Yeah this is directly tariff related
Check the used market for an Epic Evo frame while you wait. Lighter frame and only small differences between it and the Epic 8. It will be a very capable place holder.
1 Like
Very limited stock in the UK too so not just US / tariff related.
Like you I am in the hunt for a new XC 120/120 or 130/120 bike.
1 Like
Exactly. The guy in that video is just parroting the excuses he’s hearing from a broken industry. I’m not a fan of the ongoing tariff game and tariffs certainly create pain for any company dealing with them. But the old school bike industry has a lot bigger problems than tariffs. Tariffs are just further highlighting how broken the model is. And it’s getting more broken as people are becoming more accepting of direct to consumer and also new “non-traditional” brands that are popping up.
I’m not sure what the answer is if people still want/value the LBS experience of buying a new bike off the showroom floor, but the traditional model of forecasting next year’s inventory and asking shops to pre-order and stock a bunch of bikes is fundamentally flawed. Some of the big brands like Specialized and Trek are trying to figure out a path where direct to consumer and LBS channels can gracefully co-exist, but the downside of that approach is that they won’t be great/competitive at either approach compared to the brands that just focus on one or the other. How do they expect to be competitive in DTC when their direct prices are just as high as the LBS price (and in practice the LBS price actually ends up cheaper than DTC because you can usually work out significant discounts or store credit as part of an LBS bike purchase)?
It’s ironic that the guy in that video is touching on inventory/tariff challenges and also hitting on how sad it is that Campy is dying. Lots of common themes and the big bike brands should look at Campy and be concerned about falling into the same classic trap. It’s easy for him to say “Campy should just do x,y,z” to regain their place as a viable component company, but the reality is it’s probably too little, too late for Campy. Campy should have been making those difficult/disruptive changes to their business model 20+ years ago, when they were still relevant. The big established bike brands are in the same boat, just with more runway. They need to evolve/re-invent their business models or they will eventually become irrelevant.
3 Likes
I’m waiting for the new Ibis Exie. There’s reports from dealers/shops knowing it’s coming in 2026 but obviously being tight lipped about it. The rumors are speculating something like a “Ripley SL” (120R/120 or 130F) but whether it’ll be a new model in addition to a new Exie is still up in the air.
I’m really excited to see what the new exie brings. I like Ibis a lot and absolutely loved my V4 Ripley, but I jumped over to a Yeti ASR this year for XC since the Exie was looking rather long in the tooth.
4 Likes
I’ve asked before, there’s no data to show that suspension adds anything. It may “feel” faster but there appears to be no published data to show FS is any better. There are videos on YouTube showing HT is faster, suspension lockout is no different than fully open and vice versa. I’m still out here waiting - of course every company says their bikes are better and they will sell you that $15,000 bike if you want it*.
I race XC on my 32 lb aluminum V4 ripley…. But hey it pedals great. That yeti is sweet though
1 Like
I did a few XC races early season on my ripley and did fine. But in my head, I kept telling myself how much better I’d do on a lighter, smaller bike. So I got the Yeti, and had a great season, won a race, took a few other podiums.
But the last race of the year ended with a poetic finish—I got third place, right behind a guy on the exact build and color Ripley I’d sold earlier in the spring. I guess it really isn’t about the bike…
7 Likes
In EU the price of the Epic WC frameset has been heavily reduced along with the pricing for the complete bike. The frame looks cool but rationally speaking the weight savings over a standard full frame is negligible and there’s some confusion over which fork to run now as the Brain system has been abandoned on forks too. In fact the frame used to come with the Sid fork but now is sold without any fork whatsoever.
I loved the Dylan Johnson analogy on this.
The hardtail absolutely feels faster than a FS just like a janky 1980’s car feels faster at 100 mph than a luxury car. If the HT was the faster bike than every World Cup XC team would be running them, end of discussion.
This obviously is course and location dependant, but in my incredibly rocky, rooty, punchy neck of the woods FS is absolutely the faster bike.
9 Likes
Dylan Johnson also talks about his 1:1 study climbing w suspension locked out and fully open. There was no difference. But I agree that some courses are better suited for FS than HT, but the average person doesn’t ride these trails - that’s my argument.
As for WC bike choices: absolutely these courses are massively different to what any average Joe rides, second, they are paid to ride and maybe paid to ride what they are told. Lastly, when bike choice was open and not team/sponsor ridden HT was ridden to gold at the Olympics. What does that infer?
If FS was faster, better than HT, all I want to see is the data so I know I’m not wasting my extra $3-5000. Show me.
1 Like
Dylan Johnson mentioned on either Bonk Bros or Matchbox that he has reversed his opinion on there being no difference with shock locked out/open.
4 Likes
BMC has an integrated “auto drop” post that drops on its own.
Go rent a FS bike for a couple days and see how it performs on the terrain that you typically ride/race on. I don’t think anyone is saying a fs bike is faster/better than a ht bike for every person in every situation. A fs is not inherently better or worse than a ht, it’s a totally different animal.
For my skill level and the courses I typically race, it’s not even close and I’m much faster on fs (and my HT has been hanging in the garage for years). I know you believe it’s all some bike company conspiracy, but you might consider the possibility that many people actually find fs to be faster/better for how they ride.
And it doesn’t have to be one or the other, many people have both and will switch bikes based on course. Keegan finally made the switch to FS for leadville this year, but still rode his HT at marathon worlds. He didn’t choose the FS at leadville because Santa Cruz was pushing him to do it, he did it because it was the fastest option based on his testing. And that’s on a course that is basically a gravel race for 90% of it.
8 Likes
Depends on how far you’re riding. XCC HT, XCO HT or FS, XCM FS, Stage races, better bring that FS because you’re going to get beat up day after day after day.
2 Likes
Thanks, I do keep an eye on that, and if a bargain pops up, would happily go that route. Thus far though, the used ones have been priced at almost the new prices for E8’s.
1 Like
I would defo love to ride trails back to back FS and HT, but I’ll never find a similar spec’ed XL FS. It’d be an injustice to compare a 30lb 
bike to my HT. My contention is: if it’s that demonstrable and different why is there no data showing such. I do not doubt it, and am very FS curious but show me. That’s all, where is this data. “Feels faster” or “more comfortable” doesn’t cut it on this forum.
What specific data do you want? I mean the best data is to just look at what the top rider in XCO and XCM are riding. They have access to both HT and FS, and I absolutely guarantee they’re allowed to pick whichever is faster. Except for some very smooth XCO courses, everyone is on an FS. Even on Leadville, which is basically a gravel road most people are on FS.
Anecdotally, I have found it the opposite. My HT “felt” a lot faster, but my FS is objectively much faster on any trail I’ve ridden the two on and been able to compare. Tbf, I am in the PNW where trails are extremely rough.
Also I ride a 26 lb XL full suspension with 130mm of suspension, lightweight and capable FS suspensions can be had without breaking the bank.
6 Likes
There’s been plenty of testing and people have validated it and talked about their testing. There are courses tending toward the mild end or with a lot of climbing that a HT will be faster, and most true MTB courses where a FS will be.
It’s just that Nobody wastes their time publishing it because there’s no benefit in doing so. Closest you’ll get is something like the videos Keegan did for Leadville where he tested both and settled on the FS
2 Likes