Epic Evo Clone

[vtsteevo]

Could someone that built this up confirm actual rear travel please?

[Dictatorsaurus]

I asked Airwolf about the YFM-059 frame. This was their response:

Yes,the hardware is come with the frame to install a shock
For the shock,it is 19040 or 20050mm can fit
The rear travel is 110mm

[uberamd]

Yeah, same here. Seems the second hand market in EU is still very strong compared to USA etc. A lot of the prices are not much lower compared to buying a new frame... For the price of a second hand frame, you can build a complete bike with chiner frame.

Fair enough. Obviously people will do what makes sense for their situations.

Its a balancing act of finding a good deal, finding a reliable frame to build your bike with, and having the ability to resell it down the road should you want to do a new build. I'd never ever be comfortable selling a knock off used frame. Not given all the stuff I've had to do over the years to keep this thing rolling. So my $700 frame has $0 resale value. Where as a $1000 used frame will still get you $750 or so in a few years if you take care of it.

[monocongo]

Heads up -- the bolts/hardware provided by Airwolf on the frame I purchased this time last year are garbage. I managed to get one replacement bolt after some push back and now I have a request for more. See attached photos. This has caused lots of noises and some trips to bike shops when I finally gave up (I'm not the best mechanic but I try first).

The hardware set for Specialized Epic Evo are incompatible so it's either get more (crappy?) hardware from Airwolf or machine your own, right? Or is there another possible solution here? I guess sometimes you get what you pay for, and this is part of the DIY adventure? Good times!

[akuutti247]

Hello

My first front triangle had a loose bottom bracket insert on the drive side. I got a new warranty replacement front triangle on the 15th of October. Today we did a 2-hour zone 2 ride and I noticed odd crank wobble during the ride. The left side BSA bottom bracket insert is loose: it shakes and rattles. The frame lasted less than 300 kilometers this time. Let´s see how Airwolf deals with it.

Aku

[monocongo]

Is this the same frame that Airwolf has been selling? https://www.diycarbonbikes.com/collections/fullsuspensionframes/products/dcb-fxu120-specialized-epic-evo-style-carbon-frame-29er-120mm-udh?variant=40832375881808

Any chance this is a better version, or is the DIY guy just acting as a domestic reseller? If it has better/reliable hardware and the actual stated rear travel (110mm with 190x45 shock) then I'm interested. I suspect it's just the same thing but sold at a premium due to it being a US seller (perhaps less sketchy than dealing with Chinese factory).

[akuutti247]

The frame and geometry seem to be same. The assembled bike pictures below have a different frame (look at the linkage). I don´t believe it has more than 100 mm travel, with a 190x45 shock it has less.

[akuutti247]

This frame travel thing started to interest me, so I measured it. I taped a rod to the saddle and measured the distance between rear tire and the rod: full length shock and a deflated. Using a shock measurement 190x45 the distance difference was 8 cm, so the rear travel is about 8 cm (or a bit more), nowhere near 11 or 12. I also ride a RM Element with 12 cm travel and Epic clone feels it has a lot less. Epic clone feels almost perfect for marathons with a lot of ascending, but it is not a long travel XC frame.

[akuutti247]

Measuring the travel:

[uberamd]

Hello

My first front triangle had a loose bottom bracket insert on the drive side. I got a new warranty replacement front triangle on the 15th of October. Today we did a 2-hour zone 2 ride and I noticed odd crank wobble during the ride. The left side BSA bottom bracket insert is loose: it shakes and rattles. The frame lasted less than 300 kilometers this time. Let´s see how Airwolf deals with it.

Aku

Seems I'm not the only one who has had bad luck with Airwolf. I have their Stumpjumper clone frame and the threads in the main pivot were so bad that they stripped out completely after a measly 4nm of torque while performing a basic bolt check. Airwolf was willing to send me new bolts () but unwilling to replace the front triangle which is where the problem actually is, and completely ghosted me.

So my AirWolf frame is rocking DIY helicoil inserts secured with loctite red and some Trek branded pivot bolts to make the frame actually ridable. I already had a pretty low opinion of Airwolf after this, given the frame I bought from them was $700 USD after tax and shipping and didn't even last a single ride. But this kind of stuff confirms it for me: stay away from Airwolf.

[uberamd]

Is this the same frame that Airwolf has been selling? https://www.diycarbonbikes.com/collections/fullsuspensionframes/products/dcb-fxu120-specialized-epic-evo-style-carbon-frame-29er-120mm-udh?variant=40832375881808

Any chance this is a better version, or is the DIY guy just acting as a domestic reseller? If it has better/reliable hardware and the actual stated rear travel (110mm with 190x45 shock) then I'm interested. I suspect it's just the same thing but sold at a premium due to it being a US seller (perhaps less sketchy than dealing with Chinese factory).

Most certainly the same frame, same factory, marked up due to a US middle man with potentially easier warranty dealings. I doubly think that because its the exact same hardware, same linkage, and same line about the frame being way more rear travel than it actually is.

Only speaking for myself, but if I was flirting with dropping $1000 on a chinese carbon frame I'd really dive into my local market to see what other options there are for frames. You're paying a lot, twice now, for an 80mm travel frame being advertised as a 110/120mm frame.

[Imminent Injuries]

The rear shock linkage, where it connects to the rear triangle in two places, has bushings in it with poly flanges.  However, I've noticed the way they sit against the CF frame causes significant resistance unless you run the bolts so loose that there is play and they risk backing out.  Not great for small bump compliance at the recommended torque spec.  The backing out of screws is easily fixed with red loctite, but you are still fighting the battle of play in the linkage vs too much resistance on the bushings.  Seems a relatively straightforward okayish fix with some greased M8x16 shims, but definitely an oversight on the design.

Will follow up with pics and my solution in a few days if I'm happy with the shims.

Also for those who said 2.5mm shim under the headset cap, I've 3d printed a few at different thicknesses and found 3.5mm to be a better fit.  At 2.5mm, it crushes the rubber gasket in the headset cap a little more than necessary for sealing.

Also, my recently purchased frame has a rubber gasket for the brake/RD lines at the bottom bracket/lower rear triangle junction, so it seems they are still improving things.  I do wish the seatpost could be inserted further, but given the role of the frame I can live with it.

They still don't have a gasket for where the Brake/RD cables enter near the headtube, but I'll probably print a solution for that too once my roll of TPU filament arrives.

[bennyjamboy]

I’m waiting for my YFM059 to arrive, so these tips are super helpful! I'm also keen to hear what other mods people have made.