We ride two of the fastest cross-country bikes ever made back to back on the trail then discuss their merits in the studio to work out which is faster. Includes weights, geometry comparison, handling and setup differences, and a lot of talk about how Flight Attendendant (electronic damping control) influences the Epic 8's handling. Ample on-trail footage. Lots of dorky details.
Here's the breakdown:
00:00
01:30 Differences and similarities (Flight Attendant vs. no FA)
02:35 Test protocol and bike setup
03:30 On-trail footage of test loop descent
04:58 Overview of both builds: weight and geo (both are size large)
08:50 On-trail observations
11:55 Flight Attendendant: Operation, setup, etc
13:30 Flight Attendendant: What it does, advantages, observations
19:30: Two-position lockout on Epic Evo 7
20:44 Does the weight difference matter?
21:40 Is Flight Attendendantat its best when racing?
24:00 What do we like and what don't we like about each bike?
29:03 Which bike is faster at the Downieville Classic?
32:30 Does 10mm less rear travel (Epic Evo 7) matter?
32:19 Does charging batteries matter?
35:20 Epic 8 steering stop and storage and why they matter
40:15 Conclusions