clemendleton


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  • in reply to: Epic EVO: Replace or Supplement? #425394

    I agree with just about everything in the first paragraph! I had an Epic World Cup before the EVO, and it was very aggressively forward. Tires were made for speed, not for durability. On the EVO, however, Spesh upped their game and put GRID protection on both tires.

    the Fox 34 Step Cast has room for a 2.6” tire, so I may end up swapping that in place of the 2.3” that’s on there right now. Good idea.

    I agree on the geometry comment as well. That’s one of the reasons I’m looking at the Tallboy, Ripley, etc. the Stumpjumper would just have a little more travel, be a little heavier, and slightly less progressive on the geometry.

    in reply to: Epic EVO: Replace or Supplement? #425045

    The Epic tends to be fairly predictable in handling when I’m pushing it uphill, or when I’m descending on more gentle slopes with or without roots and rocks.  Where it gets sketchy is on steeper slopes where rocks and roots are present.    That steeper head tube angle wants to pitch me forward, and I can re-distribute weight to maintain stability.  As far as taking the hit itself, I don’t know whether it’s the 120mm fork running out of stroke, or if its because the tire’s tucked further in under the bike that forces the tire to absorb the hit (maybe a combination of both), but it can be a little jolting.  The rear suspension having the brain inertia valve, the compression gets delayed, and I know I run out of the 100mm travel quickly.

    So in Northwest Arkansas, it’s completely at home in Hobbs State Park.  But where our home is going to be, right next to the Back 40 trail system (and the evolving Little Sugar trail system), it’s a little less mellow.  And I’m looking to do the Womble and LOViT at some point in the fall, so I don’t want to be under-biked on a 40 and 60 mile ride.

    in reply to: Epic EVO: Replace or Supplement? #425040

    the Epic has been ideal most of the time, because I try to only take it on trails that I know it’s built for.  There in Denver, it’s done really well on Green Mountain and Centennial Cone.  I actually tried a Stumpjumper on Green Mountain some time ago, and I really didn’t like it – the pedal bobbing drove me crazy.  I think they’ve changed the geometry since then, but I know there’s going to be some efficiency loss with the new version.

    In Dallas, I mostly ride over at Cedar Hill State Park.  But a lot of people really enjoy the trails over on the north side of Grapevine Lake, so I would check that out as well.

    in reply to: Epic EVO: Replace or Supplement? #424735

    Oh man, that’s a really good idea.  My other bike I typically reach for is a Specialized Diverge with 38mm tires.  I like that well enough for a mixture of gravel and pavement, but it would be smart to put wider tires on the Roval wheels when the gravel gets chunkier.

    Thanks for the additional suggestions.  The 140/130 suspension pairing (+/-10) is what I’ve been looking at.  Both the bikes I’ve been looking at fall within that range, and I’m trying to be really careful not to overbike myself with the newest addition.

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