After two years in development, Evil has released its first electric mountain bike, the Epocalypse – a gravity-biased bike designed for fun and adventure wherever you wish to pilot it.
With the brand’s DELTA system suspension, stealth colourway, twin-triangle frame and chunky main pivot, it’s clearly an Evil with its distinctive silhouette.
It’s not only the looks that Evil has tried to bring over to the Epocalypse, with the ride character also recognisable.
Evil designed the Epocalypse to have the playful and hard-charging ride feel the brand is well known for. To do this, Evil created a 29in-wheel ebike with one of the shortest carbon chainstays available at an impressively snappy 442mm.
The rest of the bike has been based around Evil's enduro bike, the Wreckoning. It’s built from carbon fibre, rolls on 29in wheels, and pumps out a bump-swallowing 166mm rear travel with a 170mm fork. A flip chip enables you to choose between low and extra-low settings.
This looks to be set for squaring up against our 2022 Bike of the Year winner, the Nukeproof Megawatt.
Evil has employed Shimano’s EP8 motor for the drive unit and a fully-integrated 630Wh battery. It has also produced a new handlebar, The Energy Bar, to keep everything around the cockpit neat and tidy.
Two models are available in the UK and EU – the Evil Epocalypse RockShox XT I9 Hydra for £10,899.99 / €11,999.99 and the Evil Epocalypse Fox XT Loopholes Hydra, costing £12,699.99 / €13,999.99.
Only the Evil Epocalypse Rockshox XT I9 Hydra is available in the US, priced at $11,999.
The nitty gritty
Aimed to take you deep into the back of beyond and seek out the most thrilling trails, there is no doubt the Epocalypse is going to see some abuse, so just what is going on with Evil’s first electric bike?
The carbon fibre frame is built up from two sturdy and chunky triangles. The unified one-piece rear triangle uses a split-yoke design to help keep the chainstays to a short 442mm. This design helps boost stiffness for direct handling.
The rear stays also use SuperBoost rear-hub spacing (12x157mm), which allows for a stronger-built wheel due to the broader, stiffer spoke pattern. Evil claims this increased stiffness means the extra weight of the ebike doesn’t turn the rear end into a flexy mess.
The stays are connected to the front triangle by ‘massive’ bearings, although we weren’t told how massive. The front triangle integrates Shimano’s EP8 motor with its 85Nm torque. Evil has two power profiles, one for maximum power and one for more range-focused rides. You can customise the profiles within the Shimano E-Tube Project app.
The rest of the electronic system uses Shimano’s E8000 display and Assist Switch. These are bolted onto a custom-made handlebar, Evil’s Energy Bar. The carbon bar has internal cable routing, a 35mm clamp diameter, 35mm rise, 8-degree backsweep and 5-degree upsweep.
The frame's battery cover features a Shuttle Shield to protect the down tube when the bike hangs over the back of a pickup. The down tube also features a skid plate reinforced with rubber pads to fend off rock strikes and any poor line choice/rider error mishaps. Drainage holes are designed to keep water where it should be on the trails.
The rear stays also get plenty of protection to quieten chain slap and help keep the Epocalypse as close to silent as possible. They can take a maximum 220mm rotor for those who want to get optimum braking performance, and stretch to accommodate a 29x2.6in tyre.
The frame uses internal cable tubes for simple maintenance and a SRAM universal derailleur hanger for easily findable replacements.
There are four sizes available, from small to extra-large. All use 29in wheels front and back. No information was provided about the suspension, apart from the travel.
Your ideal Epocalypse
The Epocalypse is designed around Evil’s Wreckoning and features very similar geometry. There are two geo charts with the Epocalypse, thanks to the bike's low/extra-low flip chip. These change the geometry, but keep the leverage curve of the DELTA System suspension’s 166mm of travel the same.
In the standard low setting, there’s a more trail-friendly 65.3-degree head tube angle and 77-degree seat tube angle.
Reach values start at 445mm on the size small and increase to 462mm, 482mm and 502mm on the medium to extra-large frames, respectively. Seat tube lengths for the same size order are 390mm, 425mm, 465mm and 495mm.
Chainstay lengths are a snappy (for an ebike) 442mm, and there’s a decent 23mm bottom bracket drop that helps keep the weight low.
If you’re looking for a rowdier setup, the extra-low setting slackens the head tube angle to 64.6 degrees and the effective seat tube angle to 76.4 degrees.
This setting shortens the reach numbers by 7mm, lengthens the chainstays by 2mm and drops the bottom bracket by 9mm.
| Evil Epocolypse – low | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Size | Small | Medium | Large | Extra-large |
| Reach (mm) | 445 | 462 | 482 | 502 |
| Stack (mm) | 620 | 630 | 643 | 655 |
| Head tube angle (degrees) | 65.3 | 65.3 | 65.5 | 65.3 |
| Seat tube angle (degrees) | 77 | 77 | 77 | 77 |
| Seat tube length (mm) | 390 | 425 | 460 | 495 |
| BB height (mm) | 350 | 350 | 350 | 350 |
| Wheelbase (mm) | 1,210 | 2,131 | 1,257 | 1,282 |
| Chainstay (mm) | 442 | 442 | 442 | 442 |
| Top tube (mm) | 596 | 613 | 635 | 656 |
| Standover (mm) | 719 | 719 | 719 | 727 |
| Evil Epocolypse – extra low | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Size | Small | Medium | Large | Extra-large |
| Reach (mm) | 438 | 455 | 475 | 495 |
| Stack (mm) | 625 | 635 | 648 | 660 |
| Head tube angle (degrees) | 64.6 | 64.6 | 64.6 | 64.6 |
| Seat tube angle (degrees) | 76.6 | 76.6 | 76.6 | 76.6 |
| Seat tube length (mm) | 390 | 425 | 460 | 495 |
| BB height (mm) | 341 | 341 | 341 | 341 |
| Wheelbase (mm) | 1,212 | 1,233 | 1,259 | 1,284 |
| Chainstay (mm) | 444 | 444 | 444 | 444 |
| Top tube (mm) | 599 | 616 | 638 | 659 |
| Standover (mm) | 713 | 713 | 713 | 721 |
Evil Epocalypse specs and pricing
Evil is releasing two models of the Epocalypse in the EU and UK, but only one model in the US. Evil tells us it should have a limited number of medium and large bikes available at launch, with small and extra-large sizes coming later in August.
Evil Epocalypse RockShox XT I9 Hydra
The cheaper Epocalypse RockShox XT I9 Hydra is the only bike available in the US, EU and UK. When we say cheaper, it's certainly not cheap, but the bike is specced with high-performance components across the board. Bar the questionable Maxxis EXO-casing tyres, nothing is immediately in need of upgrading.
- Frame: Evil Epocalypse, carbon fibre, 166mm (6.5in) travel
- Shock: RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate Coil
- Fork: RockShox ZEB Ultimate Charger 2.1 RC2, 170mm (6.7in) travel
- Drive system: Shimano EP8 motor, Shimano 630Wh battery
- Drivetrain: Shimano XT (1x12)
- Wheelset: Industry 9 Enduro S Hydra wheels, Maxxis Minion DHF 3C MaxxTerra EXO 29x2.5in WT (f and r) tyres
- Brakes: Shimano XT BR-M8120, 203mm rotors
- Bar/stem: Evil Energy Bar, 800mm/Evil 12 Gauge, 45mm
- Seatpost/saddle: BikeYoke Revive/WTB Volt, medium width
- Weight: TBC
- Price: £10,899.99 / $11,999 / €11,999.99
Evil Epocalypse Fox XT Loopholes Hydra
There are two changes to the more expensive Epocalypse Fox XT Loopholes Hydra. The suspension is swapped out for Fox 38 Factory forks and a Fox Float X2 Factory shock. The Industry 9 rims are changed for Evil's Loopholes. These are built on Industry 9 Hydra hubs.
- Frame: Evil Epocalypse, carbon fibre, 166mm (6.5in) travel
- Shock: Fox Float X2 Factory
- Fork: Fox 38 Factory GRIP2, 170mm (6.7in) travel
- Drive system: Shimano EP8 motor, Shimano 630Wh battery
- Drivetrain: Shimano XT (1x12)
- Wheelset: Evil Loophole rims, Industry 9 Hydra hubs, Maxxis Minion DHF 3C MaxxTerra EXO 29x2.5in WT (f and r) tyres
- Brakes: Shimano XT BR-M8120, 203mm rotors
- Bar/stem: Evil Energy Bar, 800mm/Evil 12 Gauge, 45mm
- Seatpost/saddle: BikeYoke Revive/WTB Volt, medium width
- Weight: TBC
- Price: £12,699.99 / €13,999.99
