160mm seems to be a pretty good yardstick for an enduro bike, but what if you want that little more oomph out of your ride? Thankfully, there’s a family of 165mm enduro mountain bikes that could be for you.
Here are five 165mm enduro bikes.
GT Sanction
We’ve not found many bikes that have their numbers as dialled as the GT Sanction. This is a bike that was never designed for public consumption – it was simply a superbike for Dan Atherton and Martin Maes to rip up the Enduro World Series on.
It ended up being so good that GT would have been silly to not mass produce it. The result is an attention grabbing bike that loves hunting for trouble.
Specialized Enduro 29
The 29er version of the current Specialized Enduro may not be quite as hefty as its 170mm, 650b sibling, but it’s still the biggest, baddest 29er you can buy. If you’re torn between the two wheel sizes, we’d recommend this one – it’s the flagship bike and the only one that comes with our favourite Ohlins shock.
Devinci Spartan
The Devinci Spartan carried Damien Oton to second place in the Enduro World Series this year, so you know it has some racing pedigree behind it. It’s also, we’re sure you can tell, a stunner.
It’s available in carbon or aluminium but we’ve been mightily impressed with the aluminium offerings from Devinci in the past so either will be a winner.
Santa Cruz Nomad
From jibbers in Sheffield to Andes Pacifico racers, it seems that everyone has fallen in love with the Santa Cruz Nomad. With smart marketing and a great roster of riders it’s one of the most popular bikes around.
Combine that with a fully carbon frame, a great spec and a lovely finish, the Nomad is almost guaranteed to give your mates bike envy.
Lapierre Spicy
Ok, ok, we know it’s got a face that not even a mother could love, but what you should care about is how it performs on the trail. Designed with the help of Nico Vouilloz, a man renowned for his relentless quest for perfection, this is a bike with real thought gone into it.
It’s unusual but then who would want to follow the crowd?
