29er, Canfield Brothers, Cross Country, EPO - October 20, 2015

First Look: Canfield Brothers Carbon EPO 29er

The Canfield EPO is a carbon 29er that is slack and low with a short chainstay for nimble handling and fun (click to enlarge).

Chris and Lance Canfield have been riding, racing, designing and building bikes for the better part of two decades now. The Utah based brothers have always been on the downhill/freeride side of mountain biking so for them to build a carbon 29er hardtail, you just know it’s not going to be your ordinary weight weenie XC racer.

The EPO is available in 3 graphcis options, black frame with white, red or blue highlights (click to enlarge).

In fact, the name alone signifies their “in your face” attitude towards the norm (‘so much fun, it feels like cheating’). Clearly, the EPO is targeted for aggressive all mountain riding and is built to be durable, huckable and fun.

Like all Canfields, the EPO is designed for all mountain huckability (click to enlarge).

The EPO is designed with similar geometry the the Canfield Yelli Screamy alloy hardtail. The EPO features a 66.8 degree headtube angle and when matched up with a 140 mm fork and super short 16.3″ chainstays it creates a very agile descender. Chris and Lance spent over two years developing and testing a variety of carbon molds, weaves and layups to make sure that the EPO was up to the task and worthy of wearing their signature skull headbadge.

Co-owner and designer Lance explains, “As a highend brand focused on technology and performance, carbon fiber is a natural evolution for our product line. But with our background in downhill and freeride, strength and durability will always come out ahead of weight savings for us. That said, you’ll find this bike climbs surprisingly well, but we don’t believe that just because you’ve got miles to burn, you should feel like you’re on a road bike. The geometry was designed to be fun and playful—especially when pointed down—just like all of our bikes. The EPO is all about ‘injecting’ carbon hardtails with some fun.”

The EPO has a frame weight of 1450 grams and is one of the only carbon mountain hardtails available that has meets the stringent new ISO all mountain standards. It features weaves of varying thickness to add strength and lateral stiffness where it is needed. At the same time, the bike was formulated to provide a vertically compliant ride. Other highlights include a 142×12 rear thru-axle, ISCG mounts, 1x or front derailleur compatibility and a threaded bottom bracket (to minimize squeaks and creaks).

The EPO is available in matte black with white, blue or red graphics in both medium and large size. It retails for $1,500 (frame only) and is available now at Canfieldbrothers.com.

Click here to view the embedded video.