James is a vagabond of enduro racing and a true bon vivant: even before the EWS began, James was touring Europe in his van and was a fan of the first mass-start downhill races such as the Megavalanche. When the EWS began, the Scot turned professional. James fought his way to the top. In the factory team for Radon and later for Rose, he built up a close relationship with the German mail order companies, and since this year James has been riding for Vitus Bikes. Also a mail order company, which is distributed in Germany by Fahrrad.de.
Who is James Shirley?
- Age: 35 years
- Nationality: Great Britain
- Main sponsor: Vitus Bikes
- Greatest successes: James has been touring various enduro series for years
Shirley has been racing in the E-EDR since this year. The perfect stimulus for him to fulfil his spirit of adventure and his desire for racing. Thanks to Motor, James is now going even higher and sharing his experiences via an Instagram account worth seeing. And when he doesn't have a race number on his handlebars? Then James makes his own films and is mainly responsible for building the downhill course for the World Championships in his home town of Fort William.
James' bike: Vitus E-Escarpe trail bike on steroids
Instead of the E-Sommet enduro bike, James opted for the E-Escarpe trail bike. With only 150/140 millimetres of suspension travel, it has less travel but longer chainstays and can be ridden with a 29-inch rear wheel. Ideal for racing and fast straight-ahead sections. In order to turn the low-stroke trail bike into a race-ready E-Enduro, James has done some trickery. A 170-millimetre fork ensures composure at the front, while the rear has a longer shock absorber with 65 millimetres of travel. The additional five millimetres compared to the standard shock increase the suspension travel at the rear to 152 millimetres, while still leaving sufficient tyre clearance on the frame. James runs a little more sag (35%) to keep the bottom bracket height relatively low despite the 170 mm fork.
Lightweight and balanced: The components on the E-Escarpe
For weight reasons, James also opted for the narrower 36 fork instead of the thicker Durolux 38, which has an advantage on the climbs due to the additional weight and, of course, on fast sections. However, the bike is probably more manoeuvrable and balanced with the Durolux 36, a trend that James is also continuing with lightweight Crossmax wheels from Mavic. These should give the bike more agility compared to the more durable Deemax and also hold up well in long races, apart from serious riding errors. As the rear suspension is quite progressive, James rides a particularly linear Suntour shock without volume spacers. The bike is powered by the new Shimano EP801. Although this gives the bike more power than the previous EP8 motor, the Shimano is still one of the weaker candidates on the starting grid. James is therefore not one of the favourites on the power stages.
The bike:
- Model: Vitus E-Escarpe 290 VRS
- Suspension travel: 170/152 mm (tuned from 150/140 mm)
- Wheel size: 29 inch
- Battery: Shimano, 630 Wh
- Motor: Shimano EP801
- Special features: Suntour suspension, trail bike converted to enduro
- Weight: 25.4 kg
Adrian Kaether
Editor
