Two much travel for a cross contry bike. A good cross country bike should be able to ride, single track, gravel, and tarmac efficiently. With a 120mm fork it is too trail focused, they lost the plot.
@morgusfly ... Yes that is race course focused, for everyday cross country riding, where you are riding on tarmarc, gravel, and trail, four inches is plenty.
People that criticize this bikes travel numbers have to understand that xc courses have gotten much more technical and steeper, and so requires more travel. I'd rather take the extra travel than bottom out all of the time.
This statement is a fact. Also the reason a person like me that lives in tight woods does not like this geo because it is not good in slower singletrack. This bike is built for World cup level XC not for local level old school courses, it just doesn't suit some peoples needs is my problem with the bike.
Yeah, XC these days is essentially Trail lite. Nowadays you spunk 5 figures on a top end bike that's well over 10kgs....and promoters call that "feathery light race machines".
Yes,not a fan of all this Digital/Electric gadgetry. More things to break and also complicate the ride. I just want to ride not use an on board computer, there is enough of that crap in cars now. 😂😂 I think i will get the comp one in 130-no cable lockouts. 😮
There is actually 9 batteries: shifter, seatpost/susoension controller, seatpost, shock, fork, crank sensor, rear mech, 2x tyre pressure sensors 😂 add bike computer and front + rear lights if you use it on public roads… and of course mobile phone so you could tune your suspension 😂
These prices are nuts. Im really wondering how many people who are into biking will spend that much money. Wait half a year and they will give 25-40% discount for sure like theyre doing with all the models right now
yes it's slowly collapsing this year models are basically just paint jobs for the most part and worse drive trains. I'm afraid about 2025 line up, the s-works with micro shift and sun tour sus maybe (same price or a 100 higher of course)
It's basically specialized saying we screwed up with the trek supercaliber copy which doesn't work for today's courses.. So we go back to regular epic.
its probably more choice than necessary fueled by customers being overly concerned about weight and responsiveness. 120mm travel isn’t slowing you down in any XC race. especially when you can flip shocks to medium and locked settings with yer thumb.
I can't believe how no one talks about how slow these slack bikes are in real single-track thats not pointed straight down. 65.9 HTA this will be an absolute snail in tight woods.
No mate. Trail bikes and beyond run even slacker HTA and they are designed to deal with even more sharp cornering technical terrain. Further, 1-2 degrees difference doesn’t completely change the character of a bike from fast > snail (and vice versa).
@@ClownPatroI No man I am not talking about steep terrain I am talking tight twisty woods. Slacking adds stability not agility its math my man. I have ridden/owned ever version of the epic since the original 2003 model and raced at XC1 level. XC bikes like this are great for World Cup style courses but not for everyday XC. Not everyone is doing 4ft drops in xc races. This is as slack as a Stumpjumper (which I also own) I love the Stumpjumper because it is NOT an XC bike but the new epics geo almost mirrors the SJ headtube geometry.
Slack bikes are awful for riding mellow trails. Again with steep long climbs it’s not great. Most xc rides for people are A to B on a smooth bridleway, not WC tracks.
Totally agree, I have a Scott Spark RC and prefer the 67.2 degree head angle though I have the opportunity to change it to 66.6 or down to 66.0 by changing/rotating the head cups.@@epd1584
All this horse manure about "xc getting gnarlier" just makes the XC bikes get heavier with each edition. They're basically lighter weight trail bikes these days. Have a Cannondale 2019 FSI and Sworks epic from 2021 that I weight weenied to 7.6kg and 9.1 respectively. The former, which is a hardtail does the job for the XC courses of yore more than adequately.
Just want to say “I love to watch XC racing .” Today’s tracks are very exiting on the pro circuit”Hope everyone remembers how important fork offset is in bike handling! Enjoy 😎
How is the reverb dropper controlled? I see the flight attendant buttons on the left side of the bars (pod controller) but no reverb button. I know about the blip button hack that the pros use. Surely there’s a “proper” method by now.. Anyone know?
Had a Rockshox don't remember the model fail under load after a few rides,. They replaced it quickly and charge free of course but that was not reassuring at all, 2 years later another one started to leak oil near the rotating knob... Never had a problem with Fox.
So they've basically turned a cross country bike into a short travel enduro bike, I remember when cross country bikes had sharp steering, not this one I guess.
But as the guy said at the end, you're buying the bike that the pro's race. It's the latest premium model. You're right in saying that most people, if anyone needs this bike, in the same way nobody needs a top end luxury car to get from a- b, but we still have Rolls Royce.
True, I don’t need it. But it’s MY money, and while I don’t want it either (I’m happy with my pivot switchblade), I wouldn’t mind throwing my money at it if I wanted it, because I can. The last thing I would do is throw my money at some outdated bike off Craigslist . That’s imo the real waste of good money; imagine paying good money for something that’s already outdated even before you’ve ridden it. True, you’re probably be faster than me on the trails. But guess what, I don’t care. What I care about is having a better bike than you, so deal with it 😂😂
Do regular people buy a bike like this? Considering a mountain bike has a pretty hard life... It would be weird spending so much on a mountain bike. Will be curious to know how many they sell...
like he said at the end S-Works are for Professional riders, they sell it to the mass but I extremely rarely see one in the wild. and it's often a 50 year old man in full spandex. would like to know the sale numbers related to msrp prices !
i havent even seen a second of the video, but i can already tell that its: 7% lighter, 10% stiffer, reworked suspension kinematics for gNaRLy trails, worlds lightest frame and all those marketing BS
For £12k, it should be the best bike on the planet. But, nobody needs half the tech on this bike and it'll be lost on all but a few pros. One piece bars are just stupid, as are internally routed cables. Expect a massive service bill to go with your ridiculous XC bike if you buy one. I'm quickly getting bored with tech on bikes, it's becoming more about letting the bike sort you out and not your riding. I get enjoyment from my single speed gravel bike because it has almost zero tech other than cheap hydraulic brakes and tubeless tyres. £300 too, same price as those bars! 😂 I know this bike would be fast but it's not worth the money for the outcome.
"and it'll be lost in all but a few pros" - to be fair to Specialized, it's those few pros that the bike is aimed at. The three bikes in the range that are cheaper don't come with Flight Attendant 👌
I would guess very few will buy the top s works version. Its for racers and especially racers that dont have to buy their bike. Any ordinary person will buy one of the 'cheaper' models. Why whinge about the price and the tech etc. being stupid Its not a compulsory purchase, just go and buy a bike that suits you and stop moaning
@@pc750-V4 it drives the price up across the industry and the cheaper models are still comedy money, that's why I l moan. Scott and Trek, etc will try set the bar higher so they can also ensure they have a ridiculously overpriced bike and so on. You don't like? Dry your eyes, nobody cares.
Would you ride an 120mm cross-country bike or do you prefer less suspension travel for XC?
WC 4 me!
Two much travel for a cross contry bike. A good cross country bike should be able to ride, single track, gravel, and tarmac efficiently. With a 120mm fork it is too trail focused, they lost the plot.
I'm recent nat'l champion and 3rd at worlds - I race 120mm unless the course is stupid flat.
@morgusfly ... Yes that is race course focused, for everyday cross country riding, where you are riding on tarmarc, gravel, and trail, four inches is plenty.
@@morgusflyI’m about 6’4-5”. I was thinking I f going with a new Super Caliber to keep up with my daughter and saw this. What are your thoughts?
People that criticize this bikes travel numbers have to understand that xc courses have gotten much more technical and steeper, and so requires more travel. I'd rather take the extra travel than bottom out all of the time.
This statement is a fact. Also the reason a person like me that lives in tight woods does not like this geo because it is not good in slower singletrack. This bike is built for World cup level XC not for local level old school courses, it just doesn't suit some peoples needs is my problem with the bike.
Yeah, XC these days is essentially Trail lite. Nowadays you spunk 5 figures on a top end bike that's well over 10kgs....and promoters call that "feathery light race machines".
„Epic 8“ because of 8 batteries, you need to charge?
Yes,not a fan of all this Digital/Electric gadgetry. More things to break and also complicate the ride. I just want to ride not use an on board computer, there is enough of that crap in cars now. 😂😂
I think i will get the comp one in 130-no cable lockouts. 😮
Not that much. Amazing tech.
There is actually 9 batteries: shifter, seatpost/susoension controller, seatpost, shock, fork, crank sensor, rear mech, 2x tyre pressure sensors 😂 add bike computer and front + rear lights if you use it on public roads… and of course mobile phone so you could tune your suspension 😂
@@Fanaleds-software it's shitty over-reliance that has no manual override and will get you stranded one day.
$24,000.00 AUD 🇦🇺
These prices are nuts. Im really wondering how many people who are into biking will spend that much money. Wait half a year and they will give 25-40% discount for sure like theyre doing with all the models right now
No discount for the epic wc after a year
@@Thysdrus7 they are 25% off.
yes it's slowly collapsing this year models are basically just paint jobs for the most part and worse drive trains. I'm afraid about 2025 line up, the s-works with micro shift and sun tour sus maybe (same price or a 100 higher of course)
During winter season you can easily find top end bikes with good discounts. Friend just bought Cannondale Scalpel Hi-mod (10k€) and got 40% off.
The Canyon lux trail is looking like a bit of a bargain.
It's basically specialized saying we screwed up with the trek supercaliber copy which doesn't work for today's courses.. So we go back to regular epic.
You have no idea about xc m8
When I first saw it, I was like "I thought they revealed a new one only about a year ago?".
Not really, they always said the epic WC was a replacement for the top end hardtails and they wouldn’t kill the “normal” epic
its probably more choice than necessary fueled by customers being overly concerned about weight and responsiveness. 120mm travel isn’t slowing you down in any XC race. especially when you can flip shocks to medium and locked settings with yer thumb.
Go back? The Epic WC and Epic 8 are separate models..
Not a huge xc fan but I'd take dozen of these reviews over another ebike some marketing dept tries to shove up our arses...
Have the brakes levers been switched...rear brake on the left and front brake on the right?
This is how 99% of UK riders set their brakes up (called Moto in some places) - rear on left, front on right.
@@TomMarvin1 same for shifters I hope ? 🤣
I can't believe how no one talks about how slow these slack bikes are in real single-track thats not pointed straight down. 65.9 HTA this will be an absolute snail in tight woods.
No mate. Trail bikes and beyond run even slacker HTA and they are designed to deal with even more sharp cornering technical terrain. Further, 1-2 degrees difference doesn’t completely change the character of a bike from fast > snail (and vice versa).
@@ClownPatroI No man I am not talking about steep terrain I am talking tight twisty woods. Slacking adds stability not agility its math my man. I have ridden/owned ever version of the epic since the original 2003 model and raced at XC1 level. XC bikes like this are great for World Cup style courses but not for everyday XC. Not everyone is doing 4ft drops in xc races. This is as slack as a Stumpjumper (which I also own) I love the Stumpjumper because it is NOT an XC bike but the new epics geo almost mirrors the SJ headtube geometry.
Slack bikes are awful for riding mellow trails. Again with steep long climbs it’s not great. Most xc rides for people are A to B on a smooth bridleway, not WC tracks.
Totally agree, I have a Scott Spark RC and prefer the 67.2 degree head angle though I have the opportunity to change it to 66.6 or down to 66.0 by changing/rotating the head cups.@@epd1584
All this horse manure about "xc getting gnarlier" just makes the XC bikes get heavier with each edition. They're basically lighter weight trail bikes these days.
Have a Cannondale 2019 FSI and Sworks epic from 2021 that I weight weenied to 7.6kg and 9.1 respectively. The former, which is a hardtail does the job for the XC courses of yore more than adequately.
Just want to say “I love to watch XC racing .” Today’s tracks are very exiting on the pro circuit”Hope everyone remembers how important fork offset is in bike handling! Enjoy 😎
I can see you tested L size frame? Could you tell me how tall you are? I am in between M and L at 5’10. Appreciate your help
Hi there, yeah I'm 6-foot / 182cm and Large was spot on
@@TomMarvin1Thank you
gravel is now what cross country used to be , and cross country in now enduro . they just changed the naming
and they make more money
How is the reverb dropper controlled? I see the flight attendant buttons on the left side of the bars (pod controller) but no reverb button. I know about the blip button hack that the pros use. Surely there’s a “proper” method by now.. Anyone know?
I'd love to see them make an alloy Version of the brand new Epic EVO. That's a bike I would ride everywhere!
Is the aluminium Stumpjumper too much for you?
@@yonglingng5640it is.
we want alloy epic
Buena tarde, cordial saludo 🫡.
Asombroso los paisajes y excelente descripción de las Bike. Mil gracias 🙏🏼
When specialized put out thos teaser announcements, i thought it was gonna be a new venge
Hmm model year 2026?
Beautiful machine!
I'm not sure about that SiD-fork, mine lastet 200 km on a trail bike and got her bushings massacred.....
Had a Rockshox don't remember the model fail under load after a few rides,. They replaced it quickly and charge free of course but that was not reassuring at all, 2 years later another one started to leak oil near the rotating knob... Never had a problem with Fox.
So they've basically turned a cross country bike into a short travel enduro bike, I remember when cross country bikes had sharp steering, not this one I guess.
Here’s another $12K bike you don’t need. Just get that used top of the range $6k model from 5 yrs ago
Have you watched the whole video? They talk about that at the end. Cool tech tho 😊
But as the guy said at the end, you're buying the bike that the pro's race. It's the latest premium model.
You're right in saying that most people, if anyone needs this bike, in the same way nobody needs a top end luxury car to get from a- b, but we still have Rolls Royce.
it's at $14500 now....
Stop watching then and toddle off to ebay...
True, I don’t need it.
But it’s MY money, and while I don’t want it either (I’m happy with my pivot switchblade), I wouldn’t mind throwing my money at it if I wanted it, because I can.
The last thing I would do is throw my money at some outdated bike off Craigslist . That’s imo the real waste of good money; imagine paying good money for something that’s already outdated even before you’ve ridden it.
True, you’re probably be faster than me on the trails. But guess what, I don’t care. What I care about is having a better bike than you, so deal with it 😂😂
Do regular people buy a bike like this? Considering a mountain bike has a pretty hard life... It would be weird spending so much on a mountain bike. Will be curious to know how many they sell...
like he said at the end S-Works are for Professional riders, they sell it to the mass but I extremely rarely see one in the wild. and it's often a 50 year old man in full spandex. would like to know the sale numbers related to msrp prices !
the future of cross country there is no racing
Big fan of the geometry - slack HTA and steep STA is what you want
Can we buy the fork and rear suspension separately??
You can but unfortunately the rear shock don't seem to fit many bikes AFAIK.
This S-Works Epic 8 is the same price as 2 Stealth B-52 😂
wasn't hard tail was discontinued
£12k. hah hah.
No wonder the bike industry is on its arse.
Another bike for the bankers
nope, my dentist got one
Is it just me or is twist grips 1990s tech?
Its you... trying to be clever...
OK thanks for the input. Clearly 1990s tech
Glad you paid no attention to it
i havent even seen a second of the video, but i can already tell that its: 7% lighter, 10% stiffer, reworked suspension kinematics for gNaRLy trails, worlds lightest frame and all those marketing BS
Way to over priced
Wby is everyone always refering to demons/devils these days?
scott is stillthe best @bikeradar
🏴🏋️🏴
Great input
For £12k, it should be the best bike on the planet. But, nobody needs half the tech on this bike and it'll be lost on all but a few pros. One piece bars are just stupid, as are internally routed cables. Expect a massive service bill to go with your ridiculous XC bike if you buy one. I'm quickly getting bored with tech on bikes, it's becoming more about letting the bike sort you out and not your riding. I get enjoyment from my single speed gravel bike because it has almost zero tech other than cheap hydraulic brakes and tubeless tyres. £300 too, same price as those bars! 😂 I know this bike would be fast but it's not worth the money for the outcome.
"and it'll be lost in all but a few pros" - to be fair to Specialized, it's those few pros that the bike is aimed at. The three bikes in the range that are cheaper don't come with Flight Attendant 👌
@@TomMarvin1 they know people will buy this one.
@@geetee4037 oh, of course!
I would guess very few will buy the top s works version. Its for racers and especially racers that dont have to buy their bike. Any ordinary person will buy one of the 'cheaper' models.
Why whinge about the price and the tech etc. being stupid Its not a compulsory purchase, just go and buy a bike that suits you and stop moaning
@@pc750-V4 it drives the price up across the industry and the cheaper models are still comedy money, that's why I l moan. Scott and Trek, etc will try set the bar higher so they can also ensure they have a ridiculously overpriced bike and so on. You don't like? Dry your eyes, nobody cares.
So now they are copying Scott with 120 front and back
Yes because Scott invented Arabic numerals and cycling metrics
@@7XFF that doesn't make any sense at all
This bike is a waste of money, fuck specialized.
Technically that would be difficult to achieve even for you
First
Congratulations 🙌 1,000,000 BikeRadar gold stars are on their way to you!
You really do get what you paid formula one of Mountain bikes
you don't actually. Very little value for what you are paying.