The Cape Epic always turns up plenty of new gear. We already know that the Canyon Topeak Factory Team are riding on a new cross-country full-suspension bike. But the Imbuko-Momsen team of Dylan Rybello and Marco Joubert have been spotted on something different to the normal Vipa Race.
Compared to the Vipa Race, this bike looks to have up-sized the carbon tubing, and moved the cable entries away from the side of the head tube to the downtube.
The suspension action from the Vipa Race looks to remain, however the shock location is a little different, and has moved to a trunnion mount. The main frame still has room for two full-sized bidons.
A bit of searching shows that Bike Hub have spotted the bikes and got up close and personal. It looks like the larger frame tubing sizes allow for two chambers for spares, keeping tools/spares or even food within the frame.
Their photos also show that the shock’s trunnion mount may be able to be flipped, which would likely slacken the bike a little and drop the bottom bracket.
The swing arm has gone up about 3 sizes, no doubt adding stiffness to the back end. The Vipa Race had 80mm of travel, and we suspect this could edge up to 100mm. Bike Hub confirmed the frame and fork now use Boost spacing.
Both riders have very short stems for their cockpit, so there may be a revision of geometry too, adopting the longer setup that many XC bikes are now moving to, so riders can really attack the technical features of a trail and ride more relaxed and efficiently.
With Momsen holding an event at the end of the week we’re certain more will be revealed soon!