.
• Canyon — A German bike brand from Koblenz that sells directly to riders online, without shops. It began in 1985 as Radsport Arnold and has carried the Canyon name since 2002.
• Dropper post — A seatpost that drops at the push of a lever on the bar and rises again on its own. The saddle goes out of the way for the descent and comes back for the climb, without stopping.
• Trail riding — The most common way to ride a mountain bike: loops that climb under your own power and descend the good stuff, on one bike that does a bit of everything.
• Downhill (DH) — Racing one steep, rough track from top to bottom, against the clock, on bikes with around 200 mm of travel. A World Cup run lasts three to four minutes and is decided by fractions of a second.
• Full-face helmet — A helmet with a chin bar that protects the face and jaw as well as the head. Standard for downhill, bike parks and big jumps, and more and more common in enduro.
• Knee pads — Pads that take the hit when you fall on a knee — the most common crash injury on a mountain bike. Modern pads are soft enough to pedal in all day and harden only on impact.
• Mullet — A bike with a 29′′ front wheel and a 27.5′′ rear: the big wheel rolls over the trail, the small one keeps the back end agile and out of your way on steep ground.
• Suspension travel — How far a wheel can move on its suspension, in millimetres — the first number in any mountain bike's description. More travel absorbs bigger hits; less travel pedals and weighs less.
• Frame geometry — The angles and lengths that decide how a bike rides: stable or nimble, easy to climb or eager to descend. Every model publishes them in a geometry chart.
• Shuttle — Getting to the top of a descent by car, van or pickup instead of pedalling, so you can ride down again and again. A shuttle day is to trails what a lift pass is to a bike park.