The Ellsworth Epiphany has been a long time staple in the Ellsworth lineup. Dubbed as their ultimate trail bike, the Epiphany got a host of upgrades with the SST.2 tubing addition that included a slightly lighter overall weight (by a 1/2 pound), curved tubes, asymmetric stays and more custom color options that even includes the rockers and bolts. The Epiphany still features Ellsworth’s ICT (Instant Center Tracking) suspension design which is essentially a faux bar system with strategic pivot placement.
For this review, we enlisted a friend of Bike198 and obsessed bike tester, Roger Philips, to build up the bike and let us know what he thinks. A man on a mission, Roger flies out to Outerbike, attends just about every demo day and rotates bikes in and out of garage as fast as we do in search for the ultimate trail bike. He also has extensive race experience and has traveled all over the world in pursuit of the perfect section of single track.
This bike was sent in as frame only…so let’s take a look at the build.
The Build: Ellsworth Epiphany SST.2
140mm rear wheel travel trail bike from Ellsworth Bicycles – Made in the USA
- Frame Size: Medium at 6.2 lbs. with shock and seat collar
- Fork: Revelation RLT TI 140mm
- Rear Shock: Fox RP23 Kashima
- Headset: Cane Creek 110
- Brakes: Sram Elixr CR 180mm F & R
- Wheelset: Chris King w/DT XR 4.2
- Crankset: SLX Triple 22-32-42
- F. Derailleur: XT
- R. Derailleur: Sram X.9
- Cassette: Sram PG990 11-34
- Shifters: X.9 Trigger
- Handlebars: Easton EC70
- Stem: Thompson 110mm
- Seat: WTB Vigo
- Grips: Ergon
- Pedals: XT
- Tires: Maxxis Ardent 26 x 2.2
Riding the Ellsworth Epiphany With Roger
Let’s take a look at what Roger thought about the Ellsworth Epiphany on the trails in north Georgia.
Initial thoughts:
Weight is 28 lbs even. It could be made lighter with regular grips, lighter saddle, tires and wheels. The black anodized finish looks great that doesn’t chip easily like many other manufacturers painted frames. Kudos to Ellsworth for sticking to a standard threaded bottom bracket. This greatly expands the options for usable cranks and allows you to avoid the short bearing life of the press in type. If the seat tube measured 30.9, it would also provide more options for a dropper post.
Climbing:
The ICT design delivers very efficient seated climbing. It floats over rocks and roots allowing the tires to maintain traction even when you remain in the saddle. Unless the trail is very steep and muddy, any rear tire will hook up. If you have the legs, you should be able to clean any climb on the Epiphany. The 140mm Revelation front fork does not wander, and the long top tube on a medium size frame allows plenty of room to shift your weight for optimal traction.
Descending:
With a 140 Revelation RLT TI up front, this bike loves to fly down rocky rooty trails. The ICT suspension is one of, if not the plushest suspension designs today and floats over rough downhills. For a bike with 5.5” of rear travel, it doesn’t get much softer than this. It’s also quiet with very little chain slap. Braking late and hard into corners is easy since the suspension is always active.
Handling:
With a 70 head angle, the Epiphany is more agile through tight singletrack than other bikes in its class. Normally, a steep head angle means it will be tricky on steep sections, but the long top tube and plush rear suspension keep you pointed straight. One downside that keeps the Epiphany from being the ultimate trailbike is its cornering. Whether riding tight or sweeping turns, the bike wants to push to the outside of the turn. It does not carve very well. Playing with the compression dampening on the fork helps, but in doing so you sacrifice some comfort. After playing with different stem lengths and handlebar rise, nothing turned it into a carving machine. When riding the Epiphany, my center of gravity feels higher than on other bikes in its class. Perhaps this contributes to the cause of this trait.
Just riding along:
The Epiphany devours technical trails. The ICT suspension eats up square edge hits and allows you to stay seated and power through rough sections. Rock gardens are easy since you have a plush rear to absorb everything and great (13.5”) BB clearance to avoid pedal strikes. Pedal strikes can big a huge issue on some other suspension designs. Sure, you can adapt your pedaling style, but in the heat of the moment on an unfamiliar trail, disaster can be one pedal strike away. Some test bikes have had a pedal dig in so hard that the next thing you know you are headed for a tree or over the bars. With the Epiphany, pedal strikes rarely occur.
East Coast vs Moab Riding
I had the opportunity to demo another Epiphany in Moab this fall. It was set up with a Fox Talas, XT components, and Ellsworth Wheels. The new Talas with Kashima coating performs similar to the Revelation on my East Coast bike, so the focus was on how the frame performs on different terrain. I had the bike for a week and rode a number of classic Moab trails including the Whole Enchilada. That trail starts at 11K in the high alpine and descends back down to 4K in the high desert. It has everything from leg burning climbs at altitude, to fast rocky descents with drops and ledges everywhere.
Typical Moab terrain:
Much of the climbing in Moab involves steep sections of trail with ledges thrown in to stop your momentum. With the Epiphany and its incredible rear traction, you just sit and spin up the climb while lofting the front wheel over any ledge in its path. You can then lunge forward and allow the plush ICT suspension to absorb the impact and continue on your way. I ran the Talas fully extended at 140mm for the climbs to avoid getting that feeling of plowing into the hill you get at the lower travel setting of 110mm. Even at 140, there was very little to no wandering of the front end.
Downhill in Moab, the Epiphany is in its element. All you do is sit back and let the bike fly! The plush suspension allows you to rocket down rough sections and launch drops at will. It’s stable and inspires confidence. You can use all of the braking power since there is no suspension induced locking of the rear wheel. The rear end tracks over everything.
While the tacky soil of Southeastern trails lends itself to carving on the bike, the loose rock over hardpack of Moab is not conducive to that type of bike handling. The Epiphany struggles with carving here on our Southern trails, but since you won’t be doing that on the dessert trails it is a non issue.
The Epiphany is one of the very best bikes available for the trails of Moab, Fruita, Gooseberry Mesa and the like. It can climb rutted out sections with ease and bomb the downhills, all while putting a big smile on your face.
Positives: Ellsworth Epiphany SST.2
- Plush suspension that inspires confidence when gravity takes over
- Impressive build quality of the frame
- 70 degree head angle makes for an agile climber
- Fantastic pedaling efficiency while seated
- Eats up technical trail
Negatives: Ellsworth Epiphany SST.2
- Bike tends to plow to the outside on tight or high speed turns.
- Standing while pedaling causes some suspension bob.
- Ellsworth seatpost binder must be super tight to avoid post slippage.
- Needs a 30.9 seatpost for more dropper post options
- Weight is very good at 6.2 lbs, but needs to be in the mid to low 5 lb range to be competitive with a few of the other bikes in its class. Perhaps an Epiphany Carbon?
The Epiphany is very close to being the ultimate trail bike. It’s very plush, pedals great in the saddle, climbs steep, rough, rocky trails with ease, and is a great straight line descender. It also does not have any strange vices like unexplained chainsuck or tires rubbing the seat tube that some other brands exhibit. If only the front end were better planted in turns…then it would be perfect.