News

First Look: Ellsworth Epiphany Shines Bright in the Desert

19.09.2014
by

Ellsworth had some big news at Interbike 2014. They were bought out by BST Nano Carbon, a leading design and carbon fiber manufacturer based in the USA, and will keep building their award winning mountain bikes, as they’ve done for 25 years, but will make a move to BST Nano Carbon’s state-of-the-art 65,000 sq. ft. R&D and manufacturing facility in San Diego, California.

Ellsworth has a slightly different, at least in the US, way of selling bikes. You can go on their website and customize any bike you want, changing out cranks, seat posts, or most other components. Pretty cool.

The bike we looked at was the Epiphany Carbon XC 27.5. Built up as seen in the photos is approximately $8,500 but that will change slightly, as this bike had the new Synergy carbon wheels on it. Synergy is also owned by BST and so becomes a sister company to Ellsworth. I’m expecting some exciting things from them in the very near future.

The Ellsworth Carbon XC 27.5 features 140mm of travel and Instant Center Tracking.
The Ellsworth Carbon XC 27.5 features 140mm of travel and Instant Center Tracking.

For now, let’s take a look at some of the highlights of the sweet looking Epiphany.

  • Zero Energy Loss, Fully Active ICT (Instant Center Tracking) Suspension design
  • XTR build kit
  • Race Face Next SL carbon cranks (single ring)
  • Synergy Cantilever carbon wheels
  • Fox 34 and Float CTD suspension
  • 70º head tube angle, 438mm chain stay length
  • Lifetime warranty on frames
All Ellsworth tubes and linkages are optimized for strength, rigidity, weight, and tube joint interfaces.
All Ellsworth tubes and linkages are optimized for strength, rigidity, weight, and tube joint interfaces.
Race Face carbon Next SL cranks are light and stiff.
Race Face carbon Next SL cranks are light and stiff.
Carbon seatstay.
Carbon seatstay.
Custom Ellsworth stamped WTB saddle.
Custom Ellsworth stamped WTB saddle.
XTR build kit with Thomson cockpit. Bling!
XTR build kit with Thomson cockpit. Bling!
Very attractive lines on the 2015 Epiphany.
Very attractive lines on the 2015 Epiphany.
Kenda Honey Badgers mounted onto new Synergy Canitlever carbon wheels.
Kenda Honey Badgers mounted onto new Synergy Canitlever carbon wheels.
Aluminum rocker arm. Look for more carbon in the future.
Aluminum rocker arm. Look for more carbon in the future.
Semi-integrated tapered head tube provides front end stiffness, with the emblematic Ellsworth "E" looking over it all.
Semi-integrated tapered head tube provides front end stiffness, with the emblematic Ellsworth “E” looking over it all.
Ellsworth Bikes’ Founder Tony Ellsworth will oversee the brand’s product design and work closely with BST Nano Carbon’s engineering and advanced materials team to create the next generation of Ellsworth bicycles. Look for more news coming soon. You can find out more about Ellsworth bikes on their website.

Words, Photos: Daniel Dunn

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