Which bikes are going to be flying off the showroom floors and down a trail near you in 2020? Here’s our pick of the hottest new enduro bikes.

>>> Best enduro mountain bikes

The season is winding down, the major trade shows are all packed away, and the dust has finally settled on next year’s new bike launches.

Pic: Harookz

Specialized S-Works Enduro

When Specialized launched the first Enduro 29 back in 2013 it was so far ahead of the curve it made the rest of the industry look like a bunch of flatearthers struggling to see beyond the wheel size horizon.

The latest Enduro 29 takes its design cues from the new Demo 29 downhill bike. A wholesale change that sees Specialized move away from the longstanding X-wing top tube and high shock position to a low slung design with the shock just above the BB. There’s a more consitent leverage rate as a result and Specialized has increased the anti-rise to keep the geometry more stable under braking and to help stop the back tyre from buzzing your shorts.

The new Enduro will be available in four models, all with 29in wheels and carbon frames. There’s also a frame only option. With 170mm travel front and rear, it’s the longest travel Enduro to date.

Giant Reign Advanced Pro 29 0 Launch in Revelstoke, British Columbia

Giant Reign 29

Giant has finally wheeled out a 29in version of its acclaimed Reign enduro bike. And it sure look stunning in this gloess chameleon paint. While its looks are not in short supply, Giant has pegged back its travel to only 146mm, much less than its latest rivals. This has been done in an effort to keep the chainstays short as well as rein in the shock length to allow for a longer dropper post. Both are worthy reasons but we’ll have to wait until we do a full test to see whether its lack of travel means it’s off the back on descents compared to its rivals.

Privateer 161

Brought to you by the folks behind Hunt Wheels, the new Privateer 161 enduro frame is designed to offer top-end performance at an affordable price.

Offering 160mm travel and 29in wheels, it’ll be sold as a frame only to begin with at a target price of £1,200 with shock. To hit that goal the Privateer designers have been clever, using cheaper off-the-shelf alloy tubes instead of more exclusive and more expensive closed mold versions. While the money saved has been ploughed into crucial areas such as the bottom bracket and the linkage forgings.

The sizing and geometry is properly progressive too, so it should open up the benefits of going longer and slacket to a much wider audience.

Zerode Katipo

New Zealand brand Zerode has always done things a bit differently and its new Katipo is no different in that regard.

Okay, so compbing 29in wheels with 160mm of suspension travel and a sculpted carbon frame might be run of the mill but how many other brands then bolt on a Pinion gearbox to favourably influence the ratio between sprung and unsprung mass? Not many, is the answer.

The Pinion gearbox doesn’t just allow the suspension to work more effectively, it also reduces maintenance and permits a stronger rear wheel and keeps the back end slim and less prikne to damage. It also boasts a 600% gear range and you can shift without pedalling.

But there are downsides. Namely extra drag, you can’t change gear under load and the twist-grip shifter is far from ergonomic.

Rocky Mountain Slayer

With its big brace supporting the top and down tubes and a headline-grabbing 180mm of travel, teh Rocky Mountain Slayer looks like a totla hellraiser. It’s available in both wheels sizes but the 29in version drops 10mm of wheel travel.

Despite being brand new and weilding so much travel, the geometry doesn’t really push the boundaries as there’s only a 64° head angle and 500mm reachon the XL frame.

However, the seat tube is genuinely steep at around 76° so it shold climb pretty good even with all that travel. the Ride9 chip gives you four different geometry configurations.