Finally got a chance to see and ride an Epic 29er today. It was a large Comp model. I ride an XL so the bike was a little small for me, but the fit was close enough to get a feel for the bike. Only got to do the shop test, but did ride through a roughish field, over some eroded washboard and down some steps. Looks like it's gonna to be a fun bike!
A side by side comparison with a 26" Epic and the 29er on the showroom floor shows that the 29er's seat and chain stays use larger diameter tubing. The seat stays are a good bit larger on the 29er. Good to see they didn't just throw big wheels on the standard bike. Looks like they increased tubing sizes where needed to keep the bike stable. Made several hard jumps out of the saddle on a short climb and it felt stiff - didn't notice any flex in the rear end.
Phone Pic - You can see the size of the stays compared to the FSR XC next to it.
The brain works very well. I had a Stumpjumper Expert with brain a few years back and the new shock is much better than the previous design with each adjustment click making a noticeable change. Tried it fully open, fully firm and around the middle of it's range. Was surprised by the adjustment range of the rear shock. I expected the bike to behave like it was 'locked out' when set to full firm, but that wasn't the case. It was hardtail firm when going hard out of the saddle with absolutely zero bob, but as soon as you hit something it still opened up to soak it up - even when set to full firm. The action was more damped than when open, but it still works when set firm. On the other end of the range it was surprisingly open when the brain was backed off. When set up this way it was actually pretty active while still being responsive to pedal input - sort of like 'propedal light'. When set around the middle it brought a really good balance of firm, efficient pedalling with a more open feeling on rough terrain. Good to know that the brain adjustment range makes the bike versatile enough to serve as a full on racer and a short travel trail bike.
Can't comment on trail handling with my short demo ride, but the bike felt very stable and less twitchy than I feared. I'm used to trail bikes and while the Epic handling feels quick, it isn't as much of a handful as some other XCish bikes I've ridden. Geometry feels more like a tweener than an XC race bike - quick handling but predictable - which is good as far as I'm concerned.
I have been in the market for an endurance race bike that can still serve as an everyday trail rig. After looking the bike over closely and spending a little time on it I'm going to pull the trigger and order one. The things that concerned me before riding it were whether it would be too twitchy for everyday use and whether the rear end would be too flexy. Neither of these seem to be a problem so I'm in.
