Men's winner, Luke Meier-Smith on the 2023 Giant Reign Advanced Pro. Photo: Sven Martin/Giant Bicycles.
Enduro racing is finally back with the newly revamped UCI Enduro World Cup. The first race was held last weekend at Maydena Bike Park in Tasmania and as the Aussies would say, it was a cracker. Especially since Australian riders dominated the men’s podium. You can catch up on all the action with the race highlights, but what we’re interested in here are the bikes that took the world’s fastest riders to the podium. Let’s take a closer look at the best enduro bikes of the weekend.
[button]SHOP MOUNTAIN BIKES[/button]
Enduro World Cup Elite Men’s Results
|
Position |
Rider |
Bike |
|
1st |
Luke Meier-Smith |
Giant Reign Advanced Pro |
|
2nd |
Dan Booker |
Nukeproof Mega 297 |
|
3rd |
Connor Fearon |
Forbidden Dreadnought |
|
4th |
Rhys Verner |
Forbidden Prototype |
|
5th |
Troy Brosnan |
Canyon Spectral Mullet |
Enduro World Cup Elite Women’s Results
|
Position |
Rider |
Bike |
|
1st |
Isabeau Courdurier |
Lapierre Spicy CF Team |
|
2nd |
Morgane Charre |
Pivot Firebird |
|
3rd |
Ella Conolly |
Cannondale Jekyll |
|
4th |
Bex Baraona |
Yeti SB160 Turq |
|
5th |
Hattie Harnden |
Trek Slash |
Giant Reign Advanced Pro
Travel: 170mm front / 160mm rear
Head angle: 63.5-64.2°
Seat angle: 78.3-79°
Reach: 460mm / 480mm (M/L)
Wheel size: 29"
Podium position: 1st (men)
The first fast Australian, Luke Meier-Smith took his first Elite win for the Giant Off-Road Team. Super impressive considering he just moved up from the Junior category and mainly focuses on downhill. Meier-Smith smashed the final stage to take the top spot aboard the brand-new Giant Reign Advanced Pro. The Reign was revamped for 2023 with more travel, a slacker head angle, and adjustable geometry thanks to a multi-position flip chip. It also has in-frame storage and the option to run mullet wheels.
[button]SHOP GIANT[/button]
Lapierre Spicy CF
Travel: 170mm
Head angle: 64.5° (small - all other sizes are 65°)
Seat angle: 75°
Reach: 440mm / 465mm (M/L)
Wheel size: Mullet
Podium position: 1st (women)
Isabeau Courdurier looks unstoppable this year and you’d be a fool to bet against her taking her third overall title. She looked comfortably fast all day on her Lapierre Spicy CF Team. Compared to the other bikes on this list, the Spicy’s geometry is not as extreme when it comes to head angle and reach, but it clearly works for the 5’0 Courdurier, who is nicknamed "The Marmot" for her fast, darty, wheels on the ground style. Unfortunately, for U.S.-based riders, Lapierres are rare, though we do see them pop up in the used market from time to time.
Nukeproof Mega 297
Travel: 170mm front / 165mm rear
Head angle: 64°
Seat angle: 77.5/78° (M/L)
Reach: 455mm / 475mm (M/L)
Wheel size: Mullet
Podium position: 2nd (men)
Dan Booker is another young Aussie making waves thanks to his effortless style and penchant for flat pedals. Perhaps he’ll follow in the footsteps of his teammate and fellow Australian flat pedal shredder, the legend himself, Sam Hill. Booker fought Meier-Smith all day aboard the Nukeproof Mega 297, a mulleted version of the Nukeproof Mega Sam Hill piloted to three consecutive overall championships. It’s not as big and burly as the Nukeproof Giga, but had no problem eating up Maydena’s roughest trails.
[button]SHOP NUKEPROOF[/button]
Pivot Firebird
Travel: 170mm front / 165mm rear
Head angle: 64.6°
Seat angle: 77/77.5°
Reach: 473mm / 493mm (M/L - Mid chip position)
Wheel size: 29”
Podium position: 2nd (women)
Last year’s runner-up, Morgane Charre, once again looks like Courdurier’s biggest challenger. Another flat pedal rider, she looked fast and smooth on the big-wheeled Pivot Firebird. It’s super long and stable (it's the longest bike here), and with a Super Boost rear end, the rear wheel has DH-level stiffness and begs to be slapped hard into corners. The 165mm of rear travel is controlled by a DW-Link suspension system, which uses some legendary Dave Weagle suspension wizardry to provide a solid pedaling platform for big transfers.
[button]SHOP PIVOT[/button]
Forbidden Dreadnought
Travel: 170mm front / 154mm rear
Head angle: 63.5°
Seat angle: 76°
Reach: 462mm / 484mm (M/L - Mid chip position)
Wheel size: 29”
Podium position: 3rd & 4th (men)
[product-block handle="forbidden-dreadnought-frame-2023-blue-heat"/]
Forbidden is a relatively small Canadian brand, but Connor Fearon and Rhys Verner really showed what the high-pivot Dreadnought is capable of, snatching two spots on the men’s podium. The Dreadnought has less rear travel than many on this list, but thanks to the rearward axle path of the Trifecta high-pivot suspension, it’s a lot more stable and capable than the numbers might imply. The reduced pedal kickback of the system is also something a life-long flat pedal rider like Fearon surely appreciates. Fearon rode the new Blue Heat 2023 Dreadnought frame while Verner was on a blacked-out prototype cheekily being called "#notadreadnought." We'll have to wait to find out what Verner is actually riding.
[button]SHOP FORBIDDEN[/button]
Cannondale Jekyll
Travel: 170mm front / 165mm rear
Head angle: 64°
Seat angle: 77.5°
Reach: 450mm / 475mm (M/L - Mid chip position)
Wheel size: 29”
Podium position: 3rd (women)
[product-block handle="2022-cannondale-jekyll-1-l"/]
Former U21 Overall Championship, Ella Conolly, is making a big impact in the Elite ranks and she already put her Cannondale Jekyll on the top step of the podium last year, so I wouldn’t be surprised if she does it again this year. Like the Forbidden Dreadnought, the Jekyll is a high-pivot bike, but it uses more of a "mid-high" pivot position. The suspension was designed by high-pivot guru, Luis Arraiz, who also designed GT’s current high-pivot frames and the classic K9 Industries downhill bikes. If you ask me, the Jekyll is also one of the best-looking enduro bikes on the market right now.
[button]SHOP CANNONDALE[/button]
Yeti SB160
Travel: 170mm front / 160mm rear
Head angle: 64°
Seat angle: 77.5°
Reach: 465mm / 485mm (M/L - Mid chip position)
Wheel size: 29”
Podium position: 4th (women)
Yeti’s two-time champ, Richie Rude, slipped down the order by the end of the day, but teammate (an my favorite badass) Bex Baraona kept the Yeti ship afloat with a solid 4th place finish. Baraona has taken a win on the previous-gen Yeti SB150, so we know she has the chops to take the new SB160 to the top as well. The SB160 features small refinements over the SB150. The rear travel increased 10mm (hence the name), the head angle is half a degree slacker, the reach is 5mm longer, and the downtube has been tweaked for more ground clearance.
[button]SHOP YETI[/button]
Canyon Spectral Mullet
Travel: 160mm front /150mm rear
Head angle: 64°
Seat angle: 76.5°
Reach: 456mm / 481mm (M/L - Mid chip position)
Wheel size: Mullet
Podium position: 5th (men)
Troy Brosnan might be best known as one of the most consistent Downhill World Cup riders ever, but last weekend he showed that he has the chops for enduro racing too. Interestingly, he chose to race the Canyon Spectral, which has the least amount of travel of all the bikes on this list. The Spectral is more of an all-rounder trail bike compared to the bigger, enduro-focused Strive, but Brosnan likely chose it because it comes in a mullet configuration that better fits his smaller frame (he’s 5’6).
[button]SHOP CANYON[/button]
Trek Slash
Travel: 170mm front / 160mm rear
Head angle: 64.1/64.6° (low/high chip position)
Seat angle: 75.6/76.1°
Reach: 456mm / 474mm (M/L)
Wheel size: 29”
Podium position: 5th (women)
[product-block handle="2021-trek-slash-9-9-x01-m"/]
At first, Trek superstar Vali Höll looked like she was going to use her downhill world championship-winning speed to smash the women’s field, but as the day wore on, she slipped back to 10th. Hattie Harnden, however, stayed consistent on the Trek Slash, taking a well-deserved final spot on the podium. She finished 3rd overall last year, so expect more podium appearances from the fast Brit. The Slash has been an enduro staple for years and a 2021 update gave it slacker angles and longer reach to help it regularly compete at the front of the field.
[button]SHOP TREK[/button]
[newsletter]
[button]SHOP MOUNTAIN BIKES[/button]
