What goes down must be pedaled up, as they say, so anytime you can save a little (or a LOT of) weight, it keeps your legs fresher for those static squat holds while descending at redline.
No stranger to lightweight builds, Fair Wheel Bikes has turned their attention to enduro with a mashed up build on the very capable Pivot Mach 6. Dubbed XXTR, it combines the incredibly light Race Face Next SL crankset with an XX1 cassette and XTR M9000 rear derailleur and shifters.
While those may be standard parts, things get pretty creative and boutiquey from there…
One of the things Fair Wheel’s Jason Woznick proudly pointed out is that the bike achieves its very low total weight even with a dropper post. They used a KS LEV Integra, then threw a full carbon fiber and Aramid Tune Speed Needle saddle with Alcantara microfiber cover to prevent slipping and sliding off the saddle.
The other touch points are equally feathery with a Schmolke TLO Lo Rise carbon handlebar, KCNC foam grips and Extralite Hyper Stem. Assuming they used the widest bar (which is only 680mm), those parts come in at 110g, 15g and ~70g, respectively.
Little things like Alligator iLink cable housing and their impressively slick 31-strand cables save a bit of weight over standard housing and shift cable. Hidden from sight, the dropper post uses mini iLink housing and a KCNC titanium (!!) cable, which is just under half the weight of standard steel cables.
The wheels use ENVE’s M60forty 27.5 rims and French company Aivee’s hubs laced together with Pillar titanium spokes. Those spokes were chosen to drop about 70g compared to similarly high end stainless steel spokes, giving them a bit more allowance to go with the wider ENVE hookless rims. More weight savings come from the minimalist Ashima rotors, which (in our opinion) will need all the power Shimano’s M9000 Race brakes can muster to keep things under control.
The fork is a Magura TS8, and tires are Schwalbe Nobby Nic 27×2.35.
The Race Face Next SL with CINCH direct mount chainrings have proven to be both durable and very easy on the scale.
According to Woznik, the unholy combination of 11-speed Shimano and SRAM bits work just fine together, even with a KMC X11SL chain connecting them. All in the bike hits the scales at a claimed 22.6 pounds (10.25kg), not bad for a bike built to take on big mountain descents.
Check Fair Wheel’s blog for another photo or two and their detailed story on the build, including a complete parts list and links. Retail is pegged about about $10,000 to recreate it for yourself.
Not into enduro? Check out their lightweight fat bike, show bikes (parts one, two and three) and a $40K road bike for more inspiration.
