Picture might differ from specification.
Picture might differ from specification.
We planned to do the Evolve FS in three sizes, S/M/L. But then something very confusing happened: we received the first sample in M size, and riders from 1.60 to 1.80 all seemed to fit perfectly on that bike. Trying to understand it gave us some sleepless nights. Lots of measurements were taken, photos and geometries analyzed. Finally we brought the bike to Andreas Gösele, doctor of the Swiss Olympic team and a well known bike fitting expert. As it turned out, we created a highly adaptable geometry, and an S size is simply not needed.
Whether you classify the Evolve FS as a cross-country or a down-country bike is up to you. What's important to us is that it's just incredibly fun – both uphill and downhill.
Modern cross-country race courses demand a lot from riders and equipment. That's why the Evolve FS underwent rigorous testing by the EFBE Institute and was cleared for ASTM 3.
The Evolve FS is designed to be used with shorter stems than what usual is used in XC. We recommend stems that are 35 to 70 mm long.
There is an important relationship between head tube angle and stem length. A steeper head tube angle makes for a faster, sometimes twitchy steering, while a slacker head tube angle feels more controlled, but needs more rider input. A longer stem on the other hand will slow down the steering and make that steep head tube angle more controlled, while a short stem will create a more direct feeling and speed up steering. So a short stem with a slack head tube angle will feel somewhat similar in terms of steering like a long stem with a steep head tube angle, but it places you further behind the front wheel, putting you in a better position to attack steep descents with confidence.
The Evolve FS is available in the Fox Factory version with a remote option. However, the variant with Fox Performance suspension components is unfortunately not available with a remote optio
Fortunately, we were on-site and were able to take over the defective frame directly and provide the rider with a new one. From then everything ran at full speed for us because we wanted to know exactly what had happened here.
We tested frames until they failed, deliberately damaged frames, and tested them again, but we could not reproduce this scenario. The reliability of our products is extremely important to us, which is why we decided to revise the layup of the Evolve FS again to be on the safe side.
The Evolve FS was then tested in addition to the intensive tests at the manufacturer also at the EFBE Institute and passed the test bench tests for ASTM 3 and even exceeded them significantly.
"Selbst nach acht Monaten im Dauereinsatz begeistert mich das ARC8 Evolve FS wie am ersten Tag. Den Schweizern ist hier in meinen Augen das perfekte Racebike gelungen: schnell auf der Rennstrecke, spaßig im Alltag und vor allem langlebig."
(...) fast schon eine kleine Sensation. Während der Testfahrten auf Schehls Trainingsrunde fuhr sich das ARC8 direkt in die Herzen unserer Tester (...) Noch nie war ein Racefully so leicht, vortriebsstark und gleichzeitig souverän bergab. Kurzum: leichtestes Bike, schnellstes Bike, Testsieg!
No other bike currently available on the market offers such a good compromise between weight and trail performance.
Read full postARC8 (...) used some well-thought-out solutions and engineering to make a unique bike that may be more impressive than a lot of other XC and downcountry bikes on offer at the moment. And perhaps for a while to come.