If you have the Hollowgram crankset, you should have enough space to run a 4iiii or a Power2Max spider (although the P2M might be out of stock since I think I got the last one recently…)
If you don’t want to be without a bike to ride, you can buy a crank arm in the length you want pretty easily on eBay and send it off for the factory install.
Thanks for the advice. It’s got a Truvativ Stylo DUB but I’d happily replace it with a new one with PM
I’ve got a 1.5 degree works in mine. Are you getting full travel from your rear shock. My only complaint is I find the kinematics way too progressive and either have a pogo stick or never reach close to full travel.
In that case, I think a factory install 4iiii on the left side is prob the best idea.
Those special Sram spindles are wacky and I don’t know how to deal with the chain line
Sweet! Happy with the extra 1.5 deg?
It’s hard to tell because i think full travel on that small shock is a few mm from the end of the shaft, so the o ring never really looks at the end. But I definitely use it all, I like that I never really feel a harsh bottom on it though.
Which ride 9 position are you in? I’m in the slackest which is also the most progressive.
I’m considering upgrading my air can to the evol spring when I send it in for service next week, I’m hoping that will soften it up a bit.
I’m a hardtail guy. I raced an Epic FS for a reason, I was disappointed. I went back to racing my hardtail and felt like I was at home. Unfortunately that bike was stolen (Cannondale F-Si) and I replaced it with a Pivot Les. The F-Si is a far superior bike in every way except weight, and that was a SMALL penalty for such a good bike. But I am sticking with the Pivot as I don’t like to do bicycle musical chairs.
My main MTB is a 170mm Enduro, I only ride the race bike for races, and occasional fun rides. My ride style is more send it and pray than precise (which is antithetical to HT riding, I know).
Im in setting 9 as steep as i can get it because thats where the suspension action feels the best. That gives me just over 68 degree HA and i also appreciated the steepening of the STA. It rides great with those numbers. I’ve alsways found it a very stable bike even with a near 70 degree HA, but the works makes it even more comfortable at high speed. I’m considering a coil shock because I just cant handle the excessive ramp up though - i feel like i’m the only one because i’ve never heard it mentioned in any review or forum.
I heavily demo’d the Oiz M10TR and Spark 910 (both 120mm) a year+ ago at Outerbike and my home trails. It was a close decision that came down to finding an Oiz on clearance price (vs full MSRP on the Spark) that made the decision for me. The Oiz had a better spec for the $ and is lighter but the Spark was really fun to ride. But personally I couldn’t perceive the small differences in geometry.
Got it. The “thunk” still exists if you have it in it’s fully-on setting and one step less than that (but it’s hardly noticeable when not fully-on) and where it used to really change the character of the bike in those moments, it doesn’t change it that much anymore.
With previous brain iterations I felt like the bike was bipolar and it could dramatically change at any second. It was unpredictable and not confidence inspiring, and the steep/short geo made that problem worse.
The new one doesn’t suffer from that anymore. Even if I have the brain fully on (rare), it never feels like a totally different bike when it engages and disengages – you notice a thunk, but not a change in the bike. I think the ultimate testament to this is I’ve hit dirt jump lines with the brain fully on and didn’t fear for my life, haha.
Just adding some extra data: I completely agree with this statement, based on my experience demo’ing the new Epic. While I didn’t get on with the feel of the Brain, the bike was very predictable pre/post engagement.
I really hope this is the case. I’m planning on racing Xterra’s this year and don’t have a bike yet.
With the limited inventory of outdated bikes I’ve decided to hold out for the “spring bike release cycle” so that I could hopefully jump on something before my first planned race in April. A new SC Blur would be awesome as the intention would really be pointed at racing.
I wish I could demo a Transition Spur also, the reviews have been great so far but Transition is one of those brands I’d want to demo before buying.
Spur probably isn’t the right bike for you anyway, then.
Jonathan by chance did you test the Cannonade scalpel when picking the new ride?
Thx
Nope. I shared this in my IG live, linked above, but the Scalpel leans more toward the active side of the suspension teeter totter, if you will, and that’s what I had on the SB100. I was looking for a bike that was more supportive and firm under foot while still having the modern geometry numbers I was looking for. That’s why I was able to narrow things down to the BMC Fourstroke and the Epic.
The Scalpel would have been too soft, Fourstroke was too firm, the Epic was just right. 
i mean that’s funny that it would feel too soft for you because for me, it pedals better than my hardtail (shit, it pedals better than my road bike). I’ve never felt anything like it before. It could be that i have the sprint of a third-grader on a tricycle, but that’s neither here nor there.
This is the wonderful thing about bikes though, they’re all different and the whole can sometimes surprise you vs. the sum of the parts
The Scalpel has a lower anti-squat curve (if you can even call it that because it’s basically flat) than the SB100 and the Epic; it’s also a different suspension design (pseudo horst-link rather than linkage driven single pivot on the Epic, and virtual pivot on the SB100)
It’s a factual statement that the Scalpel has a softer feel at the pedals; IIRC the Scalpel is around 90% AS at 25% sag, the SB100 is around 98%ish. New Epic I think is around 100% but it has a very different curve than the previous gen. It’s much less to do with torsional stiffness of the frame itself.
This is also why the Scalpel has a manual lockout, given the relatively low AS levels. This comes down to preference at the end of the day and philosophy of the companies.
Both the new Epic and the new Scalpel both won short track and XCO last season under capable riders.
Having demo’d both, I ended up preferring the Scalpel, but it honestly was really close for me. The Epic is super snappy and I can understand why Jonathan wanted that feel and how he intends to use it to optimize his performance.
Conversely for me, the Scalpel gave me some extra benefits for areas that I’m a little weaker and I was ok with having a lockout.
edit: linkage design post on the Scalpel and SB100, similar post from that site for the Epic should be out next month
for more info on anti-squat: What is Anti Squat and pedal kickback - Pole Bicycles.
(this company also makes some really fun looking bikes, but they wouldn’t be appropriate for this thread . . . )
Is there somewhere for looking up AS values for other bikes?
A fantastic example of why I’m so grateful to have people like @stevemz on this forum. That was such an informative post!
Also, i trust Steve’s opinion 100% and discussed bikes with him many times before deciding on the Epic.
If you look at the sidebar, it has a bunch of different models. You can use google translate on it since the guy has it integrated.