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SAM BENEDICT: Welcome to SBCU.
Today we're going to talk about the fastest
full-suspension 29er, the Epic.
The Epic's been a part of the specialized family for a long
time, but has always been true to being the fastest, most
efficient full-suspension bike out there.
Now, that hasn't changed over time.
And we're going to take you through what
makes this Epic tick.
OK, so let's take a look at the Epic frame platform.
There's a lot going on here.
But we'll start with the basics and then work our way
into more of the involved stuff.
First off, the Epic has a lot of important parts, like a
tapered head tube, nice and low slung top tube, press-fit
bottom bracket, and a 142 millimeter rear end.
These are relatively standard features on a lot of
specialized bikes, but still great features to have on,
really, any bike.
And it's something that sets us apart from many others.
When you get into the details of the frame on the new Epic
here, first thing you'll notice is that we have
internal cable routing inside the front and rear triangle.
And what's cool about this is you'll see that there's hood
scoops that work into the frame.
And you can run one, two, three, or four
lines inside the frame.
And once you actually get in there, there's this nice foam
tube that we call the churro that keeps the things from
rattling around on the inside.
Working your way back in the frame, we've got this mega rad
SWAT kit, along with two water bottle cages.
We'll get into that a little bit later.
And then you work your way into the FSR.
The FSR stands for Future Shock Rear and a huge part of
what makes this bike so fast and efficient.
Once you get from the FSR, you work your way back up to the
all-new concentric pivot.
This is where your seat stay meets your linkage and your
shock extension.
We went to this concentric pivot because we can have a
lighter seat stay and a smoother
actuation on the shocks.
So it ends up being not only a lighter overall package, but
it's going to smooth out the bumps even more, which just
makes for a more fun and playful ride.
Now, remember that this bike is an XC race bike.
And we're looking for all-out speed.
We want to be able to hammer on the pedals, go as fast as
possible, but also be nimble, dodging in and out of trees,
making sure you're not hitting rocks or people or whatever is
going to be in your way on the trail.
So we have a very tight head tube angle.
This is a 70.5 degree head tube angle.
It's relatively steep, going to give you
some real lively handling.
True to all specialized style, we have a nice roomy top tube,
a low bottom bracket, and then a short rear end.
This is a 448 millimeter rear end.
That's very short by most mountain bike standards.
And again, that's going to help the bike snap around the
corners and be very, very lively while you're riding it.
Also notice that, even though that we have a shock that's
tucked up higher to make room for two water bottles, the
standover height is still very low.
So when you're riding this bike, it's not going to feel
like it's coming up at you.
There's still plenty of room to come off the bike safely.
And that's a big part for the ride of this bike-- it is
fast, nimble, but also safe-feeling in case you do
have a crash or an off the bike.
One of the defining features about the Epic is the Brain
suspension.
Now, the Brain is all about giving the rider as much
efficiency when and where they need it.
And we want the bike to remain firm and ready to go forward
when you're on smooth terrain and active when
you're hitting the bumps.
It's completely unique.
There is no other suspension and shock system that works
together that can tell the difference between a rider
influence-- so you bouncing around in your seat--
and the bumps coming up from the bottom.
That's what the Brain is all about.
And this Epic has a Brain rear shock as well as a Brain fork.
And you can make adjustments on both of these, rebound and
Brain Fade.
So rebound's your red ***, Brain Fade's your blue.
And that's on the front and the rear.
And let's not forget that the rear shock also has the
specialized proprietary Auto-Sag.
So you can set up your suspension no matter your
weight or riding style with just a press of a button.
Very easy and correct way to set up your suspension.
Another feature I really like about the Epic is the Roval
wheels and specialized tire combination.
The Roval wheels--
hand-built.
That means that they're hand-laced
tensioned, and trued.
It actually takes 96 hands to build a set of Roval wheels.
And a lot of time and attention goes into making
sure the quality is really high.
And we've also really worked a lot on the rims.
These control carbon rims have no hooks on them.
So the little old-school style bead hooks that people thought
used to hold on the tires--
irrelevant.
We don't need those anymore.
We've learned a lot from automotive and MotoGP.
And we've gotten rid of those.
It's a great piece of technology.
We call it the zero bead hook technology.
So that's built into our carbon rims, both on this
Control Carbon 29 and our new SL.
And then matched up appropriately with the type of
tire that's going to give you the best ride.
So these are the Fast Trak tires--
a little bit more grip, but it's still going to
roll very, very fast.
And on some of the other Epics, like the S-Works and
the more super, super racy ones, we run
the Renegade tire.
It's a lower profile, faster rolling tire.
It gives a little bit less grip, but definitely two
different tires.
It's going to keep you rolling fast and give you the
appropriate amount of grip for what you're going to need.
Some of the other really cool things popping right out at
you--you have two water bottle cages inside a
full suspension bike.
That's pretty darn rare these days.
And it's amazing to be able to carry even more water.
You can put two full-size water bottles in any size Epic
that we have.
You're probably looking at this box, wondering what the
heck's going on here.
This is the SWAT box.
SWAT stands for storage, water, air, and tools.
And we wanted to make sure that these things that people
want to ride with on their bikes was right there on their
bike right where they need it.
So you can open up this box.
Inside, you'll see it has a Turbo tube.
It has to be a Turbo tube.
A regular-size tube will not fit, but this
one will fit in nice.
You have a 25 gram CO2 with a custom CO2 head, as well as a
tire lever.
So all that fits right inside the box.
The box will come on the Expert Carbon, the Marathon
Carbon, and the S-Works.
But what's super cool is that you can actually put this on
any of the bikes, whether it comes with it or not.
So a nice upgrade if your bike doesn't happen to come with
it, and a wonderful feature when you're out on the trail.
You don't have to put it on your back or
carry it in your backpack.
It's just right here on your bike where you need it.
So I said that there was a tool part of the storage,
water, air, and tool.
So we have a really cool cradle built into the frame
that holds this tool.
And this has all the Allen wrenches, torques wrenches,
and screwdrivers that you'll need to get
out of a tight situation.
And this will actually drive the last piece of the puzzle,
which is the top cap chain tool.
So inside your steer tube, underneath the top cap is a
chain breaker to get you out of a bind.
And there's also a spare link for your 10- or
11-speed chain in there.
So storage, water, air, and tools--
that'll get you out of most binds.
These tools aren't for every single day use, but they'll
definitely take care of you whenever you have a problem.
Other cool features about the frame is that notice that this
system does have a front derailleur mount on here.
This is a 2-speed--
10 speeds in the rear, 2 in the front.
If you wanted to run a 1 by system, 1 by 10, 1 by 11--
9-speed, if that's what you like to do--
that's totally fine.
You can go ahead and take the front derailleur off.
Conversely, on the World Cup bike, that bike does not have
a front derailleur mount.
So if you wanted to run a double, you
bought the wrong bike.
So make sure that if you want to run doubles that you buy
the standard Epic.
My last favorite feature here is that there's beautiful
internal cable routing on here.
But let's say you get into a bind, or you don't want to run
your brake cables on the inside.
There's nice little tabs here on the bottom
side of the down tube.
So you can go and just clip your brake line there--
small but nice feature.
Overall, the Epic-- it's about going as fast as possible,
having a great time out there.