One of the UK’s top enduro racers, Forbidden’s Lewis Buchanan, has actually been without a proper enduro bike since he signed with the brand at the back end of last year. He’s been seen training throughout winter and the long lockdown months on a Forbidden Druid – their 130mm travel high pivot trail bike. For a moment, it looked as though Lewis was to race his 2020 Enduro World Series season aboard a trail bike. That was until we spotted him in Zermatt atop of something a little meatier…
Unreleased Forbidden Enduro Bike
You’ll have to forgive us for the tight angled photographs. We were strictly forbidden from taking side-on shots, or close ups of the linkage and shock area. I guess they didn’t want us guesstimating what the rear wheel travel is.
Though the linkage layout looks very similar to the Druid’s high pivot design, Forbidden have confirmed this is not an updated Druid. It is something new entirely. We would hazard a guess that this is Forbidden’s first stab at an enduro bike with at least 160mm rear wheel travel.
Lewis Buchanan raced the new Forbidden at Zermatt with a Fox 38 fork, running at least 170mm travel.
Lewis Buchanan’s Race Day Setup on the new Forbidden
Though he couldn’t give us any details on the new frame, Lewis tells us his setup is almost identical to how he sets up his Druid back home in the Tweed Valley. OK, the fork settings won’t be the same as a Fox 38 fork runs at much higher pressures than a Fox 36. Aside from that, Lewis kept everything pretty much the same for consistency. He tells us he got just three days of riding on the new bike before racing it at Zermatt.
Like the Druid, Lewis runs the new Forbidden enduro bike as a mullet with a 29″ wheel out front and a 27.5″ wheel in the rear. We spotted the Ziggy Link which allows him to do this, so we reckon the new bike will be able to run as a complete 29er too.
Lewis’s new Forbidden rolls on an E13 LG1R carbon enduro rims on their Race hubs. They seat Maxxis Assegai 2.5″ tires – DH casing front and rear. In the front tire Lewis runs a Huck Norris Enduro Lite insert. In the rear, he runs for the ARD insert from Nukeproof.
It’s not just the camera angle. Those rotors are massive. Lewis runs 2.3mm thick 223mm rotors front and rear. The brakes are TRP’s new DH-R EVO with TRP’s own metal pads.
Brakes are not the only TRP real estate on Lewis’s new Forbidden bike. Though they don’t (yet) sell a complete drivetrain, TRP do offer a 12 speed derailleur. He pairs it with SRAM’s 10-50T XX1 cassette and chain and eThirteen’s 175mm LG1 carbon cranks with a 34T chainring.
On his Druid, Lewis runs at DHX2 coil shock, as seen here on the new Forbidden enduro bike. He runs a 450 lbs spring rate coil with high and low speed compression settings two clicks from open.
In the cockpit, Lewis Buchanan runs a 30mm rise Renthal Fatbar Carbon cut to 770mm. He opts for Renthal’s sticky compound grips and their 35mm Apex stem. Lewis carries tools in his steerer in the form of OneUp Component’s EDC tool.
As for the other contact points, Lewis has the new SDG Bel-Air V3 saddle sat atop a 170mm Tellis dropper also from SDG. He runs Crankbrothers DH mallet clipless pedals – their most robust pedal offering when it comes to surviving rock strikes.
Protecting the chainring from rock strikes is eThirteen’s LG1 chain guide and bash guard.
For context on the above info, Lewis Buchanan stands at 5′ 11″ and weighs 74kg in riding gear. We’ll update you guys on the new Forbidden enduro bike when we have the details! Stay tuned.
