Mountain Biking - Official report on the new EPIC.

Well I have had adequate ride time on this new bike to give a objective report on it.

It Rocks! Oh my God! The first ride on single track with this machine felt as if I had been on the bike for years. Absolutely no getting the feel for it time was needed. It glides through single track like it is on rails and sucks up bumps as well as any other full squishy I have had. I also ride a Scalpel and the two are neck and neck performance wise. The Scalpel being equipped with disc brakes will be my wet weather choice. But I cannot favor one over the other exept in specific situations. I'd choose the EPIC for trails with lots of climbing where the auto lockout will be nice but I do feel a slight edge with the scalpel on babyheads and very rooty sections of trail. The lefty fork seems to do a tad better on fast continuous pounding of small bumps but not much better. Overall I love the EPIC and recommend it as well as the Scalpel. It will be a tough decision which bike to ride and I will probably find myself hauling both to the trails and flipping a coin. But as hard as I ride it is good to have a hot backup when one breaks or has trouble.

This is the entry level Epic which I am certain you could find for around 1850-1900$ US if you shop around. Equipped with Avid V-brakes (which I have always found to have all the stopping power I need), XT drivetrain with LX shifters, Fox 100RL front fork, and after a few component swaps ( seat and lighter tires) it weighed in at 26.8 with eggbeater pedals.

I got a much better deal due to some horse trading I did with the shop and some commitments to help them with some group rides and such. Find a shop you can work with and you may find yourself in this bike for 1500 dollars. From what I gather I got a deal similar to what a sponsored racer might get.

I STILL can't see myself spending more than 1G and beat the crap out of the bike on the trail ...

I STILL can't see myself spending more than 1G and beat the crap out of the bike on the trail ...
I can see myself spending more than 1G on a bike. I can also see myself beating the crap out of it on the trail ;) If you don't ride your bike hard enough, what's the point of upgrading?

But my bike upgrade is a while off, so ..

Wanna sell that Scalpel?

;)

Noooo!! I just found out how much an Epic was really worth. See, when I was first getting into biking and knew nothing, I was at a discount store where they had pretty much everything. I saw a Specialized Epic with disc brakes, brand new, for $1250!!!! I knew I should have bought it and turned around and sold it on eBay, made some $$$, then bought a higher level bike than a Trek 4300.

I'll keep a lookout next time. :(

-Garrett

I can see myself spending more than 1G on a bike. I can also see myself beating the crap out of it on the trail ;) If you don't ride your bike hard enough, what's the point of upgrading?

But my bike upgrade is a while off, so ..


lol


if you say so bud. ;)

Sam,

I was wondering what the specs were on the scalpel you ride? I am thinking about getting one of the two bikes, and wanted to see if they both were in the same arena cost-wise as much as they are ride-wise. Also, I'm 6'3'' and 220lbs, riding (sometimes racing, not too often) XC. Do you think these bikes would fit what I'd be asking them to do?

Sam is a pretty big guy.. probably about your size, and races occaisionally as well. I think if it works for him it will work for you :o

Sam,

I was wondering what the specs were on the scalpel you ride? I am thinking about getting one of the two bikes, and wanted to see if they both were in the same arena cost-wise as much as they are ride-wise. Also, I'm 6'3'' and 220lbs, riding (sometimes racing, not too often) XC. Do you think these bikes would fit what I'd be asking them to do?

Sorry it took so long to get back. The Scalpel and EPIC are actually identicle in componenets. XT/ LX mix with XT where it counts.

I know for a fact the Scalpel and EPIC both woiuld support you. I have a friend who is 220 who rides Scalpel and another who is about 200 riding an EPIC.

Thje EPIC sizes run large, I ride a medium at 5"10" and the Scalpel is about the same. You can't go wrong with either bike. I am going riding tomorrow and I am still trying to decide which to take?????

Price is a bit different, list for this EPIC is 2000.00, list for the Scalpel was 2600.00. Let me know what you find and PM me if you have any other questions.

Sam

Specialized does sell just Epic frames. Correct? How much?

Specialized does sell just Epic frames. Correct? How much?
Wilson10,

According to this page (http://www.specialized.com/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=6893&JServSessionIdroot=ijbq1948w9.j27001) (04 S-Works Epic Frame) on the Specialized website, it does seem that they sell the Epic frame.

The retail price, a mere $1950. ;)

I figured it would be about $2000. Think I may just get the $1200 Blur.

****, you can get an Epic frame on Ebay for way less.

The retail cost of the S works Epic frame is what convinced me to just buy a complete bike.

The entry level epic is the same price fully equipped and ready to hammer the trails. I just upgraded it to some avid mechanical disc brakes later after purchasing it.

I did not feel the difference in the brain shock used on the S works made up for the price.

And this bike is beyond description. I love it.

I've been looking at those frames on Ebay for quite some time. Perhaps there's no dealer warrantee, but I've never cracked a frame and many of them are sold brand new anyway with factory warrantee. If I come across one for the right price, I'll pick it up.

well, congrats Sam, the Epic is cool!

last week my girlfriend testrode a 2003 Epic and we bought a 2004 which i picked up from the shop yesterday (with the pedal upgrade we paid $1900 - the 2003 would have been about $250-$300 less) - it has about the same setup with the Avid v-brakes, LX/XT and Fox 100mmRLT and the Brain, plus eggbeaters... i rode it today on the trails and it seemed pretty good (it's a small women's when i should ride a large men's so it was a little small for me and i crashed my knee into the bars near the end of the 3 hour ride) -- but it rides somewhat simliar to my '02 FSR XC except with the brain lockout on the road climbs... i was quite impressed.

anyway, i think the Epic will be perfect for my girlfriend - she races and needs a light bike but also good with full suspension for comfort/downhill and agressive riding... (actually our big race is that we are planning to do the 2 person team 8-day TransAlp Challenge in July - the "hardest mountain bike race" in the world -- and i think the Epic is about the best bike for that --- other close contenders would be the Cannondale Scalpel and the Rocky Mountain ETS-70 both of which cost considerably more for the same component setup, plus there is no "brain")

although the Epic thrill is a little overshadowed (ok just for me, not my girlfriend) as i personally am ecstatic with my new purchase i picked up today: 2003/04 Rocky Mountain Slayer with Fox Vanilla 125 front and 125mm in the rear BUT weighs less than 30 lbs and is great for freeriding - climbs unbelievably well, great clearance, mix of XC/downhill geometry, plus the downhill... (i will still use my FSR for racing) --- although no race bike at 30lbs, this bike actually climbs better than most XC bikes and just goes over ANYTHING - you just pick a line, sit down and crank and it goes up... and then also goes down...

as to the Epic: any hints on how best to set the pressure in the Brain? i basically used the recommended setting and the adjusted a little +/- so that it bottoms out on really big hits like drops. when should it be locking out and when not? i.e. on a gravel climb should it be locked or active?

-Nathan