The uphill in the Oberammergau bike park is particularly flowy again today. With the bar of the tow lift clamped behind the saddle, we relax and let ourselves be pulled to the start of the downhill section. The bikes have already completed the uphill test in the morning and the batteries would hardly be able to cope with the 240 metres in altitude to get to the start of the test course. We also prefer to save every last ounce of energy to get the bikes moving properly on the challenging descent. Uphill flow and altitude are of secondary importance today anyway, because it's all about maximum downhill fun.
180 millimetres of suspension travel, massive steel spring shock absorbers and robust wheels: Specialized provided the template a few years ago with the Kenevo - still a niche product at the time - and now a whole generation of potent enduro bikes is coming onto the market. The target group is not so much the more mature touring audience, but rather young, downhill and fun-orientated shredders for whom the motor is primarily the built-in lift. "The power to ride more trails" - this is how Specialized summed up its goal years ago. In the meantime, the competition has followed suit.
We brought in some expert support for the test of the new enduro bikes. Markus Reiser is at home on bikes with long suspension travel. For three years, the 35-year-old from Oberammergau toured the world with the EWS (Enduro World Series) before devoting himself full-time to his project, the Oberammergau Bike Park. This is also Markus' first joker. The former banker knows every stone, every bend and every jump here, as he built everything himself. We were particularly keen to hear Markus' impressions of the new generation of e-enduro bikes, as the ex-pro had certain reservations about e-mountainbikes.
The Fichtenschreck is the park's downhill course and therefore the most challenging and technical course. At 1,300 metres, it features all the situations that demand everything even from real downhill bikes: steep, technical and fast lines, wide jumps with landings in root carpets, dozens of steep bends of various shapes and sizes, wooden wall rides and high drops. The bikes with good geometry and a potent chassis score the most points here.
Read the test report to find out why these E-enduro bikes offer the ultimate downhill kick. You can download the complete comparison test of seven E-Enduros under 6000 euros from EMTB 4/2020 as a PDF below the article. The test costs € 1.99.
Why not free of charge? Because quality journalism has a price. In return, we guarantee independence and objectivity. This applies in particular to the tests in EMTB. We don't pay for them, but the opposite is the case: we charge for them, namely tens of thousands of euros every year.
- Cannondale Moterra Neo 2
- Cube Stereo Hybrid 160 HPC
- Giant Reign E+1 Pro
- KTM Macina Prowler Master
- Moustache Samedi 29 Game 6
- Specialised Kenevo Comp
- YT Industries Decoy Shred - Further information on the test winner is available here->
