Hi,
are you still running the planned tire combo Ground Control fr/Fast Trak re? Which casing did you choose?
I am considering to run the same tires on my EE so first hand experience would be very welcome.
I am in the process of building a 21 EE frame up and am slowly gathering my parts. My objective is to meet a weight of 23 lbs.
Apart from tire choice the selection of the brakes is still open. With Trickstuff brakes not available for at least a year the lightest option is off the table. Any experiences with the SRAM G2s currently specced on the top models? When it comes to stoppers SRAM has a mixed reputation.
The plan is to run the Fastrack rear and control front in the spring and late fall (both the control casing or T5). I’m planning to run a Renegade rear and Fastrack front (both in the control casing or T5) for the summer. I haven’t tried the new specialized tire with the new casing and only had experience with the older grid casing and I still haven’t received my Evo yet. I very much liked the older fastrack on my old bike and thought they were very good allround tires overall and never had an issue with puncture or sidewall toughness. I’m hopeful the new casing an tread pattern will make them even better and their are pretty cheap and light as well compared to Maxxis or Schwalbe.
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These will be my first Sram brakes in a long time as I’ve been running Shimano XT brakes on my 2 previous bike. I’ve also heard some mixed review but the one on the Epic Evo Comp are 4 piston G2 which I believe are very powerful but my feel a little spongy compared to Shimano. I suppose I’ll know once I get my hands on the bike.
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I think the SRAM G2 RS brakes on my EE Comp are great, not just for the trails and long descents I ride but also my weight 200lbs. Currently its weighing now at ~25lbs with Butcher and Purgatory tires for our wet muddy PNW trails. But come spring/summer I have the Vittoria Mezcals which should lighten it to about 23-24lbs. I’ve already upgraded the cockpit and big difference not only in handling and comfort but definitely saved some weight.
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The SRAM G2 brakes are good, and plenty strong enough. They do not offer the same initial “bite” that the Shimano’s are so famous for. But you do get better modulation, and a consistent bite point with the SRAM’s. Another selling point is that the “contact adjustment” on the SRAM’s actually work…
I know this is a bit of an older thread, but I wanted to jump in here since I’ve been putting together some similar bikes lately for customers and a lot of this is on my mind.
The thing I try to think about when upgrading a stock bike for performance (particularly on longer events) is where the balance is for upgrades that actually make you faster. Some of those involve making the bike lighter, some don’t. After looking at the spec for the 2022 Epic Evo Comp, here’s my thoughts in some semblance of order (but I wouldn’t exactly call it a ranking).
- Wheels. It’s always been true, it always will be true, wheels and tires are the single biggest upgrade you can make. Carbon is nice, if not super necessary. Get something wide and stiff with good engagement. At your budget I would say the Roval Control is a fine option, though personally I’m not the biggest fan of Roval stuff so I might recommend the Reserve 28XC with DT 350s instead. You could also have your local shop build up some alloy wheels (I would recommend DT Swiss XR391s to 350s) for a substantial budget savings and very slight weight penalty. But if you want to maximize weight savings, ride quality improvements, and increased control in one fell swoop while eating your entire budget - wheels and tires. That’s the post.
A quick note on tires - don’t buy a tire because it’s light. Buy it because it suits your riding style and conditions, and then really learn that tire. You’ll be faster on a tire you know in sub-optimal conditions than one that on paper is better but you don’t ride often. Getting a flat is always slow. And always, always run tubeless. - Seatpost. Keep the dropper, but you’ll have a better experience with one that’s a bit more robust than the X-Fusion that comes stock. Bike Yoke posts are robust and light, but quite expensive. Personally I’m into the Fox Transfer SL, but I haven’t seen any of them with enough hours yet to see how they hold up. I’m optimistic. Regardless, a high post will be lighter but you will save more energy and probably be consistently faster over a marathon race with the dropper, so I think it’s worth the grams.
- Bars and Grips. Get whatever is comfortable and the hell with the weight here. If you’re comfortable and in control you’re faster. Personally I’m not a fan of 35mm bars for short-travel bikes, but you do you. Ritchey WCS alloy stuff is a great value for the weight if the shape works for you. ESI grips work for some people but not everyone, and they don’t last. But they’re light, and if you have really small hands like I do they’re one of the lower-profile options out there.
- Cassette. It’s a tough pill to swallow, but upgrading to the X01 or XX1 cassette is totally worth it. Sure, they’re a little lighter. But the shifting performance is night and day over GX, and they last longer too.
- Suspension. Without actually seeing the fork I’m not sure, but I think there’s a damper upgrade available for the SID Select. It’s worth it for the improved tunability on compression and better compliance at high speeds. Again, control and comfort.
- AXS. It’s not necessarily lighter, but the ride experience is quite the upgrade. GX AXS is where it’s at for the value. Low maintenance, no cables binding on their way through long full-suspension runs of housing, effortless shifting even when you’re tired and panicked that suddenly you’re very much in the wrong gear.
- Cranks, I guess. The stock ones are heavy, but getting a better crank won’t really help your performance that much in any other way unless you have fit issues.
The TL;DR here is that being comfortable and in control will be way faster than being light. And to just spend your whole budget on wheels and tires.
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I scrolled down to almost type exactly what your last post was.
Big weight savings: wheels, cranks
Small weight savings: Touch points
Hump
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And here I stand pondering if XTR pedals with Ti axles (saving 50 g!) are worth 200 EUR extra 
Agree with all based on my limited budget. I did the comfort items first-- bars/stem and grips. Wheels, cassette and tires were next including the cranks. So far happy now with the setup. I’ve noticed improved performance times as well as less soreness after each subsequent upgrade on the same trail!
While I’m not sure about the suspension, or AXS items, the dropper is the last item on my upgrade list. I can see the robustness being a factor including reliability. After some muddy rides, the functionality is not smooth or quick like it was when new. Definitely will check out the Fox stuff if the prices are reasonable and if shops have it in stock!
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One limitation of the Transfer SL is that the longest model offered has 100 mm drop. If more range is needed Fox is not an option.
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Great post! I was always a little let down with GX performance so I would be curious to see if having the higher end cassette really make a difference? Would that really be the case?
What’s the weight of the bike with all your upgrades? (got an epic evo comp on order myself)
It’s ~25lbs with pedals, swat tool, cages, size large. But this is the “winter weight”, ie butcher + purgatory tires on the stock wheels. Tires are heavy and being used for training in the wet muddy trails at the moment.
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I guess it depends on what performance issues you’re trying to solve. The cassette will run more quietly and I do think that the ramps make for faster and smoother shifting. But with GX being at the more budget end of the spectrum the derailleur itself still develops play in the linkage more quickly, which both doesn’t feel awesome at the lever and degrades shift performance.
My personal opinion is that GX is the lowest mechanical spec I would buy, and I would ride it until it breaks and then upgrade to either X01 mechanical or GX AXS.
That’s good to know. Knowing that upgrading to an XX1 rear derailleur and shifter is about 600$ CAD and the upgrading to GX axs is about 900 CAD, what would be the best in terms of shifting quality? I do have a very cheap X1 eagle crank which to upgrade alone to XX1 would be around 675$ CAD, would changing the crank be a better option for performance, not for weight?
If all those options are on the table, I would absolutely prioritize upgrading to a better shifting system. You’ll have a much better experience with AXS, and then when you wear out the cassette you can worry about that. The crank itself offers very little performance benefit other than weight, so that would be my lowest priority. When built my most recent bike I did opt for an XX1 crank out of the gate, but only because it was the option I could get in the length I needed. I have GX AXS with a XX1 cassette, and I see no reason to upgrade to a better system. It just disappears in use, which is all I ask of any bike I ride. I don’t want to think about the bike, I just want to ride.
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I am still working on my parts list but with trying to build a really light sidekick for my Spesh Enduro I‘ll go with a Bike Yoke Divine 125 mm dropper, a S-Works power saddle and probably a 200 g bike/stem combo from Bike Ahead, so I drop significant weight compared to the stock S-Works build.
Would you happen to know if you can get their stuff in the US? I didn’t see a US distributer. Thanks 
Joe
I have just checked their website and it has localization options for the US. There are shipping rates listed for Middle and South America (35 EUR if invoice is below 1000 bucks) so I assume they are sending stuff your way.
I recommend not to spend too much time on their site or you’ll probably develop expensive wishes. I have been admiring their Biturbo RS wheels for years and quickly thought about getting them for the EE but my bike won’t be used as a pure race sled so I went with the more versatile Roval option (which I spent only have of the money for ).
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