The most successful XC/Marathon bike in the world, the Specialized Epic, has just been redesigned. We’ve not seen one in the flesh yet and we’re not sure when we’ll get to test-ride one, but here are the five most important things you need to know about it.
It’s no longer the FSR suspension design
There is no longer a pivot near the rear wheel axle on the chainstay, which means it’s no longer using Specialized’s patented FSR (Future Shock Rear) suspension design. Well, not in its original four-bar linkage form. The engineers have made the all-carbon rear stays in such a way that they’re vertically flexible in order to make the most of the 100mm of rear shock travel. It’s now essentially a single-pivot suspension design.
It’s lighter. A lot lighter!
By removing the rearmost pivot, slimming down the Brain shock (see next point) and tactical use of carbon layup and tube sizes (each frame size gets its own tubes to be proportionately stiff/strong/light), the Specialized engineers were able to trim a significant 240g on the rear triangle (making it 39% lighter than the previous one!) and up to 525g on the full frame in total. That’s more than two blocks of butter in weight off the complete frame! We don’t have the exact frame weights yet from Specialized, but that should put the new Epic at 1780g-ish, which is around the same as the new SCOTT Spark RC, previously the lightest full-suss 29er full-carbon XC bike frame (with shock and hardware).
It’s got a sleeker Brain shock
Specialized’s Brain shock was revolutionary when it was launched around the mid 2000s. It’s still pretty impressive and they’ve stuck with it, but honed the design to be smaller and lighter.
According to Specialized – “Moving the Brain closer to the axle (moment of inertia) makes for a more responsive system than before. Oil porting and flow paths have been re-engineered to reduce oil turbulence and provide more consistent damping. And the suspension team also addressed hose fitting, so there are no frame-rub issues, making this the most visually sleek Brain package yet. Now, hoses that route oil flow directly through the shock extension, taking out unnecessary curves and fittings.”
The geometry has changed
As with all other recently redesigned XC/Marathon bikes, the Epic also gets a longer toptube, shorter stem, more relaxed headtube angle (from 71.0 degrees to 69.5 degrees). According to Specialized, a generous 42mm fork offset neutralises handling to ensure the front end still offer snappy handling.
It can accommodate a dropper seatpost
They don’t come standard with a dropper seatpost, but Specialized has designed the new Epic to accommodate both the brand’s own Command Post XCP (short dropper) and also full-length dropper posts.
We didn’t include this as one of the five points, because it’s pretty much expected on all new model designs now, but all the new Specialized Epics come with Boost hubs/wheelsets…
For a closer look at the new Epic range, head over here: Specialized Epic
