Originally Posted by
big john
A big knock against modern "enduro" style bikes is their weight. Mine is somewhat low-end and it weighs 32 pounds. More expensive bikes in the category are a few pounds lighter but these bikes are more capable of high speed through rough terrain than any bikes from years ago. My bike is bigger, has more suspension, and better brakes than my first motorcycle.
The tires are heavy, I could put smaller, lighter tires on but these things are amazing. I've gone through piles of sharp rocks and the bike just cruises through. Descending a rough sandstone hill which was a nightmare on my old hardtail 26er is nothing for this set-up.
The tires downhill racers and pro enduro racers use are in the range of 1200 grams. I'm sure the body armor, full face helmet e-bike warriors I see are running downhill tires.
back in the day a number of guys in our group ran Z Max 2.35's - then most moved to 2.1's ... then some moved to 1.9's ... I even dabbled with 1.7's for a short point
no doubt the larger tires are superior in many types of terrain - but the downside (extra weight) can be an issue if there is a lot of climbing
the majority of time on our off road rides was climbing - so many ditched the wider tires for the smaller / lighter narrow tires ...
basically willing to trade seconds for minutes - you could lose 30 seconds (or whatever) in the nasty technical stuff or descents - but gain minutes on the climbs
one of the first rides that comes to mind is a Seven Springs ski resort ride we would often do
after a (too) short warmup - the ride would start basically up the side of a ski slope ; up a trail near one of the slopes ; climb was a killer - two loops of this ride and I was shot
some nasty technical rock infested single track followed the climb and then some good downhills - both where the wider tires would be a huge plus - but many willing to go with the narrow / lighter tires for the climbing
fast forward to current - now riders can take their bikes to the top of the mountain on the ski lifts and ride the designated mostly downhill trails - so little / no concern for the climbing