There was once a time when a mountain bike was just a mountain bike. It had fatter tires, a rugged frame construction, plenty of gears and powerful brakes. With time though, the humble mountain bike quickly evolved and with it different styles of mountain bikes were built with more specific riding styles in mind.
The 4 principal types of a mountain bike that we come across today are cross-country mountain bikes, trail or all-mountain bikes, enduro mountain bikes, and dirt jump bikes. There are of course e-Bikes but they also tend to fall under enduro or trail bikes.
We’re going to discuss what each type of mountain bike is in future blog posts, but today we’re focussing on what an enduro mountain bike is, and with this knowledge, you can decide if an enduro bike would suit your riding style and the trails you ride on.
What is an enduro mountain bike?
Generally speaking, enduro mountain bikes are designed for more rugged and technical terrain. If you’re hitting trails fast, riding large jumps, and take big drops and hits, chances are you should be riding on an enduro mountain bike such as the Patrol 691.
What makes a mountain bike an enduro mountain bike are the frame features, the amount of suspension travel and the components used to build the bike. A high-quality enduro bike will be built with a combination of components that will take the rough and harsh terrain of an enduro track but won’t bog you down with too much weight.
An enduro bike like the Patrol 691 has 160mm of front wheel suspension travel and 150mm on the rear. With this much suspension movement, the 691 can soak up large hits from rock strikes and drops with ease.
More suspension travel means higher speeds and to ensure safety, an enduro bike should be fitted with powerful disc brakes and large volume tires. The Patrol 691 gets both with Magura disc brakes and Maxxis tires, what’s more, the 691 uses 29in wheels that smooth out rock littered terrain thanks to a more effective roll-over angle.
As enduro bikes are aimed at riders wanting to travel faster and take more risks, the frame of an enduro mountain bike must be well designed and this comes down to the safety and strength of the frame and the geometry of the bike.
For stable high-speed riding, an enduro bike should have long chainstays and a long reach, this places the rider in a central position. The seat-tube is usually steep to improve efficiency and comfort while climbing but the head angle should be slack to boost confidence and agility in technical or demanding situations.
Enduro bikes like the Patrol 691 are built and tested to withstand the toughest of trails conditions. Oversized bearings ensure longer suspension service internals and a Super Boost rear hub gives the 691 more tire clearance and a stiff rear end for fast cornering and high-speed off-camber riding.
MY 2020 Patrol 691
If you’re looking to ride an enduro mountain bike for 2020 visit the Patrol 691 product pages on our website to learn more about this 160mm travel, 29in wheeled off-road machine.
See you on the mountain!
