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Terrible name, Hard Enduro...
But who's watching?
I've watched it on and off over the years but recently can't seem to get enough of it on the YouTube.
The recent Wales Xtreme enduro
There only seems to be a fairly small bunch of riders right at the sharp end and I'm enjoying catching up on a lot of Billy Bolt videos. He's quite a character and incredibly gifted on the bike.
Any must watch races/events?
Anyone here actually ride/race hard enduro?
I like the premise, looks fun.
The bottlenecks of people who arent in that elite front pack standing around taking turns to try an obstacle they find near impossible seems less fun.
Is there an "easy enduro"
I've ridden some 'easy enduro' in Wales and none of it was easy! Certainly not at my ability/fitness level.
Have never been as completely knackered on the MTB as I have on the one with an engine. This kind of race isn't my thing, a nice flowing course is a joy though.
Ex Enduro rider here.
Rode for several years as a championship rider at UK/European/World rounds.
Even made the British team a few times for the ISDE.
Extreme/Hard Enduro is a pretty odd sport.
It's kind of like riding the wrong bike for what they're doing.
That's not in any way taking away from what they do. There's some very, very talented riders involved in it.
Most of the top guys come from a trials background and a lot of them were world level before they switched over to Extreme.
Look out for Erzberg and Romaniacs events for some top action.
quite a lot of it on red bull tv
looks mental
There's a lot of trials type moves involved and a lot of the harder stuff would be a massive amount easier on a trials bike.
If you want to see some real wrong bike for the event watch Pol Tarres attempting to ride Erzberg last year on a Yamaha 700 dual sport bike.
Amazing how far he got.
Yeah, Erzberg is crazy.
There’s a lot of trials type moves involved and a lot of the harder stuff would be a massive amount easier on a trials bike.
There is, but to be fair there is a lot of enduro style riding too, especially in the long course events.
The distances involved in extreme are pretty small when compared to traditional enduros and the bikes are set up very differently.
The suspension is set up a lot softer with pretty quick rebound.
The tyre compounds are stupid soft and often don't last the whole race without being totally wrecked.
They also run super soft mousses and drill them so they're even softer.
Trying to ride fast on that setup on open sections is pretty hairy.🤣
The gearing is also pretty low compared to a traditional setup.
In essence they try and get the bikes as trials bike as possible.
The distances involved in extreme are pretty small when compared to traditional enduros
Are they? I'm not up on it all but Romaniacs for example seems pretty long!
From the website.
All classes generally cover 70-150km of terrain per day.... . The estimated riding time is similar for all classes and averages at around 4-10 hours.
I watched it a lot a few years back and am a fan of Graham Jarvis. Still at the top in his mid-40s. His lockdown videos were quality- practicing in his tiny back garden and completely trashing it. A challenging neighbour!
Johnny Walker too, although he’s doing other stuff now I think.
Johnny Walker too, although he’s doing other stuff now I think.
He's still riding, not on a factory team though. It's Endurocross over the winter but will be back on Hard Enduro come the season.
150k isn't very far on the scale of things and Romaniacs is the exception in extreme Enduro races distance wise.
Most are one day events for the main race and much shorter.
The whole point of them is tech not distance.
Although they have got easier over the last couple of years now they've introduced the no help rule on the tougher sections.
Johnny Walker too, although he’s doing other stuff now I think.
he got badly injured a few years back.
He’s just done a season in the USA on a Beta and won, so looking like a good comeback.
Really nice lad, we’ve chatted a few times over the years and he always remembers me and my lad.
That was the Endurocross wasn’t it? Glad he’s back in form.
I saw the video be where he bust his wrist or arm (?) a few years back. Then I think he had the bad accident just after. He was gutted.
He’s the spit of one of my cousins from Carnforth and has the same accent too, so I’ve always had a soft spot for him.
They do it in the quarry opposite our house so we go and watch if we are about
Always tends to be be a 1 horse race with Billy Bolt miles ahead of anyone else.
What I find more interesting is when some of them turn up on e-mx bikes that cost the same or less than an e-mtb but are 20 times more capable
oh and a nice random video clip from the same quarry from back in the day
Although they have got easier over the last couple of years now they’ve introduced the no help rule on the tougher sections.
It always looked so sketchy, the public trying to haul bikes up from the sidelines with spinning chains and heavy bikes and hands grabbing anywhere they can.
Mental.
Seemed like it might hinder a rider often too with an overzealous helper getting in the way of your line.
Always tends to be be a 1 horse race with Billy Bolt miles ahead of anyone else.
Does seem that way. Comparing your average rider tackling that Valleys Xtreme course and the POV of Billy Bolt doing it. He just gets through stuff like it's nothing.
Amazing.
Crazy Pov from the Valleys extreme
Looks horrendous 😂
It's an amazing sport. I've started watching after seeing some of the Graham Jarvis 'lockdown' videos that Reeksy mentioned.
The techniques and skills are amazing. The hill climb stuff is particularly impressive :o)
This looks proper hard.
I watched at Tong once and there was a peculiar little ditch that everyone was riding up to, slowing down and then dropping in and riding out the other side. David Knight just hit it, preloading the suspension, clipping a log that was in front of the ditch to use as a jump, and clearing the ditch it, obvs on purpose. There is quite a chasm between the top riders and the clubmen.
As mentioned, some of those hard enduros look to descend into chaos when the queues back up at difficult sections and it makes you wonder how many actually finish.
There is quite a chasm between the top riders and the clubmen.
This ^^
Back in the day,I was a decent enough MX/Enduro clubman,and could fall about in the woods with the best of them,but that is so far away from my idea of 'fun' riding.
🙂