Thor805

Hi there,
About a year ago I bought a Motobecane Fly Pro. Its a descent hardtail with quality components including: Shimano XT deraileurs, Ritchey Cockpit and components, Vuelta wheels(w/ bladed spokes!), and I've made about $300 worth of upgrades like new sram xo cassette, easton monkey lite xc bars, and kenda dread tread tires. I have been doing a considerable amount of racing in SoCal, with lots of fireroads, dry singletrack, and gravely climbs and desents. I've heard that a xc full suspension can leave one fresher than on a hardtail, especially in my current riding environment, so I've been looking at some Full suspension xc frames to upgrade to. My budget is around $1200 bucks, and I want an aluminum frame with a good amount of suspension that will make the ride comfortable but not all mountain. It needs to be light and raceable. I've looked at the Giant Anthem X for $1200, and the Specialized Epic Marathon, which is originaly retailed for $2000, but I get deals on specialized from club sponsorship, making it around $1200.I also saw the santa cruz juliana, because i'm a girl(which doesn't make much of a difference) and its around $1200 too. Any suggestions or other consierations?

mcoomer

If you're racing XC grab that Epic. I was skeptical about Specialized's Brain suspension but no longer. You can dial the rear suspension in so that you have the nice tight feel of a hardtail but the compliance of a fully suspended bike when the going gets rough. They also have a fork that uses the same technology. I can't speak for the aluminum frame but you can build a carbon Epic in the low 20lb range pretty easily. An Epic would make a very nice race bike.

Thor805

great thanks. I was leaning towards aluminum for durabilitys sake. Is it an issue? If I crash or if it falls, will it crack at all? I only have enough money for one bike, and if I break it i'm screwed...

mzeffex 

I think that carbon mountain bikes are a gimmick. They make them thick enough so they are durable that the cost to weight ratio versus aluminum is unreasonable.

mzeffex 

By the way.. check this out. If they have one when I have the money to spare, one will be mine:

https://wheelworld.com/product/kona-0...e-set-6902.htm

victim

Epic. But can't lose. Both are sweet

mcoomer

Don't worry about breaking your Specialized frame. They've got one of the best warranty policies in the business. Don't worry about breaking carbon frames either. I'm 6'2", 235 and ride a carbon Stumpy. It's plenty stout!

skeem

my friend has an carbon epic and its nice, but if your gonna get that save the weight and handling and get a full suspension. he and i are both pretty good riders and we agree that a hardtail is a better choice than the epic with the brain. basically (in my opinion) if you want a full susp. bike dont get an epic and if you wanna race/ dont think you need full susp., just get a carbon hardtail. that being said, i ride a carbon mtb (gt zaskar) and i was skeptical but it was free (sponsorship) and after 8 months of riding/abusing it its been great. before i got the sponsorship i was seriously testing xs full susp. bikes to buy and im glad i didint buy one because a carbon hardtail is the way to go. also, i had to go to a specialized course for my bike shop to learn about specialized and they proved to me that carbon frames are WAYYY stronger than alu- they showed how the materials used can resist more than ten (or maybe 100?) times as much force as aluminum. i was impressed. i think the only thing better would be Ti.

Thor805

Ok so I see the two recommended choices are the Specialized Epic (carbon or alu) or the stumpy ht carbon. I do believe that a carbon ht is good for racing because it is light and compliant and snappy but I honestly want more of a race-able trail bike and specialized is my brand b/c of the sponsorship. I don't want go past 120 mm travel so I think the Stumpy FSR is out. So when it comes down to it the question is is it worth it to go carbon when you get 40% off?

Smallguy

neither is a bad choice if thereiva anyway uo cna test ride either one do it... might just come down you a personal preference in how the bike feels to you

I know allot of people racing both bikes and they all swear by them comes down to personal preference sometimes