2026 ENDURO MTB GROUP TEST

October 25, 2026

We listened to you, and now it’s time to deliver the second of our meat-powered mountain bike group tests for 2026. Following on from Cole’s Short Travel Trail Mountain Bike Group Test, we’re going across the Atlantic to Robert in the Tweed Valley, Scotland, to put eight of the best enduro mountain bikes head-to-head.

Enduro mountain bikes are in an incredible place right now. Some exhibit the capabilities of a downhill bike from just a handful of years ago, while others deliver trail-friendliness or playful characters without sacrificing much capability. We have eight enduro bikes from 155mm to 180mm rear travel that can all get a rider up a climb without too much struggle thanks to wide range gearing and sorted climbing geometry. All of these bikes came fitted with powerful brakes and strong wheels, making them capable of just about any descent you can throw at them.

Across these eight enduro to bike park MTBs, we have a spread of characters so vast that we simply could not crown a single winner. So let us dive into each of these machines and help you decide which is worth your consideration.

We’d like to extend a huge thanks to the supporting brands who kitted us out and made this series possible. Without their financial support, this eight-bike comparison test would not have happened. Go and show them some love!

Fidlock covered our hydration needs with their excellent TWIST bottle system and neat hip packs. The system allowed us to maximize the hydration capacity on each bike, which was helpful for those long testing days.

Peaty’s provided their Monarch Pro Mushroom Thin grips and new Monarch saddles to give consistent touch points across the bikes. Their cleaning and lubrication products helped to keep the bikes running smoothly throughout the testing.

iXS kitted out our testers with their gear and protection. The Trigger X helmet is amongst our favorites here at TLW, so we were glad to have the opportunity to wear it as we attacked the trails, and their apparel was comfortable and helped us look good.

Pirelli equipped all of our bikes with their new Emperor Hardwall Super Soft and Black Sting DH Wall Soft tire combo. These burly tires offered excellent traction and control to help us push these bikes to the limit.

MEET THE BIKES

ATHERTON S.170 – 1/CUSTOM

Material: 7075 Lugged Alloy
Travel: 180mm F | 170mm R
Suspension System: DW4
Price: £6,699 / $6,876
Weight: 39.3lbs / 17.8kg

Character: DH/Park feeling Enduro Bike with solid pedaling platform and geo.
Best For: Riders looking for an aggressive enduro bike to tackle gnarly downhill and bikepark trails.
Worst At: Steep terrain climbing.

The Wolf’s Last Word: Whether you want to channel Iron Horse Sunday energy on the downhills; enjoy the spectrum of trails at the likes of Dyfi Bike Park; or cover ground to your local gnarly enduro descents, the Atherton S.170 is a formidable machine for it all.

CANNONDALE BAD HABIT 2

Material: Carbon Fiber
Travel: 160mm F | 155mm R
Suspension System: Horst Link
Price: £5,000 / $7,599
Weight: 36.8lbs / 16.7kg

Character: Playful all-mountain to enduro bike with stellar suspension.
Best For: Riders looking for an agile, playful enduro bike
Worst At: Enduro riders seeking the most stability and confidence at speed

The Wolf’s Last Word: The Bad Habit was not a bike you could sit back on and let it do its thing at speed. With a more active riding approach, or for a less speed-focused rider who wants an enduro bike that encourages playful riding, it could be the dream machine. But there are other bikes I would choose to tackle the gnarliest trails or take between the tape.

CANYON TORQUE AL 8

Material: Alloy
Travel: 180mm F | 180mm R
Suspension System: Horst Link
Price: £2,849 / not in US
Weight: 38.6lbs / 17.6kg

Character: Bikepark bruiser that can climb
Best For: Riders on a budget looking for a serious bikepark rig
Worst At: Generating speed and having fun on mellower trails

The Wolf’s Last Word: Better clocking air miles than going against the clock, the Canyon Torque AL provides an incredible bikepark machine with excellent value proposition. It felt like the kind of bike you want to be on for lap after lap of a bikepark, so long as there was a chairlift involved. While it will get up the hill under rider power, its high weight and suspension platform don’t make it the most efficient, so it’s best for cruising up rather than setting uphill PR’s.

ORBEA RALLON E-TEAM

Material: Carbon Fiber
Travel: 180mm F | 170mm R
Suspension System: Linkage Driven Single Pivot
Price: £6,199 / $7,717
Weight: 37.1lbs / 36lbs / 16.9kg / 16.3kg

Character: Electrifying enduro rig with incredible capabilities
Best For: Riders looking to attack enduro trails with downhill aggression
Worst At: Casual riders looking for an efficient and poppy all rounder

The Wolf’s Last Word: Judas Priest summed up the Orbea Rallon perfectly with “We blaze with scorching heat, obliteration’s everywhere” in Freewheel Burning. Every time we dropped in, it demanded maximum attack, and the trail below us received a devastating level of obliteration. For some, that’s going to inspire the very best of times, while others may wish for something that keeps it a little more chilled.

RAAW MADONNA R FOX FACTORY

Material: Alloy
Travel: 170mm F | 165mm R
Suspension System: Horst Link
Price: £4,410 / $5,952
Weight: 38.6lbs / 17.6kg

Character: Solid, balanced and versatile enduro excellence
Best For: A rider looking for an exceptionally well balanced enduro bike
Worst At: Playful riding, at times a little dull

The Wolf’s Last Word: The easy-going nature of the Madonna R makes for an easy bike to recommend, especially when you consider the value proposition. That said, it’s not necessarily the most inspiring, and doesn’t stand out above the rest in any singular aspect. It’s a real “rider’s bike”, providing consistent and dependable performance that’s likely to stand the test of time. In five years, you could pick the RAAW up used and feel confident that it’s going to put up a solid fight against the most up-to-date enduro bikes on the market.

SANTA CRUZ NOMAD X0 AXS RSV

Material: Carbon Fiber
Travel: 170mm F | 170mm R
Suspension System: VPP
Price: £8,499 / $9,499
Weight: 35.3lbs / 16.1kg

Character: Peppy and efficient enduro bike
Best For: Bringing life to enduro and bikepark trails
Worst At: Pure stability and value

The Wolf’s Last Word: The Santa Cruz Nomad is a seriously fun enduro and bikepark bike, with pedaling performance that climbs towards the trail realm and descending energy to make mellower runs engaging. The capabilities at the top end are there, but there is less of a safety net when pushing hard than some of the competition.

WHYTE SYTHE RS

Material: Alloy
Travel: 170mm F | 160mm R
Suspension System: Horst Link
Price: £3,199 / NOT IN US
Weight: 38.3lbs / 17.4kg

Character: Versatile budget enduro machine
Best For: General enduro riding with incredible value
Worst At: Pure pedaling efficiency and some finish quality

The Wolf’s Last Word: The Whyte Sythe RS delivered excellent performance across the range of terrain and trail types. Add in the excellent value proposition that Whyte have delivered with the RS build and it’s an easy enduro mountain bike to recommend. There is impressive quality componentry for the money, and the lifetime warranty and free bearing replacements helps to give further peace of mind.

YETI LT X0 AXS TURQ MX

Material: TURQ Carbon Fiber
Travel: 170mm F | 160mm R
Suspension System: Sixfinity
Price: £9,799 / $10,200
Weight: 35.7lbs / 16.2kg

Character: Formidable enduro machine up and down the hill
Best For: Balance of support and comfort, up and down, plus descending confidence
Worst At: Value and playfulness

The Wolf’s Last Word: The Yeti LT is a truly special machine. One that we can genuinely say delivers performance that’s worthy of its high price tag, whether you agree with it or not. Delivering support and traction in equal measure, up and down the hill, we are yet to ride such an effective bike for attacking enduro trails and race stages alike.

HOW WE TESTED THEM

These eight enduro mountain bikes were tested around the world over the course of 2026, with some receiving a long test period prior to the final comparison test, and others arriving closer to the culmination of the test. Each bike was given a targeted setup process where the suspension and geometry configurations were experimented with until the optimum all-round settings were determined for each rider. Where possible, the alternative configurations received experimentation to get a well-rounded impression of the potential character(s) of each bike.

Every bike was tested on a variety of terrain and trails around Scotland and further afield – with some getting as far as New Zealand and Canada. The only exception was the late-arriving Cannondale Bad Habit, which only made it to Innerleithen’s DH trails and world-renowned Golfie enduro trails. To conclude the test, the bikes were put to the test head-to-head on the downhill trails serviced by the Adrenalin Uplift shuttle service in Innerleithen, Scotland, delivering the final comparative verdicts and “race run” results.

Consistency Is Key

For the best comparability throughout testing, each of the bikes was tested exclusively in a mixed-wheel configuration. Pirelli’s Emperor Hardwall Super Soft 29×2.4” front tire and Black Sting DH+ Wall Soft 27.5×2.4” rear tire were fitted to all bikes with consistent pressures (70kg/155lbs Graham at 21psi / 23psi, 98kg/220lbs Robert at 25psi / 27.5psi) to give consistent handling and dependable performance. Peaty’s Monarch Pro Mushroom Thin Grips and Monarch saddle provided consistent touch points to ensure comfort.

To give a comparable fit across each bike, the frame size was selected based on the span – the distance between the feet and the handlebars. Any outliers had their cockpit adjusted to deliver a closer fit, with headset spacers and bar rise adjusted to ensure comparability, where required.

Bikes that did not already have 230+mm travel dropper posts fitted were equipped with the Ascend Components Adapt dropper post in 230mm length, ensuring every bike offered excellent clearance for attacking the downhills. Every bike featured a 780mm wide handlebar.

A hot topic in 2026 mountain bikes, chain dampers and hub-based chain devices came equipped on a number of these bikes. During testing, these were experimented with, with mixed results. Oftentimes, we found that the hub-based devices such as DT Swiss’s DEG DF hubs could exacerbate cassette slap on the frequent slap-downs sustained in the primary testing ground of Scotland’s Tweed Valley. Additionally, the detriment to technical climbing performance from both active hub devices and active chainring spiders was notable. While these devices can yield small bump sensitivity improvements in certain riding scenarios, we opted to conclude testing with all devices turned off for a fair comparison.

These changes all take time and effort, but were performed in the pursuit of obtaining the best comparison of these enduro mountain bikes.

THE NUMBERS 

WHAT THE NUMBERS DON’T TELL YOU

There is much more to a bike’s overall performance than the frame material and basic suspension layout. The specific pivot point layout, accompanying shock tune, and the wheels and cockpit spec can all make a notable difference to the handling characteristics of a bike.

Similarly, elements like cable rattle and chain noise make a huge difference to how calm the bike feels on the descents. A quiet bike is a happy bike, and a happy bike often makes for a happy rider.

While we did not utilize a consistent test wheelset across all test bikes, those equipped with carbon fiber wheels were also fitted with an alloy wheelset for a period of the test to better compare the stiffness of each chassis.

Lastly, all bikes were equipped with suitably powerful brakes from stock, which was great to see, but not all worked as intended. Any brakes delivering anything other than perfect consistency were serviced. Braking performance is crucial to instill confidence and let a rider push the limits of a mountain bike.

ON THE TRAIL | CLIMBING

Across the eight bikes on test, there was a notable difference in climbing performance. Dictated by more than their weight figures, the geometry and suspension platform accounted for more than a pound or two of weight.

In the group of the best enduro mountain bikes in 2026, standout climbers were the Santa Cruz Nomad and Yeti LT. Yes, they were the lightest two bikes, but it was their suspension platforms and geometry that were even more notable, and the same impressions remained when tested with heavier alloy wheels. The Santa Cruz was the firmest bike on test under power, while the Yeti’s well-centered weight balance combined with the Sixfinity platform’s ability to combine efficiency and comfort were notable.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Canyon Torque AL was unsurprisingly the worst climber on test, with the Whyte Sythe not far behind. Even so, thanks to wide-range gearing, comfortable seating positions and accessible shock lockout levers, they can get you up the hill without too much trouble.

The Cannondale and RAAW were somewhere in the middle of the range, offering reasonable climbing abilities but nothing special. The Atherton’s pedaling support and climbing position helped to offset its highest weight on test and also sit in a happy space in the mid-pack.

The Orbea’s climbing platform robbed energy on more dynamic pedaling efforts, but its relatively low weight and centralized position helped to keep it in a reasonable space, too.

If we were to own the Orbea Rallon, we would look to add an electronic suspension lockout such as Fox Live Valve Neo or RockShox Flight Attendant. The same could be said for the Whyte Sythe, though in the more price-conscious space that it sits in, it’s less likely to be on the cards. The active suspension systems would reinstate pedaling efficiency to these suspension platforms without detrimenting the descending performance, but they come at a price.

ON THE TRAIL | DESCENDING

The spread of characteristics was just as large on the descents as on the climbs. However, while there were good climbers and bad climbers in the group, all of these enduro mountain bikes descended well overall, but exhibited different strengths and weaknesses.

On the playful, agile end of the spectrum, the Cannondale Bad Habit stuck out with its short rear end and lesser travel. The Santa Cruz Nomad was also an agile, fun-loving enduro bike, and excelled in smoother and more bikepark-style trails.

The Atherton S.170, Orbea Rallon and Yeti LT all exhibited incredible descending abilities, but with three distinct approaches. The Atherton had a slightly rearward bias and felt downhill bike-like in its suspension and chassis feel, not quite giving the energy of the others in flatter sections. The Orbea felt livelier and more energetic, inspiring full-bore attacking of the trail with a lower-slung and sharper overall feel. The Yeti was the most settled and balanced, generating and carrying insane speed.

A true middle-of-the-road bike, in a good way, the RAAW Madonna felt good no matter what the trail had in store, but didn’t have a strong character in any direction. Similarly, the Whyte Sythe was versatile and unfussy, but didn’t quite have the speed generating capabilities of some.

The Canyon Torque was best suited to the bigger hits and gravity-fed runs, feeling a little sluggish on mellower trails and not generating nor carrying speed through the rough as well as others.

THE AWARDS

BEST ENDURO RACE BIKE

Orbea Rallon

The Orbea Rallon is an absolute speed demon. Every rider who hopped on this low-slung carbon beauty was inspired to ride hard and fast. Feeling like heavy metal starts playing every time you drop in, the Rallon has incredible top-end capabilities, generating and carrying speed exceptionally well. For the serious enduro racer, its prowess between the tape can be boosted with an active suspension system such as Fox Live Valve Neo.

Honorable Mention: Yeti LT. It was nearly impossible to choose between the Orbea and Yeti for the best enduro race bike, with the lower price point of the Orbea swinging the award in the end. The Yeti LT is a spectacular enduro machine.

BEST BIKE PARK ENDURO BIKE

Atherton S.170 

The S.170 is an excellent Bike Park machine, packing near DH-level capabilities with enough playfulness retained to make mellower, flowier bikepark runs a riot, too. For Bike Park laps without a chairlift or shuttle, its geometry and pedaling platform mean it climbs better than you might expect. 

Honorable Mention: Canyon Torque AL. For a more park rat-friendly investment, the Torque AL 8 provides a durable feeling and highly capable bikepark package.  

MOSTLY RECOMMEND TO RECOMMEND ENDURO BIKE

Whyte Sythe RS

The Whyte Sythe RS is an excellent choice for just about any enduro rider. It delivers intuitive handling that supports riders of all abilities and will please riders on most budgets.

BEST VALUE ENDURO BIKE

RAAW Madonna R

Though it cost more than some of the competitors, the parts spec and the presumed durability offered by the RAAW Madonna R make it the best machine in terms of value proposition in our test. A bike you could buy and abuse for season after season with minimal maintenance, the Madonna R is a smart buy.

Honorable Mentions: Whyte Sythe RS and Canyon Torque AL 8. Both come in at extremely competitive price points that cannot be ignored, and perform beyond what the price tags might suggest.

WHICH BIKE SHOULD YOU BUY?

Find the bike in your price bracket that speaks most to your preferences. Whether you want to play to your strengths, or find a bike to help to offset your weaknesses, you have to feel a strong desire for the bike that you purchase. None of these enduro bikes represent an insignificant investment, but the right investment can bring joy that you can’t put a price tag on.

We would recommend buying a bike that leaves some space in your budget for customisation, tuning and to take the bike on a memorable trip. That doesn’t have to be a week in Whistler or a Heli Drop, but a tank of gas and a campsite near to a trail that you have always wanted to ride is almost always a worthwhile investment. Whereas the difference between an electric and mechanical groupset or Kashima and black stanchion delivers minimal enhancement to the ride experience for the money.

The same goes for coaching and building your skills and fitness. The improvement that a good riding coach or gym instructor can make to your riding technique and physical ability is likely to far outweigh the improvement that you will receive from spending on the next spec level up on any of these bikes.

One thing is for sure, all of the eight enduro bikes in this group test are worthy enduro to bikepark machines. All provide adequate climbing efficiency to allow you to winch up to the top of most climbs. All will get a competent rider down all but the very gnarliest of descents. All are extremely fun.

Enduro mountain bikes are in a great place in 2026.

2026 ENDURO GROUP TEST SPONSORS