The only changes I made were a long 80mm stem.
Was a bit muddy out there.
Screenshot
Fit wise it felt AOK! Suspension wise the bike was a lot more squishy than my Chisel. Bit bobby up tech stuff too. Surprisingly I got no PR’s at all.
I rode the Epic yesterday, today I took my Chisel out for a back to back comparo.
Lots of PR’s!
Put 40mm risers bars on and yup. It’s pretty much a trail bike now, albeit a really light and poppy one! Comparing Strava data to yesterday’s ride on the same loop with Gina’s 29er Epic EVO I was more than 2km/hr average faster on the Chisel with the smaller 27.5″ wheels. What’s interesting is that I got 4 PR’s (got none yesterday on the Epic), of note a PR on the 3 minute Kirrawee Burning Legs Climb.
I think the data (I have a lot of it now) is confirming that I just don’t make enough power to make the most out of bigger 29″ wheels and I especially struggle to crank the bigger wheels (and weight as my Starling Murmur is almost 5kg heavier than my Chisel and the Epic is 2kg heavier) up tech features vs. shifting my body weight to more easily shove the Chisel up the technical stuff with the smaller wheels.