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Hard to tell exactly but it’s a zendit with aluminum rear end. Possibly a lower tier specced zendit

Probably don’t want to carry unnecessary weight (400gr) around given the race bikes are already heavy af in such a long and physical race

I hate that my first thought was "that looks sweet"

30,5/29 apparently from Zak Johansens IG

Time will tell. The people I ride with don't really GAF about motors, other than them being "good enough", reliable and quiet-ish. No one I know uses the boost setting very often on 750 watt systems. We'll talk endlessly about tires, brakes, suspension - no one even asks other riders what power unit they're on. Sure, folks will chose the best motor available on the best bike when buying new, but once you have a reliable system, there's not much incentive to drop $$$ to upgrade as an enthusiast (core? LOL) MTBer.

I had a similar experience. Bought an SL MTB because I moved to a place where the riding is less fun and requires sustained climbs at 10% grade to reach 2 minutes of mid single track. Then, this past summer I visited the east coast and rode around Vermont on a regular enduro bike. I thought wow, I really missed this and if I lived here I wouldn't want/need an ebike because the entire ride is so engaging. Maybe because the climbs are punchier and narrower. For this reason I also think there is more of a latent market for...

I have never loved a bike more than my Madonna. I ride it everywhere and can't imagine much being better, BUT... I think my ideal three bike lineup would be a longer travel ebike (ONLY because I live in the Canadian Rockies and our climb trails are like, 10% grade), a single speed DH/park bike and a short travel down-country. And a gravel bike. And a DJ... Lol

Statement from Atherton Bikes regarding the fire at their HQ: Statement from Atherton Bikes | 11 October 2026 We are devastated to confirm that there has been a fire at Atherton Bikes HQ and factory in Machynlleth. Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service have been incredible in their response and have brought the situation under control. Most importantly, we can confirm that nobody was injured and everyone is safe. We are still working to understand the full extent of the damage. We recognise that this news will be particularly concerning for customers with bikes on order. We anticipate...

I have no idea what are you talking about? I don't see any "hardcore" riders getting on e-bikes around this part of the world. I do see many e-bikes, but most of them are sticking to blue trails and generally ridden by people I wouldn't have seen on trails before. The "hardcore" riders still ride mountain bikes just like before around here, with a few exceptions obviously. There's definitely no shortage of a market for long travel enduro bikes. There's also a plenty of reasons not to get a Turbo Levo or any other eMTB over an actual MTB.

You’ll have to see next spring when the Forest Service releases their new travel plan. If they go full e bike like Canada, I could see e bikes > long travel enduro. I’ll also be bummed to see that. But I live in a heavily forest service land owner dominated area so I’m likely in a bubble.

Most bikes you see people on here are long travel enduro. That will be the next bike I buy. There is a market.

I noticed on the coastal culture ig bike check that Andy Kolb is running what appears to be a -4mm reach adjust cup on his xl v10. Jackson’s neutral headset cup for comparison:

I think the depression of the current market may work to Specializes advantage. Specifically in the marketing side of things. Right now a lot of hard core people look at enduro bikes and shrug their shoulders because 140-150mm travel frames can be customized to take such a beating. But everyone outside of this hardcore label with money will eat up Specialized marketing. That their Enduro bike will be 10 years in the making. They will advertise this thing as the second coming of Jesus for the enduro genre. It will be a new beast, unlike the old generation of enduro...

Northeastern US. Now that the geo of a 140-150 bike is what the 160-170 bikes were a few years ago those of us that still pedal are on the shorter travel and the e-bikes are the longer travel. Personally I’ve got a Stumpjumper 15 that’s mostly used on big solo or after work rides and a YT Decoy MX that’s mostly used for group rides or when my knee is really acting up. If I could only have one of them, it would be the Stumpy, but that’s not a common idea locally. Luckily I got both bikes on big...

There will be new Enduro launched in 2027 per my insider. Can't share more than that.

If they do, they’ll need to figure out the drag with the current system. It’s fine on a DH bike but I wouldn’t want to pedal it all day.

I’m confused. Don’t we all possess the ability to fully review a bike and/or components from the classic showroom brake lever pull?!

Do they give details about where the extra drag comes from, or is it just some vague hand-waving without evidence? I would have thought eCVTs would be less draggy than a Pinion MGU, but I guess we'll have to see how the execution plays out. Unclear about mass, but it seems like a lot of folks here were keen on getting rid of rear axle mass in favor of BB mass, and this would do that. Unclear how they would manage direct peddling, say, if the battery was dead. That might be a problem. I'm not in the market for...

Minor edit - not necessarily the highest mileage users, but rather the ones to burns through the most gear. People here have mentioned having to swap out chains at 500 miles on their ebbs. I get between 2000 and 2500 on my pedal bikes. I'm assuming they blow through cassettes and chainrings at a comparable rate. One of my race buddies now has over 18k miles on an XX1 cassette that he got on a Blur 3. The solution I'm hoping for is that the e-bikes, other than low-power SL models, will start getting ebike-specific parts, and pedal bikes can...