First Look: Empire Cycles MX6-EVO

Okay, first things first. It's not just an enduro bike. It's a mountain bike. Designed for riding all-day on big hills. We like racing but we also like just riding. Steep up, steeper down. Repeat until your legs fall off.

The MX6-EVO is a 150mm travel bike that likes - no, needs - gradients. It's a proper mountain bike. Built for clambering up stuff and then carving its way back down the other side.

The MX6-EVO can be run as either a 26" or a 27.5" wheel bike. Use your existing 26" stuff. Move to 27.5" if you want to later on. No problem. No hassle.

We supply different mounting hardware specifically for each wheel size. Mounting hardware that results in the same geometry for each wheel size. Our custom made adaptors for the head tube and the swing arm take into account the differences in each wheel size option. There's no cut 'n' shut bodging or fudging here. Properly thought out. Properly executed.

150mm travel at the back. 150mm forks up front gives a 66.5° head angle with a 73° seat angle. 135 or 142mm rear hub compatible. These numbers work for proper mountain biking.

You can no doubt find these "golden numbers" on other mountain bikes out there but the MX6-EVO has a couple of unique qualities that you'll not find anywhere else: chassis feel and suspension performance.

There is a reason why Empire bikes look the way they do. They aren't fabricated like any other mountain bike out there. From the iconic head tube through to the rear swing arm, the MX6-EVO prizes stiffness. Nothing rides like the MX6-EVO. It's agile, confidence inspiring, planted and playful.

We believe our pivot design is the best in the business. Full-compliment needle bearings are used in the main pivot, as unlike most other bike bearings, they are designed to take high loads during repetitively pivoting movements. There's no flexing or binding here. You won't be replacing creaky bearings every few months on this bike either, our bearings are tough as hell. As well as being durable they're super slick.

They look like super strong mini-DH bikes but they ride like nimble trail bikes. The key to this is our suspension design. Our carefully located pivot point and shock deliver excellent high speed bump absorption, constant wheelbase stability and a spot-on rising rate for exceptional feel and response. The rock solid responsive chassis mated to the platform rear damper gives superb pedalling efficiency, combined with unparalleled suspension performance. That is what this bike is all about.

Drivetrain is a personal choice - your choice. 2 by 10, sorted. 1 by 10, sorted. 1 x 11, sorted. You choose - it fits.

The MX6-EVO - it's a bike for real riding on challenging terrain. It has a strong DH pedigree in its DNA that comes over from our cult classic AP-1 downhill bike. At the velocities that you'll find yourself aboard the MX6-EVO it's good to have a strong grip and some clean underwear!

We're mountain bikers at Empire Cycles. We are also detail-obsessed control-freak engineers, who strive for perfection. We know what we want in a bike. We know what works and we know what doesn't. We know what's important and we know what's a gimmick.

The MX6-EVO has no gimmicks. It's a totally dialled modern mountain bike.

Quote from Chris Williams - MD of Empire Cycles:

"The MX6-EVO has had many hours spent on it. We've been working on it for over two years. It is a great bike... the best bike we've ever produced. We are aiming and will continue to aim for perfection in everything we do.

We've had a great time testing it, learning from it, making adjustments where necessary and talking to people out on the trails about what they really want.

It's a fun, yet incredibly capable mountain bike. So much so that people are stunned when they first ride one. 'Best bike I've ever ridden' is not an uncommon comment.

We've also worked hard to make the bike affordable in these times of megabucks bikes, and one that's built in the UK too."

The MX6-EVO is made in the UK. All our frames are designed in the UK, tested in the UK and manufactured in the UK. It is very much a case of being the British Empire. This is not about blind patriotism - it's about quality of product, design adaptability and overall control. These are our bikes.

The MX6-EVO frameset starts from just £999.00 including RockShox RT3 and Maxle. This sort of quality ride and workmanship is unheard of at this price.

Complete builds start from £2499.00. That's with RockShox, Hope, Stan's and Continental providing the finishing kit.

To read more about the MX6-EVO and to book yourself on to a demo day and test ride please visit www.empire-cycles.com or email us on [email protected]