A MORE "EPIC" EPIC
Take a look around our office and you're going to see plenty Epics—most of them wearing dropper posts, wider tires and bars, and slightly longer forks. That's because the Epics that we're Frankensteining are not only fast off the start line, they're even better suited to masochistically long rides, multi-day stage races, and fast backcountry missions.
At some point, we looked around and said to ourselves, “We should offer this bike, right out of the box, right?” So we did.
This isn't to disparage today’s "standard" Epic, which upped the XC ante with a truly progressive geometry and a smoother, more responsive Brain shock. The Epic EVO, however, features the same efficient and lightweight chassis, albeit with some features for, well, bigger features. You're going to find a fork with 120mm of travel, a dropper post, wider bars, and meatier tires, so you'll get some much-needed control when you’re redlining it, or for when the dreaded bonk is on the horizon and nothing but steep, chunky bits of trail loom before you.
Can you race this thing? Absolutely. The EVO still tears a race course to ribbons, but it’s also perfectly equipped for high-speed, backcountry missions. Think of it as a more “epic” Epic.