I’m 5’10" and on a medium epic (not Evo).
But my legs are on the longer side also so maybe torso length is the determining factor?
Looks great! Which BTLOS rims did you go with? Desperately hoping they have a sale soon
The Extra Strong - M-i27AL by memory.
They’re silly light, like shockingly so.
The bike feels so freaking fast. It’d be interesting to know how much is down to weight vs suspension.
We’re going with a large epic evo. Now do I go with Level or G2 ultimate brakes?
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I’m 5’10” and I had the same predicament when I ordered an Epic Evo earlier this year. I decided to go for a large, mainly because I’ve got fairly short legs and long torso. I was prepared to get a short-ish stem if needed, but in the end a 60mm stem felt too short and I’ve settled on a 70mm stem which feels just right. I’m fairly sure I made the right size choice, going for the large.
I switched from level ultimate to g2 ult and am much happier, but I ride/race mostly in Colorado so braking performance on long descents is important. The weight difference in pretty minimal.
Has anyone tried these? They are a game changer.
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Yes they are
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I just bought them, haven’t tried yet but keep hearing good things. Seems like they must be good.
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Bought an Epic Evo Expert after all. It went on 0% after my size sold out so I put a stock alert on it just in case. Got an email during work one day and it was sold out again by the time I opened the page. Reset the stock alert and the next time it came around I was at my computer. 3rd opportunity felt good enough to pull the trigger.
Now the initial setup questions: I’m fitting a PM chainset straight away because I need shorter cranks than the bike comes with and the retailer wouldn’t swap for free. Seems like Quarq XX1 Boost is still the most appropriate option even though it’s been superseded by the Transmission models (due to chainline discrepancy and the fact the 104bcd chainrings are really easy to swap depending on terrain.)
Tires - do I ride the Ground Controls it comes with until they wear out or should I run a popular pairing like Barzo/Mezcal whilst I can still sell the GCs on as ‘brand new’? I’ve currently got 2 Barzos and a Mezcal in my shopping basket but don’t know whether to do that now or later (use will be tame Scottish winter riding followed by a possible first go at XC racing in the Spring).
Fit - I bought Medium as I’m square in the middle of that for all sizing recommendations so I’m confident of frame size. Curious about initial setup considerations though and what measurements I should or shouldn’t transfer over from road/gravel?
My Tarmac SL7 is a 54 with 713mm saddle height, a 110mm stem, and 1x 5mm spacer in addition to the mandatory transition spacers. Handlebar XY on my racier gravel bike is +13mm stack and -20mm reach compared to the Tarmac. On my burlier gravel bike the bars are same reach but an extra 12mm stack (+25 / -20 overall). Same saddle height on the racy gravel bike as the Tarmac but I usually run the saddle 2-5mm lower on the burlier one (which is also my ultra-endurance bike).
Do I start out with any specific considerations on the MTB or just go with my normal saddle height and the stock stem and see whether or not I feel the need to make any adjustments? Bike fitter says my proprioception and sense for fit changes is really good so if there’s anything specific I need to look out for I can almost certainly recognise it based on feel…
Suspension Setup - just follow a youtube tutorial to begin with? Last time I bought a MTB was 2014 and that was a hardtail so I have effectively no reference point here.
Anything else I should know to start?
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I wouldn’t waste my time with presta valves, Schrader valves are are better solution since we stopped running 17mm internal width rims.
I’m not familiar with the specs of the different levels… What wheel set you get with the expert?
Love the ground controls but they a heavy. I went with Fast track up front, renegade in the back on roval control carbon rims and it went from being a “down country” bike to a race weapon. Bit if you are looking to get some MTB miles this sprinter the controls would be my tire.
Same wheels I think. Looks like MTB equivalent to CL (rather than CLX) series road wheels - top tier rims on DT350 hubs. Good to know the GCs seem worthwhile for winter.
Spec copy/paste below:
Roval Control Rims, Carbon offset design, 29mm internal width, 4mm hook width, Tubeless ready, 28h
DT Swiss 350 front, 6-bolt, 15mm Thru-axle, 110mm spacing, 28h straight -pull
DT Swiss 350 straight-pull, 6-bolt, DT Swiss Ratchet EXP, 12x148mm thru axle, XD freehub body, 28h straight-pull
DT Swiss Comp Race spokes
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I use and advocate your setup. Two TNT Barzo’s for winter with the “newer” one always on the front, swapping out for the Mezcal onto the rear for Spring /Summer.
Having said that I’ve just done my first 4hrs of wet riding on some Mk1 ForKasters which I’ll race on in 2 weeks, and there were superb, albeit I can’t really tell if there’s a speed difference over a Barzo.
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Gosh, at those prices and with that amount of fiddling and noises to worry about I’ll be That Guy at the races with the 10 year old bike.
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Anyone running KMC chains on their bike?
Did during Covid and it seemed like they wore out pretty quickly. Purely anecdotal though
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Bummer, that aligns with what it says on Zero Friction cycling.
How quick was the wear? And was it a smooth/quiet chain?
I’m wondering about getting one to use as my race day chain to try and quieten down my drivetrain.
I didn’t notice much about it. It still shifted well, sounded like a normal chain.
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