Bellingham, WA-based Evil Bikes has partnered with Shimano for the launch of its "first foray into the electric underworld" in the demonic trail-blazing shape of a full suspension trail-hugger known as the Epocalypse.
Largely based around the company's "big-wheeled, ride-anything" downhill trail bike known as the Wreckoning, Evil Bikes has gone all in on Shimano for the motor, battery, brakes, ride display and 12-speed groupset.
The Epocalypse powers through rides with the help of a Shimano EP8 250-W mid-mount motor (though not the latest EP801 flavor) for between 20 and 85 Nm (62.6 lb.ft) of torque, and Class 1 pedal-assist up to 20 mph (or 25 km/h in Europe) over app-adjustable eco, boost and trail power levels (plus walk assist).
The motor also comes with two performance profiles cooked in, one that's tuned to offer heavy torque in boost/trail modes and another that offer more conservative power output to eke more range out of the battery.
Having said that, Evil Bikes hasn't offered any per-charge range estimates for the Shimano BT-E8036 630-Wh frame-integrated battery, but such things very much depend on riding style, terrain and a bunch of other factors anyway. However, a similar motor/battery pairing for Porsche's eBike Sport model announced last year promised to keep gentle riders away from the charging adapter for up to 125 km (77 miles).
Given the kind of terrain this beast is likely to be found in, Evil Bikes has also installed a custom skid plate with rubber padding that affords the motor some bump protection and a shuttle guard on the downtube to keep the battery safe.
The Epocalypse embraces the dark side with a carbon frame in "Wasabi Shadow" that's available in four size options to accommodate riders from 1.6 to 1.93 m (5.25 - 6.3 ft) in height, and sports internal cable routing for a clean-looking ride. Carbon fiber is the material of choice of the handlebar too, which ends in "Palmela Handerson" lock-on grips.
Trail-soaking squish comes courtesy of a Rockshox ZEB Ultimate suspension fork with 170 mm (6.7 in) of travel and 166 mm (6.5 in) from the Rockshox Super Deluxe Coil Ultimate at the back. The rear suspension can be adjusted and tuned via a proprietary DELTA single-pivot linkage system that's designed to achieve "a high degree of suppleness early in the travel, with a very predictable high traction stage through the middle and a bottomless ramp at the end of the travel."
The Evil ebike rolls on 29-inch enduro wheels wearing Maxxis Minion tires (and if you prefer 27.5-inch rims, you're out of luck as doing so "does not allow for proper tire clearance" and will void the warranty). Stopping power shapes up with Shimano XT 4-piston disc brakes with 203-mm (7.9-in) rotors.
Super-short chainstays allow riders to "maneuver through impossibly technical climbs and easily pull up for manuals and trail hits," and there's a dropper seatpost to get the saddle out of the way if needed.
The Epocalypse launched earlier in the week and is reported to carry a suitably diabolic suggested retail price of around US$12k. The video below has more.
Product page: Epocalypse
