VITUS E-ESCARPE VRX

£4,999.99 Can it measure up to its big (travel) brother?

Having had great success with their 160mm-travel E-Sommet, Vitus have now released an electric Escarpe, with 20mm less bounce but the same Shimano STEPS motor and battery. As we’ve come to expect from the Irish direct-sale brand, there aren’t any duds on the spec list. On this top VRX model, that includes a Fox 36 Factory fork with GRIP2 damper, an ultra-grippy Maxxis Assegai front tyre and 12-speed Shimano XTR gearing, among other sorted goodies.

The frame

Less integrated than many newgeneration e-bike frames, Vitus’s aluminium chassis has an external battery mounted on top of the down tube. This is at the expense of smooth lines, but presumably saves weight and doesn’t affect functionality. The seat tube is split to wrap around a Factory-level Fox DPS shock, which delivers 140mm of rear travel via a four-bar linkage suspension layout. Vitus have equipped the E-Escarpe with the same Shimano motor as the Canyon and YT. In common with the brand’s ‘analogue’ bikes, the top tube is relatively tall, somewhat reducing standover clearance. This and the tubing profiles are the only things that aren’t uber-modern though, because the geometry is spot-on, with a reasonable reach (467mm on size large) and slacked-out angles.

The kit

You get top-tier Fox suspension, with the brilliant FIT GRIP2 fourway adjustable damper in the 140mm fork, and Kashima coating at both ends. DT Swiss wheels with toughened rims and a perfect Maxxis tyre combo are everything you could wish for. The Nukeproof bar is nice and wide, although we’d prefer a shorter stem. While the Brand-X dropper post is generic, it has 150mm of travel and is crowned with a comfy WTB Volt saddle. In sub-zero testing, we had bite-point issues with the new Shimano XT brakes, where the rear lever pulled closer to the bar, and had to bleed them to cure it. The latest XTR gears work fantastically well, even if the massive 51-tooth sprocket on the cassette is overkill for an e-bike and tricky to spin with control, even on the steepest pitches.

The ride

The E-Escarpe rides light and feels chuckable, up and downhill. Seated climbing is good, although the suspension dips into its travel a little readily, which shifts your weight a bit behind the ideal position. You soon forget about this when standing up though, and the suspension is supple and grippy so it’s easy to

carve confidently along bendy trails and feel cocky while descending. The frame doesn’t feel quite as stiff as the YT’s or Canyon’s (or Vitus’s own Sommet) on the roughest DH tracks, and it took a couple of rides to dial in the right bar height, which points to the handling not being as intuitive as that of the two German bikes either.

In common with the other ‘mullets’ on test, the subtle difference in the way the smaller 650b rear wheel carves a tighter arc than the 29in front wheel can cause the latter to feel light in the apex of turns. This necessitates careful attention to stem height, to best load the front tyre for balance. With the stem being longer and the bottom bracket higher than on the other bikes here, this effect is slightly exaggerated on the Vitus, making you feel less stable than on the others. The phenomenal Assegai front tyre is totally planted though, and easily the grippiest here. Paired with the brilliant Fox 36 fork, it means you can lean the E-Escarpe right over and really press on the front for massive cornering and off-camber confidence.

The Vitus’s geometry and shape are good, and it uses the same smooth and seamless Shimano motor as the Canyon and YT, although this feels noticeably quicker and more pokey here – possibly aided by the light, fast-rolling DT Swiss wheels. Suspension and rider weight is never quite as perfectly stable and balanced as on the Decoy though, whether charging up or hammering downhill.

The E Escarpe has a kit list to die for, but it’s not as balanced as Vitus’s longer-travel E Sommet

THE E ESCARPE RIDES LIGHT AND FEELS CHUCKABLE, UP AND DOWN HILL. THE SUSPENSION IS SUPPLE SO IT’ S EASY TO CARVE ALONG BEN DY TRAILS AND FEEL COCKY WHILE DESCENDING