Ellsworth Enlightenment 29 SRAM X (2014)

Turned a has-been into a wannabe racer

Pros

- Super stiff, light and fast
- SRAM groupset

Cons

- It's a thoroughbred. That's not a con, but a fact and may not be everybody's cup of tea!

Review

I was given the opportunity to ride the new Enlightenment this year, and being a has-been XC racer, was very excited. The bike I rode is different to this version as it featured a rigid fork and SRAM XX drivetrain but the rest of the details you could easily fill in.

The frame is Ellsworth's "rare earth carbon" which the company spent three years preparing at their "green" production facility. The level of care and quality of the finished product oozes from their bikes - thankfully the performance of the frameset matches this "best practice" philosophy as well.

The first thing I noticed was how easy it was to jump on board the Enlightenment considering it's a 29er and I'm a short arse! The beautiful flow of the frame's top tube results in a very low standover height - I never felt swamped by this bike as I have on some other big wheeled models. On the contrary, the next thing that hit me was how easy to ride the Enlightenment is. Don't get me wrong, this is a thoroughbred race machine, especially with the rigid fork equipped, and I was honestly dazzled by it's ability to get up and go.

It is testament to the quality of the design that even though this is a full rigid 29er I was pushing it as hard as any of the fully suspended bikes I rode over the two days of the Outdoor Demo and never felt like i'd found its limit. The frame is stiff but also without a doubt the most comfortable hardtail I've ever ridden...and I'm a bit of a connoisseur.

The SRAM drivetrain performed flawlessly, as would the X9 setup on the stock bike, and the wheelset was stiff with a sublime hub that, once engaged, rolled effortlessly onward. I loved this bike!

If you're looking for a top shelf cross country bike to race or just to hit up your trails and maybe break a few Strava records, this is the tool for the job.

When I finally handed it over with my hair blown back and was asked "How was it", my response: "I wanna be a racer again!" I'm certain there was an understanding smile.