2022 Specialized

S-Works Epic Hardtail

Specialized teased the new Epic World Cup on the race circuit for several months, and SRAM even revealed it before the official launch, but Specialized still had a surprise up its sleeve. Rather than replacing the long serving Brain equipped Epic full suspension bike, Specialized announced that the Epic WC meant the death of its top-end hardtails. And it certainly flavours a lot of the ride feel and aesthetics it delivers too. Best cross-country XC mountain bikes: hardtail and full-suspension Need to know Sub 10kg soft-tail XC race superbike, designed to replace hardtails not full suspension bikes Ultralight carbon frame and components Unique ‘set and forget’ RockShox-Specialized BRAIN/WCID suspension SRAM XX SL drivetrain with full race head power meter cranks and no dropper spec With slender seatstays aligned to the top tube that largely swallows the unique shock, the Epic World Cup certainly looks like a hardtail. The 430mm chainstay length is exactly the same as the old S-Works Epic Hardtail too and the BB is only 4mm higher to accommodate the 75mm frame travel. Where a mid-shaft support bushing and micro swing link make the shock itself seriously stiff too.  Look closer though and you’ll see the Epic WC is a full feature suspension bike. There’s a conventional main pivot hidden behind the SRAM XX chainset and there’s even a tiny rocker link at the rear of the shock/seat stay junction to manipulate the shock’s behaviour.  Geometry wise, the 66.5º head angle is very close to the 110mm travel Epic EVO too. Reach also grows 10mm on large frames compared to the Epic hardtail, which also makes it 5mm longer than the EVO. Dynamic feel is significantly different to both though, but let’s get back to the bike at hand. The S-Works version of the World Cup uses a higher grade Fact 12M composite than the 11M Pro model and the translucent frame coating is also superlight. That puts the claimed weight for the medium frameset and shock at 1,765g. Almost 250g lighter than the Trek Supercaliber SLR frame.  The bottom bracket is a conventional threaded unit and the frame has ample space for two bottles. You get a triangular ‘SWAT’ box to carry a tube and C02 cartridge, and a carbon bottle cage is included too. However the rear brake (all three current models use wireless AXS gears) is routed through the headset via the top bearing cap which won’t thrill mechanics. Suspension As the name suggests the RockShox SIDLuxWCID shock is based on a standard RockShox SIDLuxe shock and shares many of the internals. It’s longer though, with an extra mid-shaft bushing to keep things lined up. That makes it around 33g heavier than the standard shock but you lose the weight of a remote control and lever. Instead, the action of the shock is defined by presetting the negative spring volume, anywhere from 0% (Specialized call this ‘Zero Gulp’) to 10% sag (‘Full Gulp’). This is done by depressurising the shock, then pressing a manual air …Continue reading »

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In believing that full suspension is always the faster choice in mountain biking, the Epic WC is Specialized’s replacement for its top-tier cross-country race hardtails.

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Specialized’s Epic World Cup is a stunningly clean design that revives a radical suspension concept in a state of the art, ultralight chassis, but it’s not without its flaws

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