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I got a classic. Took this a few years back. 2014 Devinci Wilson (Ex Dean Lucas worlds bike) 2015 Spec Enduro Evo 1997 Barracuda XXXC I bought the Barracuda new in 1998 with money I made mowing lawns (I was 14) and it was a shitload of money for a kid. It was a cutting edge bike at the time. Attached is the Geo Chart lol. I raced XC, FourCross and Downhill on that bad boy! Sadly I sold it as finances were not too hot. I wish I kept it as it's an awesome reminder of some great times...

Nothing personal Johan, but I was kind of hoping that Jeff Byrnes (sp?) had done this test.

Don’t be dumb

Interesting that the Sight VLT was more fun than the Levo. I didn't like the "off idle" click/hesitation of the Shimano motor but I heard they fixed this with a firmware update. The Levo motor is unbelievably good and reliable if you spin it and ride it like an MTB as I do...2,000 miles in and perfect. The Levo is faster and more stable but it kind of takes the fun out. I may try 27.5" wheels on the Levo...or at least run it as a mullet.

In this article, that’s spurred you on to comment, they say that an emtb has 1/50th of the power of a dirt bike, so your argument is ruined by facts.

If your against emtb's why are you reading or commenting on this article? If youre trying to dissuade anyone from considering one youre doing a poor job comparing an emtb to a motoX. If you havent figured that out by now your denial has fatally limited any weight your comments would carry in the discussion. The difference between an emtb and a motoX has been obvious and well stated for a few years now

FYI we get closer to 8K elevation on the newer Levo/Kenevo in mostly trail settings with a little Turbo mixed in. Turbo is really overkill for most climbs. It is easy to "ride the bubble" which is basically pedaling enough to get motor support, but not so much you are blowing yourself up. It is much easier to nuke yourself on Turbo because you can't stay in front of the motor.

So once by an emtb is "too often" and a few times by a mtb is "not too often"?

And how many times have you almost been taken out by a regular bike? It is not the machine it is the rider and all too common.

in my opinion, I'll try mullet combo, with Fox 49 170 or 180 mm. and a front wheel 29, with schwalbe magic mary ultrasoft...

Good test. I just bought a Rail 3 weeks ago and love it. EMTBs are rad. Don't worry about getting one (if you have the cash). Join the fun!

Loved this. Would love to see more. Happy to see tire tests and fork tests also. And more bikes. What about the new yamaha? how is the motor and how is the bike? And I think a lot of people are trying to figure out when is the right time to buy. Are bikes just getting much much better and it doesn't make sense to buy or have they reached a good level now? I'm on an Intense Tazer which is a 2019 build but I've only had it for a month and it was the only one I could...

I layout the courses for the Windrock enduro stages that are on the XC side.I don't have the final say in which courses get picked I do have the responsibility to tape them. I encourage our promoters to not show course previews as it lets guys pre-ride the course weeks out as you say. Secondly, I wait to tape the tracks until the night before official practice and by that time all the inside lines are established. Obviously I will tape those off and try to reroute the trails differently where I can to level out the field as much...

This conversation is always going to be difficult as people are all over the place globally with very different interpretations of "local" (to me my favourite spot "Blausasc" isn't really "local" even though is a 30 minute drive away...). Add to this different regulations of "Recos" and pre-riding I can't claim anyone is right or wrong overall. What I am specifically against is riding the week of the race, often with a view to opening new lines or even finding shortcuts. As Jeff said, the biggest issue is that there are no role models: juniors and amateurs started this here...

Love the mullet integration. I hope more bikes start doing this.

Full external cables! Please let this be the start of a trend.

At 44 I too have to laugh at 35 being middle age! Pre-riding and doing tons of course recon I think cheapens the race experience. Enduro should be about setting up your bike, mindset and fitness to handle whatever comes and then just go out for the adventure of it. Last BME I did in Aspen, most of the other Masters guys had all been there for at least a week and ridden everything over and over. I showed up the evening before as that's often how it goes with work and young kids. I had a great time and...

My biggest take away from this thread is that 35 is now considered middle aged... 0_o Racing mountain bikes is truly a young mans game. Edit to add: Not to burst your bubble, but I don't think there really is anywhere in a 100 mile radius around Bozeman that people don't really know about. Your best bet is probably local, grassroots enduro races and not events like the BME.