First Look: Canfield Brothers EPO Hardtail
Picture a carbon-framed hardtail with 29" wheels, and more than likely the image that comes to mind is an XC race machine, something designed more for going up hills rather than bombing down them. Canfield Brothers are hoping to change that notion with the EPO, a carbon 29er hardtail designed for all-mountain riding, despite having a name that suggests otherwise.
Key geometry numbers include short 414mm chainstays, a relatively slack 66.8° head angle, and a reach of 450mm for a size large. There are a handful of steel and aluminum hardtails currently on the market with similar numbers, but it's the EPO's 1450 gram carbon frame that sets it apart, allowing for complete builds to easily come in under 26 pounds without taking any drastic weight saving measures.
Key geometry numbers include short 414mm chainstays, a relatively slack 66.8° head angle, and a reach of 450mm for a size large. There are a handful of steel and aluminum hardtails currently on the market with similar numbers, but it's the EPO's 1450 gram carbon frame that sets it apart, allowing for complete builds to easily come in under 26 pounds without taking any drastic weight saving measures.
Canfield EPO Hardtail
• Wheel size: 29"
• 66.8° with a 140mm fork
• 414mm chainstay length
• Front derailleur compatible
• ISCG 05 tabs
• Sizes: medium, large
• Matte black frame with white, blue, or red graphics
• MSRP: $1500 USD (frame only)
• www.canfieldbrothers.com / @CanfieldBrothers
• Wheel size: 29"
• 66.8° with a 140mm fork
• 414mm chainstay length
• Front derailleur compatible
• ISCG 05 tabs
• Sizes: medium, large
• Matte black frame with white, blue, or red graphics
• MSRP: $1500 USD (frame only)
• www.canfieldbrothers.com / @CanfieldBrothers
The curvy black frame has just about everything you'd look for in a hardtail - a threaded 73mm bottom bracket shell, 12x142 rear spacing, ISCG 05 tabs, but surprisingly there's no stealth dropper post routing, which means that the housing will need to run on the outside of the frame rather than being tucked away neatly inside.
The EPO is a niche item aimed at a select audience, which is why it will initially only be available in two sizes, medium and large, but that could change in the future depending on demand. Available directly from Canfield Brothers, the frame alone retails for $1500 USD.
Canfield's distinctive head tube badge.
The EPO's beefy head tube junction makes it clear that it's built for more than just cross-country cruising.
The rear brake is mounted to both the seat and chain stay.
There's no internal routing to be seen on the EPO - all the housing runs along the underside of the top tube.
Geometry
Canfield Brothers employee Vin Quenneville logging some air time aboard the EPO. Photo: Brian Chapel
First Ride Impressions
My time aboard the EPO started off with a fast, rough descent, which served as an immediate reminder that it'd been a while since I last swung a leg over a hardtail. Months of riding cushy full suspension rigs had made me complacent when faced with jumbles of roots or rock drops, resulting in a few jolts to my spine I could have done without, but once I reawakened the proper hardtail riding technique from hibernation things drastically improved.
The EPO has a well-rounded blend of stability and quickness, which makes it possible to open it up when the trail straightens out, and then dive in and out of tight turns with minimal fuss. There's a snappiness to the EPO's handling that sets it apart from a steel framed hardtail, and that trait combined with the short chainstays makes for a bike that begs to be jumped and manualed at every opportunity. Even with a 140mm fork (the longest travel option that Canfield recommends) the steering felt extremely precise, and I'd have trouble coming up with a reason to go with less travel up front. Given how stiff the frame is, that 140mm of front suspension goes a long way towards reducing the amount of hand fatigue that can result from pounding through rutted and rocky trails.
The EPO isn't afraid to take on steeper, more technical terrain either, and it wasn't long before long I found myself charging into sections of trail at speeds that I usually reserve for bikes with front and rear suspension. Of course, a full suspension bike is going to have the edge when it comes to maintaining speed in chewed and chopped up sections of trail, but the EPO can still hold its own, as long as your body can handle the extra feedback. The carbon fiber does provide a slight amount of vibration damping, and the bigger wheels help add a little extra cushion, but this is still a hardtail through and through, and smoothness is always going to be rewarded more than a smash-and-bash riding style.
Final Thoughts
 | You'd be hard pressed to find another bike like the EPO currently on the market, but Canfield Brothers have always marched to the beat of a slightly different drum. The price tag will certainly be a sticking point for some riders, and the lack of stealth dropper post routing is a little odd, but for the hardtail fanatic looking for something out of the ordinary, the EPO might be just what the doctor ordered. - Mike Kazimer |
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Honest question: Does anybody know what "handful" these might be? I'm on the market for a hardtail like this, but would prefer steel.
Just might be a bit of a search to find one, Marin discontinued the line for 2016 but you might be able to find a 2015 version through one of their dealers, and for slightly less. (This was the case when I bought a 2014 version almost a year ago. Missed out on a dropped post and such but it's nothing major, and the bike has handled my lack of serious riding mentality well.)
Guerrilla Gravity also coming out with one designed to take 27.5+ and good old-fashioned 29.
Been looking around for some time, now, and I'm pretty sure it'll be a Nimble 9 that I'll wind up with (unless GG knocks it out of the park for me) when they become available. Any changes in color schemes for the N9, KVT?
I think a few brands actually take the trouble to calculate the CS with various length forks, but my estimate of 3mm for 30mm of additional fork travel is probably insignificant to them. The less BB drop there is, the less the CS length changes for a change in fork travel, but more the BB height changes, when you alter the fork's travel.
And while I like the geometry and concept, I'd still prefer old fashioned straight tubes over all this swoopy curvy stuff.
I'm a little leery of more than 120mm of travel in a hardtail, due to the stapler effect, but I want to give one of these a try.
You will get an wandering front end (piece) if you stick a 140 on a frame designed for 100 or 120. But not the EPO...
@WAKIdesigns See my above about the DT swiss fork, it rewards putting a bit more air in the spring, & running very little compression (I run 2 clicks max, though I'm only 155 Lbs.)
Little gripes aside; that is a perfect bike.
But it was and still is far from a "deal"
When the time is right, i will own a C. Bros again.
and I love the look of my friends and other people puzzled how fast I am on my single speed.
This just shows how full of BS SRAM® is with their BOOST™ 148.