Sport And Biking Talk: Curtis Keene’s Specialized Enduro 29er race bike

Friday, October 6, 2017

Curtis Keene’s Specialized Enduro 29er race bike

Curtis Keene’s race bike of choice is the Enduro 29. Photo by Seb Schieck

Curtis Keene, the American Dream, had a tough season this year. In between battling mechanicals and injury, he had just one top 10 finish, at the Enduro World Series race in Aspen, Colorado. But while his summer may have been rocky, his bike setup is always on point. As a Specialized athlete, Keene’s ridden a number of show stopping builds. For the EWS finals in Finale Ligure, Italy, he was sporting this color changing number. Scroll through to learn more about his gorgeous build.

Keene was running an Ohlins 36 coil fork set at 170mm of travel. Both he and teammate Jared Graves prefer higher front ends, so Ohlin’s custom made them forks. With how steep and technical the EWS tracks are, this helps them get off the back and feel more confident. We’re not sure if the 170mm fork will make it to production. Photo by Seb Schieck

Keene is running a 40mm stem with 30mm rise bars, to help him get off the back on the steeps. He’s also running the Elite grip, which he co-developed with ODI. Photo by Seb Schieck

Out back, is a stock Ohlin’s shock with a 548 spring. Photo by Seb Schieck

The seatpost is a BikeYoke Revive. Throughout this mud laden season, it’s been 100% reliable. Photo by Seb Schieck

Magura is a new sponsor this year, but both Keene and Graves love their brakes’ power delivery. They’re both running 200mm rotors. Wheels are Roval Traverse carbon, Specialized’s house brand for hoops. Photo by Seb Schieck

Keene is running Cush Core tire inserts front and rear. He’s also been testing some prototype 2.6 Butcher tires with downhill casings and different tire compounds. Photo by Seb Schieck

For most riding, both Keene and Graves will stick with 2.6 tires front and rear. Unless the course is extra pedaly, they don’t see a reason to go narrower. At the Whistler EWS, Keene was running 22 psi up front, 30 psi rear. Photo by Seb Schieck

This year, the Specialized team doesn’t have a drivetrain sponsor, so they cobbled together the best of Shimano and SRAM. They get to choose what they prefer, which meant SRAM XX1 cassette and chainring paired with a Shimano XTR shifter and derailleur. Keene is running a 34t up front, 11-42 rear. Photo by Seb Schieck

Give Curtis Keene a follow on Instagram to learn more about his many adventures around the world.