EB16: Bionicon rEVO simplifies naming with updated geometry; plus new 3ngine 275+ eMTB

The on-the-fly adjustable suspension engineers at Bionicon have another update to their flagship all-mountain bike this fall, with the revamped bike getting simply rebranded as the rEVO. While it shares a similar name to the special edition bike that they produced last summer, the new rEVO takes its geometry updates a step beyond and will replace the Edison EVO entirely. At the same time, Bionicon has jumped a bit deeper into the e-bike market, with their new 3ngine e-MTB built around a Shimano E8000 motor and some interchangeable dropouts for multiple wheel size compatibility…

rEVO

Apparently the Edison family didn’t like having their name associated with a shape shifting AM bike, so Bionicon has dropped that moniker to stick with the simpler rEVO model name. The bikes will carry over the full on-the-fly pneumatically adjustable geometry Bionicon System that makes them climb like a champ (one Non-Bionicon System – NBS bike will also be available). They will stick with 27.5″ wheels in this latest update, and still be available with either 160mm or 180mm of travel to tackle a wide range of aggressive trail riding and descending.

Geometry for the new bikes stretches out quite a bit vs. the 2016 EVO with new frame reaches about 2cm longer across the full size range. That gives the new medium-sized 160mm bike a 432mm reach (451 on the large) and the longer travel 180mm bike a 422mm reach (442mm in large.) Those obviously get paired with shorter stems, but otherwise the bikes keep the same slack head angles that they already had by virtue of their adjustable geometry system for climbing performance (65.5° on the 160mm & 64.7° on the 180mm.)

The rEVo will be available in two specs for the 160mm version. One with X-Fusion suspension tied to the adjustable geometry setup, and another that swaps in a Rock Shox Pike & Monarch Plus for fixed geometry.  The 180 rEVO is only available with the X-Fusion Metric HLR fork and Vector HLR shock. Bioincon works closely with X-Fusion to develop all the suspension component designs for these bikes, and even showed us a new prototype of the next generation dual-air Vector shock that they are developing with a revised dual IFP (Internal Floating Piston) design.

3ngine 27.5+140

The new Engine 27.5+ becomes the first dedicate eMTB for Bionicon, who had previously had a bike with a crank-based e-motor. (And let’s just agree to spell the bikes name with an E, so we don’t have to keep putting a 3 there, and admit that naming an e-bike Engine is as appropriate and transparent as a bike maker can get.)

The Engine gets 140mm of trail riding travel care of an X-Fusion O2 RL shock and 3″ Schwalbe tires to put the power down. The e-bike gets external routing, except for the Lev dropper post routed into the seattube.

The new Engine is built around Shimano’s E8000 drive motor, which offers one of the shortest possible chainstay lengths for an e-bike. Bionicon still had to resort to a bit of rear end reshaping to get the high-pivot 4-bar suspension setup that they wanted. Geometry wise the Engine looks pretty much like Bionicon’s previous mid-travel trail bikes. Reach is maybe a bit shorter at 422mm for a medium (447mm for large) with the idea to get a slightly more upright, power-assisted position on the bike.

They also paired the relatively short stays of the Shimano motor with 27.5+ wheels to get the most grip out of the electric assist. And that’s probably a good call, as the E8000 system feels like it has so much torque that you probably really need wide tires and super low pressure to keep the rear end hooked up on the trail.

But for those looking to opt for a smaller tire diameter, Bionicon gave the Engine a set of modular Boost 148mm spaced rear dropouts that will let them provide an option to go with standard 27″ wheels (or 26+?) with just a bolt-on update to the frame. Putting the post mounts on the dropout extension makes for a long adapter depending on wheel size, but solves brake layout concerns.

The Engine 27.5+ will be available in just one complete bike spec, pairing the E8000 motor, a SRAM X1 drivetrain, 200/180mm Guide R brakes, and a X-Fusion McQueen HLR 140mm fork.

EVO.Bionicon.com