Vital MTB Test Sessions: Five of the Best Long-Travel Enduro 29ers Raced and Reviewed 163

Multiple back-to-back tests of the Evil Wreckoning, Orbea Rallon, Specialized Enduro, Transition Sentinel, and Trek Slash revealed their strengths and weaknesses, and then we raced them against the clock!

bturman
3/3/2018 10:32pm
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163 comments

View replies to: Vital MTB Test Sessions: Five of the Best Long-Travel Enduro 29ers Raced and Reviewed

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Suns_PSD
5 years ago
Solid review, for my purposes, showing the time to climb back up is an important factor that should not be overlooked.
Thanks for the well thought out review, these aren't easy.
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WolfpackFBNS
6 years ago
One more thing, I don't have any experience with the Quark Shock Wiz, but I was wondering if you all could use it next time to see if it provides useful information. I'm curious b/c you all mention how many times some of the bikes bottomed out and I was curious if the Shock Wiz would provide actual data confirming your suspicions on how the suspension is working.
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bturman
6 years ago
Good idea! ShockWiz does provide a "deep compressions" count and various other metrics that might be helpful.
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unskilled
6 years ago
I feel like they should mention, maybe i missed it, where these bikes were tested and how much riding these guys do at said location. The chances of 15 runs by 3 riders on 5 different bikes all coming within 2 seconds of each other seems like an impossibility.

I am curious if they ride these trails often and if knowing the trail means they are just riding at the comfort level they're used to and that they would get the same results on ANY bike.
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bturman
6 years ago
Fair point. There is a no doubt a certain comfort level for any rider on any trail. That said, the bike you're on can have a lot to do with your perceived comfort level. What feels good on one bike is sometimes a scary situation on another.

Steve and I have ridden this trail extensively on both enduro and DH bikes. The filming process allowed us to get even more familiar with it. That familiarity ensured consistency in line choice come race day.
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al.boneta
6 years ago
The Evil is my favorite bike to look at, the Trek is the most revered, the Orbea I can’t buy and the Enduro is the one I own.
It just goes to show that none of these bike is really that much better than the other.
For those of you who own some these bikes and don’t agree with the results, you shouldn’t take it personally. Any of these bikes with different riders on different trails could have come out on top.
The use the same tires thing I agree with on one hand, but these are the tires the manufacturers speced so it’s good to see how they stacked up out of the box.
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Fred_Pop
6 years ago
Loved this article&video! Might be one of my favorites on Vital EVER!!!
Would love to see you guys test out long and slack bikes vs normal bikes e.g. Nicolai geometron and Pole Evolink vs any of the bikes in this test.
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hardboiled
6 years ago
thanks Vital, you guys rock! this was a pleasure to read/watch. usually I much prefer reading and still pics to videos but this video review was amazing.

maybe I missed it, but did BT and SW have favorite bikes from this test, regardless of the fastest and perceived fastest? or maybe "perceived fastest" is a proxy for their favorites?
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let's roll
6 years ago
Damn, have you ever seen this many comments on vital?? Hope you guys don't become like that other website. =)
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grabercars
6 years ago
Wow Vital! Excellent data analysis, superb videography, and absolutely pinned riding! Overall extremely informative and entertaining article, and I hope that you go on to more comparisons using this particular format. It's the first time I can recall starting to watch a bike review vid on my phone screen, stopping it, and moving into the living room to cast onto the big screen.
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vids
6 years ago
Great review! It really shows that the stop-watch and the "this feels fast" are different things.

Please do the same test on the same course with the Nomad4, the 2018 Capra both 27,5 and 29 and Canyon Torque. And include one of the bikes from this test as a reference (to see if the mesured times are comparable).

That test would answer a lot of questions that keep me up at night!

Both because of the 27,5/29 thing and also because both riders and testers seem to agree that those are longer travel "freeride-bikes" and not enduro-race-bikes. I suspect they are really fast though.

PS. Technical climbing aside, I mostly wonder which one of the bikes lets me get to the top without killing my legs, I need that power for the race-stages.
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Dogboy
6 years ago
Firstly, killer work Vital crew. This is one of the best bike tests I've seen. IMHO it works so well because of the fairly narrow field of well matched bikes (bruisers) and 2 similarly quick riders, with slightly different strengths. Secondly, it seems a lot of the commenters vastly overestimate how much of a difference there is between the parts - namely suspension and tires. None of it is junk and the geometry/suspension kinematics play a much bigger role than the perceived difference between a modern mid-range to gucci damper does.
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vanillarice19
6 years ago
I wish you guys would have tested middle level bikes all air shocks instead of some mid level build and some top level builds with Super plush coil shocks. A $4500 Slash 9.7 or $5500 Slash with Deluxe shock, a $5300 Wreck with Monarch Plus, $4500 Enduro Elite with Super Deluxe, $5000 Patrol Carbon with DPX2 (GX), and a $5000 Rallon M10 with DPX2. Give them all the same tire and go!! These are the bikes are what normal customers would buy and would outsell the $7-8K bikes 10:1
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bturman
6 years ago
Cheers for the feedback, vanilla. Using a more comparable price point across all of the bikes is a good idea.
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Meeko19
6 years ago
The SLASH platform is still the Benchmark. It's within 1.1 seconds of the fastest Rallon on a 2:20min course. Toss a 2.5WT DHF Minion on the Slash instead of the weak XC tires that come with it and it will take the win. Throw on a Coil shock or an X2 on the Slash and give it a decent fork like a Performance Elite or Lyrik RCT3 and it will still be cheaper and lighter than the Orbea or Evil and pull ahead even more.
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jeff.brines
6 years ago
I keep seeing posts making the IFP based 36 out to be some slouch. Its not. While I'm not saying I prefer it to the bladder based FIT 36, the difference is so negligable to me, I'm not rushing out to replace it anytime soon. Word is there are actually a few top rung riders who *prefer* it to the bladder based fork.

I don't disagree the bike was lacking in the tire department, and I hated that rear shock, but if anything that just speaks to how good the bike actually may be...
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boaz
6 years ago
benchmark to whom? for enduro bikes i think the nomad is the benchmark even though it’s 27.5

cheaper? not than the evil. the slash frame is 3700 retail. any equivalent build for these bikes is going to be within a couple hundred dollars which at the retail price level is not important. if you can afford a bike for 7000, 300 should not sway the decision.
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vanillarice19
6 years ago
Who says the Nomad is the benchmark? Vital is calling the 2017 Red Slash 9.9 RSL that won pink bike of the year the benchmark 29er along with many other web publications. The Nomad is top 5 for 27.5 I'll give you that. The 9.9 Frameset (Red) is pricey but for this comparison, the Evil cost $7,800 (as shown) vs. the Slash at $5,500. There's also a $4500 Slash. Trade in the performance fork for a factory or Factory elite for $200-300 more and trade in the RS through shaft shock for a X2 or DHX2 for another $2-300 and you have a $5000-$6000 Slash that will smoke the the fastest bike in test by well more than 1.1 seconds.
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boaz
6 years ago
where are you ‘trading in’ your suspension for those margins. last time i asked a LBS to trade suspension on a brand new bike during the purchase process they quoted me at nearly retail for the upgraded fork. if you aren’t working off bro deals, crazy internet deals, or that mythical shop that gives you 50% off upgraded suspension parts for a case of beer, then yes, at retail price equivalent parts on these frames will be almost the same.
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vanillarice19
6 years ago
Fine, Pay Full MSRP on a Fox 36 Performance Elite or Factory for $900-1100 and an X2 for $650. Still $550-750 ahead and you have a spare shock and fork
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Ex-genuflector
6 years ago
Incredible video - I audibly gasped at the 30 min run time, but watched all of it anyway. I love the metrics used for analysis, and the data you presented at the end. Keep up the good work guys!

I'm heading down to Trinidad this weekend to check out the dry trails...can't wait!
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Beez177
6 years ago
Having owned an Enduro Pro and Evil Insurgent, I like my Hightower better. Climbs better just as fast on the downs. I think it really says something, when the specs vary but the times are close. Geo is the main determining factor.
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Meeko19
6 years ago
These bikes are so capable I would argue that tires and suspension are just as important as Geo. Some bike have $$$$ suspension while others like the Slash had a cheap Performance Fork and weak trail tires.
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Meeko19
6 years ago
Great Review but wish you had similar tires and similar spec bikes. Some bikes have PUSH coil shocks and Fox factory forks and Meaty Downhill tires like the DHF while other have lower end Fox Performance (not even Performance Elite) forks and Trail tires (Bontrager SE4).
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pedalhound
6 years ago
Wow....I love this! More of this type of content please.

One thing I would like to see is multiple timed laps from each rider on each bike...I know this is tough with a large group of bikes like this...fatigue will really set in. But if you do single tests like this and have a dedicated test track it would be great to see and compare each test bike you have...a la Top Gear/ Grand Tour test track times.
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dh-noob
6 years ago
I'll be great to have a small rider riding a 27,5 and 29er (Hightower LT - Bronson / Enduro 27,5 - 29 / ...) . How the difference are regarding feeling, cornering and of course timing.
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mrbunj
6 years ago
...and no one has said it yet, but the best "Value" here is the Specialized bike. Who woulda thunk it?
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Matt Dogg
6 years ago
Agree. The base level Enduros are priced very well. If only I needed that much travel...... maybe I'll demo one this year (currently on an up-forked Stumpy29 (160-130 dual position fork)
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Meeko19
6 years ago
130/160 forks are great for the Stumpy. It already has a super low BB at 130 so even at 160, it's not that high and your HT slackens close to 2 deg.
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bturman
6 years ago
Agreed. While not everything on the Enduro Coil was top notch, Specialized did a good job of putting value into several of the components that matter most.
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hamncheez2003
6 years ago
Man, this was the best bike review/round up I've ever seen. My only critique for next time is to have more test riders with varying body types, like a tall rider, a 'racer' vs someone with more of a 'freerider', etc
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bturman
6 years ago
Bingo! adrennan is on point with his comment regarding testers needing to fit a specific bike size. Certainly room to mix up test rider backgrounds though. Appreciate the feedback.
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boom
6 years ago
Also test runs with flat and clipless pedals. I'd also like to see runs with tight fitting clothing and looser clothing to see if that actually affects times. If you end up doing varying body types could you be sure they have significantly different shoe sizes? I'd be curious if the extra weight of having big feet slows down your pedaling. I also noticed that in the video sometimes Steve was wearing a half-shell helmet in practice. Could you do timed race runs with full faces vs. half shell helmets to see if a full face gives you more confidence, resulting in faster times? This will make the test just slightly more complex, but that is really my only critique.
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mrbunj
6 years ago
Interestingly, you guys have a One Lap video with Curtis Keene on this trail and he looks to be within a few seconds of your times on an enduro (likely early version of the one tested). That is a pretty gnarly trail that you put these bikes through. Great format. More please!
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bikeboardorblade
6 years ago
@bturman With all the talk on keeping the tires consistent to improve the testing, if you were to go that route which tires would you set as the standard?
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bturman
6 years ago
If we do decide to standardize tires for future tests, we'll go with something appropriate for the bike type and terrain. Likely a tried and true combo that most people are familiar with.
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BrianBuell
6 years ago
Vital MTB, I've always enjoyed The Test Sessions as they are honest, and are chalked full of interesting information. That being said, as much as I've tried to be a bike nerd, I'm wired differently, therefor I loved watching you guys huck your meat while racing against the clock and finding each bikes limitations. BT, you are like the ageless wonder, so fun to watch ride a bike and hear your giggles throughout. SW, I've missed your snark, honesty and monster truck mentality. I'm not sure where I fall in the overall demographic of riders, however in terms of capturing my attention for an entire 30+ minute video, you knocked it out of the park and I was left wanting more. I've always secretly been interested in analytics, and raw data, so utilizing the LITPro device made this whole experience even more interesting. Was stoked to see this category being tested, as I know from experience against the clock that ultimately long travel 29ers are the fastest and most capable steeds, maybe not always the most fun to ride on every trail however.

Some ideas for future tests:
- USA vs Canada manufacturers
- I would love to see something E BIkes as I believe that will be the future
- Boutique Brand 27.5 Bike Battle
+ Guerilla Gravity MegaTrail
+ Banshee Rune
+ Canfield Brothers Balance
+ Evil The Insurgent
+ The DC Special hehe
+ Intense Tracer
+ Knolly Warden
+ Nicolai Ion-G16-GPI Qlfline
+ Orange Alpine 6
Just to name a few as it would be rad to see some lesser known bikes and brands highlighted...gonna need to find a angel investor to donate to this cause as test bikes don't magically grow on trees.

I would like to know whether or not your race test section was Trinidad or not, as there seems to be a bit of a joke going on around Vital HQ. Other locations I would like to see highlighted:

- Windrock, Tenn + due to the raw nature of the area
- Moab, UT + Because its such a classic venue and it would be fun to ride the same trails where the tests take place, mostly so I can smoke you guys
- The PN'dub(Oregon to BC Coastline) + Loam, roots, loam, g outs, loam...most fun trails I've ever experienced

Thank you all again at VitalMTB for making my life more fulfilled and full of stoke. Maybe someday I can be apart of this test process, but in the meantime the video really brought to life what it takes to create this type of content. I know how much work you all put into this, as well as the podcasts, and other features your provide and solute you for your efforts. I look forward to the next one!
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adrennan
6 years ago
the balance is heavy if built properly. goes downhill really fast and comes alive when you are going speeds you are not comfortable going. will get uphill but a 35 pound bike will only ever climb like a 35 pound bike. i love the balance.
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Matt Dogg
6 years ago
Yo Brian - we could crowd fund it. Dead serious put me down for $10. If we get 1,000 supporters we can buy Vital......... oh wait, 1 or 2 bikes. Nevermind. Fail.

Also - sorry but disagree that the Intense qualifies as "boutique".
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bturman
6 years ago
Mr. Buell! Thanks for the great suggestions. Would love to through a leg over many of those. We might have to bring in the sweater vest for one of these in the future...
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BrianBuell
6 years ago
I'll proudly don the vest again in the name of Vital, just let me know if any internship positions become available for this Division II Natty Chump, I'll bust my ass for your bottom line! In all seriousness though, stoked for you and Vital, looking forward to the next one, cheers!
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Tim_Sim
6 years ago
next bikes please - Intense Carbine29 , YT Capra29 , Scott Genius920 , Santa Hightower LT and Orange Stage6!!
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Matt Dogg
6 years ago
I like your list. Would be very interesting as the Scott and SC are better all rounders and Intense/YT better dh mobsters. Is there really much dif between the 150 and 160 29er crew?
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