The Evil Epocalypse - A Hard Charging E-Bike W/ Shimano EP8 Motor

What Happens When Evil Puts A Shimano Motor In A Wreckoning Inspired Platform?

The Evil Epocalypse is the brand's newest bike to really round out its lineup, but what makes it different? Well, a Shimano EP8 motor is a big difference from the rest of the Evil lineup. That's right, Evil is releasing their first e-bike. And they took all sorts of design and geometry cues from their popular Evil Wreckoning. Rocking 29” wheels front and rear, the Evil Epocalypse is a heavy hitting e-bike ready to hit repeat climbs and handle any type of terrain you want to ride on the way back down. 

There is 166mm of rear travel on the Evil Epocalypse driven by their patented DELTA System. This Dave Weagle-designed squish system delivers off the top suppleness with a ton of progression allowing you to ride hard without any doubts. Mounted up front is a 170mm fork, meaning the Epocalypse is ready to party hard as proved by the incredibly short 442mm chainstays, which are some of the shortest e-bike chainstays on the market for a 29” rear wheel. Needless to say, this bike has Evil DNA in it. As mentioned above, the Shimano EP8 motor is spec’d on the Epocalypse with 85nm of torque from the motor and a 630Wh battery, making it equal to some of the other e-bikes that are designed to ride hard like this one. The features don't stop there. Evil provides a custom skid plate around the bottom of the motor and downtube of the bike, a customer shuttle guard to protect the battery cover when transporting the bike, a SRAM UDH derailleur hanger, and loads of chainstay protection to keep everything quiet. 

Specs: 

• Geometry mimics Evil Wreckoning
• DELTA Suspension System
• Shimano EP8 Motor
• Short Chainstays at 442mm
• Superboost+ 157mm Rear Axle Spacing
• Geometry Flip Chip
• Evil E-Bike Handlebar
• Easy to Swap Battery
• Internal Guided Tubes
• Custom Skid Plate and Shuttle Shield
• Ample Chainstay Slap Protection
• Tapered Headtube
• 30.9 Seatpost Diameter
• Integrated Upper Chainguide
• Trunnion Shock (205x65)

Geometry:

Comparison: Evil Epocalypse VS Yeti 160E

The new Evil Epocalypse is one of the more thoughtfully designed e-bikes on the market and can be easily compared to another bike from a Colorado brand: the 160E from Yeti. Both rock about 160mm of rear travel with the Evil besting the Yeti by 6mm. Both bikes also have 170mm forks, 29” wheels, and use the Shimano EP8 motor with the 630Wh battery. That isn't where the similarities stop, however. The geometry of the two bikes are almost identical. The headtube angle of the Evil Epocalypse is 64.6 in x-low whereas the Yeti 160E is 64.5. Reach numbers only differ by 2mm with the Evil being the longer of the two, with 462mm and 482mm for medium and large, respectively. Chainstay length is maybe one of the only notable differences, and even then it’s only a 4mm difference. The Evil Epocalypse has super short 442mm chainstays and the 160E is still a short 446mm. The two even have similar battery integration, can easily swap batteries with tons of frame protection around the battery and chainstay area, and both are spec’d with SRAM UDH as well. 

If I had to point out some differences, the biggest one would be the suspension layout. The Evil Epocalypse uses the brand's tried and true DELTA System, whereas the Yeti rocks their new Sixfinity system. One of the last differences is the Epocalypse has a geometry flip chip to do some slight tweaking of the numbers while the 160E is fixed in geometry but has a very useful suspension progression adjustment with three different positions in total. 

What's Worldwide's Takeaway?:

Evil has always made some of the most fun bikes to ride, going all the way back to their innovative Following which really changed the way 29” bikes rode. This could very well be the case with Evil Epocalypse e-bike. With some of the shortest chainstays on the market for a 29” wheel, Evil is back to trying to make bikes ride more fun. With proven geometry and suspension design from their Wreckoning, the Evil Epocalypse looks like a blast to ride. While rocking other tried and true parts like the Shimano EP8 motor and battery system, there is now a new e-bike on the market that might make you think twice about saying e-bikes can’t jump or be playful. After all, Evil loves to prove people wrong.