Spy shots are coming in from Jack Cannan’s Trek Remedy 29 of what could only be described as a new Prototype Enduro Specific chainring setup. It looks like it combines both a 32 tooth Wide/Narrow Chain ring and a new 24 tooth Enduro ring. Jack has to manually shift the chain from one chainring to the other, but has the benefits of making the bike lighter and getting rid of the front derailleur which clutters things up.
In the Enduro format where your uphill leg isn’t timed, it would give riders an option to have a granny gear and save valuable energy between stages. It would also give the riders an option of having more gears and easier ratios. I’m excited about an innovation like this because it would have some real world applications. When riding with your buddies (where it’s not timed and it’s about fun) you could put the chain on that Enduro gear and cruise up the hill. Perfect for longer climbs, like on Nelsons steep forestry roads or on the ski access road in Craigieburn.
Spotted on the Kiwi amateur’s bike during the past weekend on a very wet and muddy Saturday, we can only say that the testing looked to be very successful. He was able to quickly and easily shift the chain from the big wide/narrow chainring to the smaller Enduro ring and cruise up the hill faster than his mates that were walking; since their single wide/narrow rings were too big. From our rough timing Jack looked to be about three or four minutes faster than his walking mates over an eight minute climb.
When questioned about the chainring setup Jack only had to say “Im getting pretty sick of the term “Enduro Specific”, don’t you websites have any other way of getting attention without using buzzwords? You’ll probably be mentioning that Im riding a 29er as well… so boring.”
Either way we can see the benefits of running the two chainrings. It’s definitely going to be the first wireless chainring set up, and hopefully they are working on a hands-free model.
Yeh, I have considered this setup too. Back in the early 90’s I ran a triple with manual shifting for a while coz I was a poor student and could not afford to replace the broken front derailleur. Got cocky and had a nasty OTB one day while looking down trying to shift into big ring while rolling at speed.
Yep, ditto Zane. I’d spent the last of my student loan on a fanny pack and couldn’t afford to replace my front shifter. What a douchebag.
Good idea. I have considered this before too. Means not having to splash out for 11 speed which I think is on cog too many. Not very enduro I know, but I wear black gloves and black shorts so a bit of grease won’t matter.
Leif rode for years with this setup on his Yeti hard tail… Heel works to shift down…
If you’re going to run a double ring then surely he could man up and go for a bigger “big” ring like a 36T since there’s no longer any need to compensate for the missing granny option.
I was thinking exactly the same thing. Surely the ability to increase the size of the ring doing all the downhill work would be at least as notable as the addition of a granny.
Wow – I can’t wait to try this, one ring for climbing, one for descending. Sick. I’m sure one day someone will come up with a way to shift between the two rings without me having to take my hands off the bars – then IT’S ON! Come on Shimano, get your thinking cap on or be left behind. #enduro4lyfe
2 rings on the front? it’ll never catch on. Gee, soon some dickwad will be suggesting 3 rings. Ive been running one ring on the front for 11 months now and have never had an issue except when i want to climb a steep hill or go fast down a hill or ride on the flat. why try and fix something that aint broke.If we were meant to go fast then electric bikes would be cool.
dickwad here, I was just thinking of getting a triple crank and running a 32 tooth and 36 tooth wide narrow and then getting a 24tooth enduro ring. then I’d be unstoppable in all terrain. Yew! !!
I’m with you rod it’ll never catch on. Im running a 38T narrow wide setup 1×10 thing and can get up all the hills here in wellington, even with my hard core leather jacket on.
That’s a downer, I’ve been running this setup for a while with 26inch wheels but I’m not very enduro specific rider. Do I have to put a derailer on now?