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What Is Enduro Racing?

Enduro racing is long-distance, off-road dirt bike racing. It’s under the same umbrella as motocross (MX) racing, but it requires much different skills and equipment.

Think of MX as running track and enduro as running cross country. MX riders race on a track (sometimes in an arena) for short distances and do tricks and jumps over placed barriers. Enduro riders race for longer distances over more natural, steep terrain – often in the forest – and face random obstacles.

MX is much more aggressive and fast-paced than enduro, and it involves more muscle power from riders. Enduro calls for more endurance and technical riding.

Racing over jagged terrain for hours obviously demands different equipment than racing on a closed course for short spurts. MX bikes are more lightweight than enduro bikes, and they have a faster acceleration. However, unlike an MX bike, an enduro bike has:

• Protective equipment (e.g., handguards, skid plates, disc protection)
• A wide-ratio gearbox to accommodate both fast and slow riding
• A heavy flywheel so revs build slower, power delivery is smoother, and riders have good traction
• Stiff suspension
• A more precise clutch

What Is Hard Enduro Racing?

As Red Bull puts it, “Hard Enduro combines the most extreme elements of the major disciplines of off-road motorbike racing: the high speed and long distances of Endurance, the technical skills and obstacles of Trials and the jumps and fast lines of Motocross and the navigation challenges of Cross-Country…A great Hard Enduro rider is a synthesis of the low-speed mastery of a trials rider, the pure speed of a motocross racer and the stamina of an endurance competitor.”