Craftworks ENR V1.1

Cyclomaniac

Likes Dirt
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Frame - Craftworks ENR Large
Rear shock - CCDB IL Air
Front shock/fork - Pike 160mm
Handlebars - Spank Spoon 40mm rise
Stem -Spank
Headset - FSA
Grips - Jetblack
Saddle - Fabric
Seatpost - Reverb 125mm
Front brake - Magura Trail Sport 4 pot
Rear brake - Magura Trail Sport 2 pot
Cranks - Sram NX
Chainguide - MRP
Chain - Sram
Pedals - Nukeproof Horizon composite
Rear derailleur - XT M8000
Rear shifter - XT
Cassette - 11-50 11 speed Sram. Soon to be Sunrace
Front hub - Spank
Rear hub - Spank
Front rim - Spank Oozy 295 Trail
Rear rim - Spank Oozy 295 Trail
Tyres - Maxxis DHF/DHR 2.5/2.4
Tubes - Tubeless with K-flex
Total weight -14.something kg

So after getting into this sport a few years ago and riding old Giants for a while I saved up and bought a Kona Process 153 2016. I loved it, such a fun bike but the pedal bob on the climbs made me seasick.
So I then upgraded to the 2018 153 29er. No more seasick, this thing pedaled and climbed faster than it awt to. It plowed through everything but I started to miss how playful the old Process was. After a few months I decided to go back to 27.5 and was thinking of shorter travel trail bikes. After looking around for a bit this ENR came up on Gumtree. The ENR had me interested for a while but I couldn't afford new and they don't come up second hand too often so it wasn't on the shortlist. After reading a few reviews (thanks Dozer and others) I decided to give it a go.
It is a V1 2016 but the owner was in Adelaide and knew Hugh from Craftworks . He gave me a good deal with the new V1.1 front triangle. Hugh himself verified the owner for my piece of mind which was awesome.
Anyway the bike is incredible. It's lighter and more fun than the first Kona and pedals better than the second. Feels fast everywhere. I noticed at first I had to think more about keeping the rear wheel in line as it felt light and easy to flick around, even if I didn't mean to. I guess that's a product of coming from a longer, heavier 29er. There is a bit of extra noise from the pulley to get used to and I also noticed more noise from sticks and rocks hitting the frame as the tyre clearance is minimal on the rear wheel. After a couple of rides I don't notice it anymore. Again comparing to the Process which is pretty quiet.
So far I have changed the brakes and gears over to suit my tastes and will probably convert the shock to coil when it needs a service. The Reverb is working but I prefer my trusty old Brand x but it won't fit. Might slowly put a few blue bits on for a bit of colour.
I am 183 cm and the large feels perfect for me.
The I track suspension doesn't feel weird or anything until you hit a square edge and it disappears. I don't need the climb switch anymore either.
All in all I think its a great bike. Perfect for the way I like to ride. It just works. Well done to Hugh McLeay and Craftworks. Do yourselves a favor and get one today. ;)
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Tubbsy

Packin' a small bird
Staff member
Great work.

Still holding out hope that @Craftworks can sort an XL for their next production run.

Supporting local businesses isn’t easy in the mtb world!
 

Paulie_AU

Likes Dirt
Nice one.

A ENR frame is at the top of my list of 3 possible new bike options. Interesting to hear that you were wanting to come back from 29er as the new 29er Reign is one of the bikes on my list of 3 but I am currently on 27.5. I don't know if I will really enjoy a 29er apart from racing.

How much clearance is available on the rear tyre? I normally run a 2.5 aggressor.
 

Cyclomaniac

Likes Dirt
Great work.

Still holding out hope that @Craftworks can sort an XL for their next production run.

Supporting local businesses isn’t easy in the mtb world!
An XL would be a smart move, I am pretty sure they will be putting them out as soon as they can. Also being Australian is a big bonus, a few people have commented on the bike and it is nice to tell them it's a local design.
 

Cyclomaniac

Likes Dirt
Nice one.

A ENR frame is at the top of my list of 3 possible new bike options. Interesting to hear that you were wanting to come back from 29er as the new 29er Reign is one of the bikes on my list of 3 but I am currently on 27.5. I don't know if I will really enjoy a 29er apart from racing.

How much clearance is available on the rear tyre? I normally run a 2.5 aggressor.
I haven't ridden the Reign but if I was racing I would choose the ENR over the Process. I don't have any strava times to back it up as I have a bit of a lung infection but I think it is faster for me anyway. The Process is a coulpe of kg heavier and feels like most of it is over the front wheel.

Here are some pics of the tyre clearance. 2.4 Minion. Not a problem, just noticeable after previous bikes.
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moorey

call me Mia
The Process is a coulpe of kg heavier and feels like most of it is over the front wheel.
Same build? If so, a couple of KG isn’t feasible. That’s the difference between an XC duallie frame and a DH frame.
Cool bike but. Would like to try one out one day.
 

Oddjob

Merry fucking Xmas to you assholes
Same build? If so, a couple of KG isn’t feasible. That’s the difference between an XC duallie frame and a DH frame.
Cool bike but. Would like to try one out one day.
Tell that to a Commencal Meta Tr rider.

Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk
 

Cyclomaniac

Likes Dirt
Same build? If so, a couple of KG isn’t feasible. That’s the difference between an XC duallie frame and a DH frame.
Cool bike but. Would like to try one out one day.
Similar build and dodgy bathroom scales, but it does feel much lighter.
 

moorey

call me Mia
Tell that to a Commencal Meta Tr rider.

Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk
What am I telling them? That their alloy frame alone isn’t 2kg lighter than another high end alloy frame? Ok.
I know Felix’s alloy 153 is about 500g heavier than his previous 155mm tranny. 2000g is a stretch.
 

Oddjob

Merry fucking Xmas to you assholes
What am I telling them? That their alloy frame alone isn’t 2kg lighter than another high end alloy frame? Ok.
I know Felix’s alloy 153 is about 500g heavier than his previous 155mm tranny. 2000g is a stretch.
More like its 2kg heavier.

No idea how much an XL Process weighs but I've seen plenty of Meta Trs over 17kg. I've got a Focus Sam that comes in under 15kg and the Pole is a little over 15kg. Only 500gms of the difference would be from the coil shock.

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moorey

call me Mia
Not to place to argue, when the thread is about a sweet sweet Crafty...but if comparing apples with apple, no 2 high end alloy enduro frames with the same shock are varying by 2kg.
 

Cyclomaniac

Likes Dirt
Ok, so I wanted to check my sanity and weighed the wheel sets. Again with me holding them and my dodgy scales and some rusty maths. The Process wheels are 6.2kg and the ENR are 5.2kg. Both sets had same tyres and tyre width, inserts, similar cassettes. Different rim width, hubs and wheel size. If correct then that's a lot of extra rolling mass. Anyway, it means also that the two frames are 1kg or less apart.
 
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