Best enduro bike: 9 we recommend

If you’re looking for a bike that can take on the toughest descents but still let you get up the climbs under your own steam, then an enduro bike might be just what you need. Read on for all the things you need to know about them, plus our pick of the best enduro bikes on the market.

Beginner’s guide to enduro racing

Enduro bikes are one of the hottest products in mountain biking at the moment. The name ‘enduro’ refers to a rally-style race format where downhill stages are timed, but the linking stages that join the descents up aren’t. The descents themselves can vary from fairly pedally to extremely steep and technical. Originally, most of the competitors just used normal trail bikes, but as the popularity of the sport has grown, more specialist bikes have been developed.

This means that modern enduro bikes are incredibly capable all-round machines which can cope with everything from trail centre runs to super tough Alpine descents. That means that even if you’re not a racer, buying an enduro bike can be ideal if you like to cruise the climbs but push yourself hard on tricky descents.

So what should I look for in an enduro bike?

As with any bike, the frame is the heart of any enduro bike. The most commonly used frame material tends to be aluminium, though it’s becoming more common to see full carbon fibre frames on higher end machines. Regardless of the material, the frame needs to be tough enough to take a serious beating, stiff enough to help keep you tracking true through rough and tumble sections and still lightweight enough not to be a drag uphill.

Enduro race essentials

The frame geometry tends to be on the long and slack side, with head angles from around 67-65 degrees paired to steep seat angles and a long reach. This means you’ve got a bike that’s super stable on descents but still puts you in an effective pedalling position on the climbs. This geometry is paired to a short stem of around 30-50mm and handlebars from around 760-800mm in width in order to give enough leverage to keep the bike in check at high speeds.