Proud Sponsor of Monster Pro DH Series Season Champ Kallie Stewart

MACRO
An Industries Race To 20 MPH
Is The Ride To The Bottom Becoming A Race To The Top?
January 15th
2025
Google tells me that "middle aged" refers to an adult between the ages of 40-60 at a time in life when many experience changes in physical health, careers, and family relationships. Mountain biking has been around long enough that many of its early pioneers aren't the young guns they [we] once were. In the bike industry, more and more thought is being put into how it's own "greatest generation" is catered to because they are the demographic that is most likely to spend money freely (or even competitively) on its higher priced bikes.
​
Having grown up racing hare scrambles on moto bikes, I was easy prey for the eMTB movement. I enjoy tapping into that former hare scramble skillset to try going too fast through twisty tree-lined Midwest singletrack just as much as I enjoy bombing steep rocky downhills out West. Purchasing my way to the top of a shuttle trail a little bit quicker than the next guy has yet to resonate, but cleaning long and difficult technical climbs on full powered eMTB's in boost mode with two seconds of overrun can be exhilerating for us middle-agers if your generational dissonance will grant you that on this day, and on this ride, you were as good once as you ever were.

The Greatest Sentiment. If you've been around the eMTB crowd for long you've heard a good bit of "I don't even notice the extra weight anymore" or "you just adapt to it and it becomes the new normal." And indeed, I've spent countless hours on several full powered 50 pound eMTB's and experienced it all. I've adapted to it, I've normalized it, and I've really enjoyed it. But then I've gone on to have those first rides on lightweight eMTB's and had those "whoa" moments reminiscent of a mid-summer haircut after letting the locks get far too out of control. Years ago World Cup downhill racers began attaching weights to the downtubes of their bikes in order to find the razors edges of peak performance. What we learned is that the razors edge is nowhere near 30 pounds (nor 50 pounds) on downhill bikes -- and it's become clear that the closer we can get to 40 pounds on long travel eMTB's, the more "whoa" moments we'll all enjoy. 50 pound eMTB's were a great intro to the early honeymoon phase of this technology -- but I'm confident in saying there's no way I'm going back to it. From what I can tell, 44 pounds is roughly the threshold point where ride quality begins to traject in opposite directions, and 40-43 pounds is where the overall ride experience is quite special for skilled riders.
The Foundation. Mixed wheel (MX) setups on gravity-oriented bikes have gotten really good across most all brands recently. As a taller rider I was initially resistant to the idea of a smaller rear wheel, but tucking in behind a long travel fork and a 29" front wheel with a maneuverable 27.5" wheel beneath you breeds a confident "in-the-bike" feel when things get rowdy. It's also quite a special thing when a suspension manufacturer's approach to shock damping and spring curves mesh perfectly to a bike's kinematic design and eke out that last one or two percent of performance. The 98 percent dialed bikes are quite impressively becoming more and more the common standard these days (respected brands aren't making bad bikes anymore), but the brands that occasionally find that last one or two percent of perfection are still quite rare. In the case of the Mondraker Dune XR, it's a speed and gravity focused MX machine that when paired with it's Ohlins suspension teases a bit of a telepathic vibe when maneuvering the bike's sub 43 pound weight on fast and rowdy terrain. And if you do run out of talent, its braking control matches the benchmark braking performance of the CBF platform used on Revel and Canfield bikes. The Dune's rear wheel remains open and active over under braking forces, maintaining enough stopping traction to keep you confident and tempted to push your talent threshold.
The Meat On The Bone. The Dune's smooth transition from rapid rebound forces into rapid compression forces, without any noticeable spiking from the fork or the shock during their transitions from mid-stroke to end-stroke is not something you normally get from a stock frame and suspension setup. With the Dune's particularly open and active kinematic nature, it's cornering traction is more on par with a downhill bike than an enduro bike. The Dune's in-the-bike disposition and calm demeanor at the pedals and grips give you the perception that things are coming at you a tick slower than they really are. When compared to its competitors, the faster you push the Dune, the less input there is for your brain to sort through, and I'm confident in saying that this is the Dune's greatest attribute. As Selye frequently taught, it's not stress that kills us, it's our reaction to it. So it goes with the Dune.

The Power Plant. The 55 newton meter Bosch SX motor is unique in that it has a power band a bit reminiscent of those 2-stroke moto bikes I once raced. It offers a smooth and predictable power delivery at a normal pedaling cadence, but if you spin a little faster you'll feel a surge of power escort you uphill with nearly as much zip as some full powered eMTB's -- a full 600 watts in fact. I suppose it's more of an observation than a praise, because more often than not, I look forward to shifting mental gears and spinning uphill peacefully as the anticipation builds to drop in again at the top. The higher pedaling cadence makes it easy to find the sweet spot in keeping cardio on point to support fitness -- but without completely exhausting my legs. About one minute at the top of the shuttle trail to hydrate and lower my breathing rate is adequate, and then I'm ready to descend with strong legs. Building fitness is still something I've only found possible on a standard mountain bike, and not something I'm ready to put to rest just yet, so an eMTB that can maintain that baseline fitness and convince me that it compromises nothing on the way down is the eMTB that will have the most appeal to me right now.
The time will inevitably come when boat racing my crew to the top of a shuttle trail is the most realistic point of pride I can still compete for, and at that point perhaps the fastest motor to 20 mph may top the list of priorities in how I choose my next eMTB. For now my best life is still being lived well north of 20 mph. Likewise, I'm inclined to make a bike's overall frame and suspension performance at speed the key factor in how I pick what I choose to ride. The days of ripping through fast/flowy singletrack on full powered eMTB's and hitting the 20 mph speed limiter after every third or fourth pedal stroke and dropping from full assistance to no assistance had always given the sensation of throwing out a boat anchor. Motors like the Bosch SX and TQ HPR50 mask that transition masterfully and with less power loss, less motor drag, and less overall bike weight to pedal against. With the right wheelset and tire combo, that transition is often imperceivable, even on flat or undulating singletrack.
​
The XL Tweaks. In today's soft market full of excessive component inventory it's become cheaper to build a bike from a custom spec, and Mondraker happens to make the Dune XR available as a frameset. As an XL rider, that's an ideal starting point that allows accommodations to be made to tailor the bike to my size while saving a bit of money in the end. The Dune XR's key functional difference from the Dune RR is that it has 180mm of fork travel rather than 170mm. For riders on XL frames, this can shift the balance of the bike too far rearward and expose the XL frame's longer front reach in relation to its chainstay length. The rear shock becomes over-worked while the bike's under-worked fork then drifts, deflects, and generally under-performs. A fork and shock really need to work together in a very dynamic manner for a bike to be truly great. For emphasis, I'll reiterate that. Fore/aft balance is a critical factor in allowing a full suspension MTB perform at a very high level. To balance my XL frame, I kept the fork travel at 180mm for riding steep terrain, but opted to remove the volume spacer from the negative air chamber of the Ohlins fork to increase it's dynamic sag (allowing it to ride a little lower in it's travel once the bike is moving). I also bumped the stem length from 30mm to 35mm to shift the rider's overall center of mass forward just a bit. Removing the fork's negative volume spacer is something a lot of riders prefer having done regardless, as it also makes the fork considerably more sensitive and active off the top which improves front tire cornering traction. ​
​
Singletrack Tweaks. If you primarily plan on ripping the Dune through undulating singletrack and flow trails without prolonged/steep downhill sections, the Dune is going to perform significantly better with the fork set at 170mm of travel. Although removal of the fork's negative volume spacer and bumping the stem length out to 35mm will help on this type of terrain, I still found the Dune to be far more agile, precise, and generally thrilling when ripping and weaving through singletrack with the fork at the shorter 170mm travel setting. I've spent a fair amount of time on our size large Dune RR demo bike with a 170mm fork here on our Midwest singletrack and carried an average speed that I didn't think was possible. That definitely wasn't happening with the fork travel at 180mm.
Lastly, the optional Bosch PowerMore 250 watt range extender will bump total battery capacity to 650 watts and this is going to be necessary if you want to rip singletrack at high speed in the Bosch SX motor's top power mode for more than a couple hours.

The Build Spec. I've spec'd a unique wheelset. The Hawk30X Extreme wheels by Berd are DH rated with thicker spokes and stronger carbon rims than Berd's standard Hawk30 offering, but the compliance and vibration damping of the textile spokes can cover a multitude of sins in poor suspension setup. They smooth out chatter and improve cornering traction just enough that they can give a false perception that you've got your suspension settings dialed in, so I use a standard metal-spoked wheelset when dialing in compression and rebound settings to help expedite the process. Beyond that, any additional spec changes are unique, but are functionally very similar the Dune's stock spec.
The Deal Breakers? The Dune's seat post insertion length is definitely on the short side due to its floating shock design that passes through the lower portion of the frame. If you like or need a lot of drop, this forces you to spec a more expensive dropper -- either a wireless one or one of the higher price cable actuated droppers with shorter insertion and lower stack heights such as the Wolf Tooth Resolve or OneUp V3. It's unfortunate because there are getting to be a lot of affordable dropper options that have proven themselves to be highly durable and reliable. If you're planning to custom build a Dune XR then it's not quite as bad since you're not also absorbing the cost of the OEM On/Off Pija dropper.
Lastly, the headset cable routing. As tidy as it looks, it's quite a chore if you're routing a rear brake hose, derailleur housing, and dropper housing through it. This is the first bike I've built with it, and I came into it with a pessimistic attitude, but I realized that if I'm running a wireless dropper and drivetrain and am left to only route a rear brake hose through the headset then I've come to prefer the headset routing. The more centralized routing path through the front of the headset allows for a shorter length of exposed brake hose to be used without limiting the bikes steering radius which all but eliminates the risk of yanking the rear brake hose out of the lever in a crash. It's quite a clean look with improved functionality and relatively little fuss to pass a single hose through the headset port.

Conclusion. With its exceptional suspension performance and braking control paired with the expected cornering and maneuverability benefits of its mixed wheel size, the Dune XR is first and foremost a gravity focused machine. High energy aggressive gravity riding isn't an all-day-epic type of riding, but if you've got a few hours to go push things to your limit then the Dune XR has the battery range and the power to provide the extra laps and the strong legs when descending that skilled gravity riders will love.
For those riding flatter terrain, the Dune RR with its 170mm travel fork, Ohlins TTX2 air shock, and the Bosch Range extender becomes a bike that puts the Dune's exceptional suspension platform to work grabbing traction through the twists and turns of high speed singletrack in a way that most of it's competitors cannot match. On this type of terrain, I've come to think of the Dune as my hare scramble simulator and that has added some excitement to riding mountain bikes that I didn't know was missing.
​
There are no doubt better bikes for those who wish to voyage out on six hour trail rides or live for cleaning technical climbs. With the usability and reliability of the DJI motor coming into question recently, bikes with the new Bosch Gen 5 motor are a great option for riders in this category.
​
Is the Mondraker Dune for you? That's a question that will force a good bit of honest and deep reflection for the majority of those who have the means to purchase it. Whether you're racing formally in a sanctioned series or informally amongst your crew of friends, the reality is most of us are always competing with each other. Obviously there are eMTB's that will shuttle you up the hill faster -- or the fastest. There are none better equipped to get you down the hill faster. Which trophy are you chasing?