15 Slayer required to kill (Exp earned: 22). This monster will cause damage to your lifepoints and combat skills if you are not wearing Earmuffs. The chance of receiving better drops is increased by the Ring of luck, Strung rabbit foot, or Luck of the dwarves.
Casey Brown (Trek Factory Racing) aboard the 29″ Slash (photo: Matt Delorme/Trek Bikes) There are comparatively fewer bikes on the 29er list simply because there just aren’t as many full-on enduro bikes with wagon wheels on the market today. I suspect the offerings will continue to grow, though, as the larger wheels are inherently better at plowing through the rough terrain which often factors heavily into enduro race courses. Like the 27.5″ bikes, we see manufacturers taking different routes to come up with their ideal 29″ enduro bike. However, we don’t see quite the level of variation in geometries with 29 as with 27.5. Head Tube Angle: Slackest to Steepest (°).
As with the 27.5″ bikes, Transition takes the cake for slackest head tube angle (photo: Transition Bikes) Once again, a bike from Transition claims the coveted “Slackie Award” for having the slackest head tube angle. Interestingly, Transition went with a custom, shorter offset fork to bring the front wheel back in towards the rider. The combination of a slack HTA and a shorter offset fork are key components in Transition’s Speed Balanced Geometry, which the company claims gives incredible stability at speed without deadening the steering. At the opposite end of the spectrum sits the Niner RIP 9. The RIP saw a complete overhaul for 2017 that changed it from a modest trail bike with 125mm of rear travel to a full-on enduro bike with 150mm of rear travel paired with a 160mm fork. Despite relaxing the HTA by 2.5°, the new RIP is still fairly conservative by today’s standards with a 67° HTA. Average head tube angle: 66°.
Transition Sentinel – 64. Orbea Rallon – 65. Scott Genius 900 – 65. Evil Wreckoning – 65.5. Intense Carbine – 65.5. Norco Range – 65.5.
Orange Stage 6 – 65.5. Specialized Enduro 29 – 65.5. Trek Slash – 65.6. Whyte S-150 – 65.6. Rocky Mountain Instinct BC Edition – 65.9. Process 153 – 66. Mega 290 – 66.
Hightower LT – 66.4. Marin Wolf Ridge – 66.5.
Yeti SB5.5 – 66.5. Niner RIP 9 – 67 Reach: Longest to Shortest (mm). The new Kona Process 29er ties the Transition Sentinel for longest reach (photo: Kona Bikes) The 29″ list doesn’t have an outlier like the Mondraker Dune in the reach department, but we still see a variance of 33mm (1.3″) between the Transition Sentinel and the Yeti SB5.5. Looking at all these lists, what struck me the most is how the Yeti is at or near the bottom in all measurements. Since the Yeti brand is synonymous with enduro, that came as a surprise. Average reach: 460mm.
Sentinel – 475. Process 153 – 475. S-150 – 474.4. Mega 290 – 470. Genius 900 – 466.1. Wolf Ridge – 462.2.
Stage 6 – 462. Enduro 29 – 462. Range – 461. Slash – 459. Rallon – 455.
Carbine – 455. Instinct BC Edition – 454.
Wreckoning – 452. RIP 9 – 451. Hightower LT – 443.
SB5.5 – 442 Chainstay Length: Shortest to Longest (mm). The Yeti SB5.5 hits the average 437mm chainstay length, right on the nose (photo: Yeti Cycles) Holding all else equal, you’ll always be able to make the chainstays on a 27.5″ bike shorter than those on a 29″ bike. You can only trim away so much material before you run into that larger back wheel. That said, designers have found a way to make chainstay lengths pretty damn close between the wheel sizes.
Take the Kona Process: it has the same 425mm long chainstays as its 27.5-wheeled brother, which are also just 5mm longer than the incredibly short chainstays found on the Jekyll. Average chainstay length: 437mm. Process 153 – 425.
Wreckoning – 432. Enduro 29 – 433. Slash – 433. Sentinel – 435.
S-150 – 435. Wolf Ridge – 435. Range – 435. Rallon – 435. Instinct BC Edition – 435. SB5.5 – 437.
Genius 900 – 438. Hightower LT – 438. RIP 9 – 440. Carbine – 445. Mega 290 – 450. Stage 6 – 450 Bottom Bracket Height: Lowest to Highest (mm). Like its smaller-wheeled brother, the Whyte S-150 has a super low bottom bracket (photo: Whyte Bikes) One of the cool things about well-designed 29ers is how they feel like they’re on rails when cornering.
Much of this sensation comes from the increased BB drop compared to 27.5″ bikes. Since the taller wheels have higher axles, the relative distance between the axle height and the BB height is greater. This gives the rider a lower center of gravity relative to the axles and makes you feel like you’re in rather than on the bike. Average BB height: 343mm.
![Banshee rune for sale Banshee rune for sale](/uploads/1/2/5/4/125441107/137056860.jpg)
S-150 – 335. Stage 6 – 335. Wolf Ridge – 336. Rallon – 336. Hightower LT – 338. Wreckoning – 339.
Range – 340. Mega 290 – 341.7. RIP 9 – 343. Genius 900 – 344.4.
Sentinel – 345. Process 153 – 346. Enduro 29 – 346. SB5.5 – 346. Carbine – 348. Slash – 352.
Instinct BC Edition – 353 Wheelbase: Longest to Shortest (mm). The Orange Stage 6 has the second-longest wheelbase, trailing the Transition Sentinel by just 2mm (photo: Orange Bikes) Once again, there’s a substantial variance in the overall wheelbase — 52mm (2.05″). The Transition Sentinel is the longest bike in the comparison thanks in large part to its super-slack 64° HTA. The Orange Stage 6 comes in just 2mm shorter than the Sentinel, but it owes more of its sprawling wheelbase to its long, 450mm chainstays. At the other end of the spectrum, the Santa Cruz Hightower LT and Yeti SB5.5 tie for the shortest wheelbase at 1195mm. Average wheelbase: 1220mm. Sentinel – 1247.
Stage 6 – 1245. Mega 290 – 1236.3. Carbine – 1233.
Genius 900 – 1232.1. S-150 – 1231.6.
Slash – 1219. Process 153 – 1218. Enduro 29 – 1218. Rallon – 1217. Range – 1217. Instinct BC Edition – 1213. Wreckoning – 1208.
Wolf Ridge – 1206. RIP 9 – 1204.
Hightower LT – 1195. SB5.5 – 1195 27.5 vs 29 Enduro Bike Geometry When we use the chart below to compare the average 27.5″ enduro bike to the average 29″ enduro bike, there are remarkably subtle differences. A 27.5″ enduro bike has slightly more suspension travel front and rear, but a majority of the geometry figures are within half a degree or a few millimeters. The one exception is the stack measurement, which is understandable considering the taller wheels raise the front end of the bike. Comparing the first generation Santa Cruz Nomad to the newest, fourth generation.
You can see some of the family resemblance, but the differences are quite apparent. (photos: Santa Cruz) The basic ingredients for an all-mountain or enduro bike haven’t changed much over the past decade or two.
Take a full suspension frame, add two parts long travel, and mix with one part burly build; bake and spread over gnarly trails. What has changed are the little pinches of this and a half a teaspoon of that, which totally altered the flavor (that would be the geometry in this analogy). Compared to ten or even just five years ago, the modern enduro bike has radically different geometry. Head tube angles and wheelbases that were once solely in the realm of downhill bikes are now commonplace on the latest crop of enduro bikes.
While bikes like the Mondraker Dune show there is still room to grow, it seems that, largely, brands have settled into a formula that works for their particular design goals. We’ll likely continue to see subtle tweaks to enduro geometry going forward, but it seems doubtful we’ll see things change by leaps and bounds. It’s simply another sign that we’re in the Golden Age of mountain biking.
February 19, 2018 at 6:27 am Nice round up of the numbers. One particular thing I’ve noticed in the long-travel 29er realm is that most manufacturers bikes tend to have long reaches, shorter effective top tubes and long if not sprawling wheelbases. The couple of bikes I’ve demoed with this (Kona Process 153 29, Orbea Rallon) I had to size up (I usually go with mediums and went with larges instead).
Both were decent pedalers, however they both had that tugboat steering when came time to corner. I would expect the same from bikes with similar numbers. This trait is pleasantly absent from my own whip a medium Evil Wreckoning, which has a longer effective top tube and a shorter wheelbase.
This combined with it’s short chainstays and low bottom bracket (both among the shortest and lowest available) allows it to corner like mad and remain incredibly nimble despite have more travel than most of the bunch. February 19, 2018 at 8:26 am And speaking of tired, I cracked up when you pictured the Pivot Firebird as an example of a longer travel bike that you wouldn’t want to pedal up the transfers. When I am back in the States, I usually ride my son’s 2012 XL Firebird on the trails in CO (and elsewhere).
That thing weighs like 34 lbs and is a freight train on the descents with 180mm of travel up front. And somehow it also climbs amazingly on steep technical climbs. But man, will that bike wear you out over two or three hours of riding. I get back to Mongolia and jump on my Mojo HD, and ride like the wind or so I think. =) I did 38 miles and 4700′ of climbing on the Firebird one day last summer in CO oh man, was I digging deep for all I had to finish out that ride.
I’ve got one.it’s ace! Shameless pic plug It’s now got a short cage Type 2 clutch mech and a RF narrow wide ring on the way. As pictured it weighs in at 33lbs on the nose but climbs surprisingly well but flies down hills.
Its a really confidence inspiring bike to ride that seems to do most things pretty well. If I’m honest, I’d have been better off with a Spitfire but couldbt get a demo on one so went for the Rune instead. I was also looking at a Covert but the medium that I rode was too small and I didn’t like the way the large looked. Sad I know, but this was the most I’ve ever spent on a frame so wanted one that rode well and still looked good. The Cane Creek is a worthwhile upgradethe CTD shock was a bit poo I thought although I did manage to make it ride poorly by getting carried away with fiddling. It’s now back to where it was and we’re back in business! I really liked the fact that I could email Keith who designed it and ask silly questions!
My only complaint is that the 73mm bottom bracket and ISCG05 tabs don’t work with my E13 chain device and Race Face cranks. Due to clearance issues I’ve had to move the bottom bracket spacer over to the drive side which has resulted in a rubbish chainline hence the move to a narrow wide ring and a clutch mech. The same set up (with the correct backplate) was perfect on my SX Trail with old ISCG.
Progress hey? I looked at getting a rune but ended up going with the spitfire after a test ride as its plenty bike for my riding.I loved the idea of a rune but realistically the spitfire suited me better. I still love the idea of a rune though lol infact I would happily ride any banshee I couldnt be happier with my bike its really solid, easy to pedal up, loves air time and fast as f### downhill.im sure whatever you choose will be brilliant especially if you go banshee. Heres a shameless picture of spitfire.