Before ebikes came along, 29ers were the ‘cool’ thing to hate. To be honest though, we’ve always quite liked them here at Dirt. Originally thought to be the preserve of short travel and cross country bikes, the big wheels are now being seen on the Enduro World Series, especially at the ‘smaller’ events such as the Emerald Enduro.

Here are five big wheeled machines to give you an enduro fix.

Evil Wreckoning

Evil wanted to see just how far they could take the 29 inch platform and has settled (for now) on 161mm of travel. The Wreckoning is a true beast of a bike but it comes with looks that could cut glass.

The internet exploded when footage emerged of Luke Storbel winning a North West Cup downhill race on a prototype version of this bike and its legend has only increased since.

Trek Slash

When we went to the launch of this bike, Trek told us this is a bike we’d been wanting for a long time. They could well be right. Downhill attitude, big wheels and a supreme finish make it a dream package.

This is now Trek’s flagship enduro package. They believe that 29 inch wheels are the future and they could be worth listening to.

BMC Trailfox

With a history of cross country and trail bikes designed for winching up Swiss passes, 29 inch wheels probably seemed like the obvious choice for BMC when designing its enduro bike. These are guys that know how to make big hoops work and the Trailfox is testament to that.

Specialized Enduro

The new Enduro is the biggest and baddest 29er you can buy. With 165 mm of travel, full Ohlins set up and a more palatable set of numbers than last year’s model you’re looking at one an awesome ride.

Our first impressions reminded us of riding the latest Demo. Considering that’s now our downhill bike of the year, things look good for this Enduro.

Foes Mixer

29 inch up front and 27.5 in the rear. Is that what they call putting your best foot forward? The theory behind Foes’ hybrid bike is simple – truck with your front wheel and stay nimble on the rear.