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2018 Men's Epic Expert

5

7 Reviews

Lightweight carbon frame? Check. Industry-leading suspension technology? Oh yeah.…

Product Details

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Lightweight carbon frame? Check. Industry-leading suspension technology? Oh yeah. Race-ready build kit? You know it. The Epic Expert is not only ready to shine in races, but it's also ready to put your closest buddies in the pain cave on the weekends.

Race courses have evolved over the past few years. They're more technical, steeper, and simply more challenging to ride. But instead of quivering in our boots, we saw this as an opportunity to make something special—something that both World Cup athletes and XC riders alike can instantly feel the benefit from. We looked at the sum of parts that make a bike handle well, like the head angle, reach, stack, chainstay length, fork offset, etc., and reevaluated all of it. Increasing the reach made a bike that was more stable at speed and generally more comfortable to ride. Dropper posts? Yep, those fit, and not just a short-travel XC option, but full-length droppers that fit in the 30.9mm seat tube. Head angle? We slacked that out, but not without evaluating the overall handling package. It now lands on a custom offset, 42mm fork that works with the slacker head angle in order to behave itself in tight corners and through switchbacks.

Next comes the redesigned Brain technology, Brain 2.0. The Brain changed the way the bike world looked at suspension, both its inefficiencies and benefits alike. And oh was it good. It won races and put a flag in the ground for us as a true leader in innovation and suspension development, but we knew that we could make it better. Simple physics told us that, by moving the Brain closer to the rear axle, it would be in the most sensitive spot. And after countless hours with the RockShox team, the new Brain became more than just a slight upgrade. It's totally new. Now, it reacts seamlessly to bump forces, it has much more consistent damping performance, and finally, it integrates the hoses into the suspension links. This, in turn, improves oil paths, and it creates an incredibly sleek package that outperforms anything on the market.

The new Epic also gets a serious upgrade in the stiffness department. The Rider-First Engineered™ tubes place complex carbon pieces in all the right places, which greatly increases stiffness in the front end for a vast improvement in ride quality and control. To go along with this, each frame size has size-specific tubes that result in the stiffest, best riding XC bike we've ever developed—no matter the frame size.

And while stiffness, Brain technology, and geometry features are cool and all, we know what you're thinking, "What about the weight?" We're glad you asked. With the goal of the new Epic to be the fastest XC mountain bike we've ever made, weight was at the top of our priorities list. We started with an efficient frame layout and tube shapes that feature clean cable routing, integrated channels through the shock extension, straight tubes with less curves, and optimized torsion profiles in every section. And if you're curious, this weight savings is equivalent to shedding a chainstay and shock extension from the previous Epic—nearly 525 grams.

The build of the Epic Expert meshes performance with value, featuring a 12-speed SRAM GX Eagle groupset, SRAM Level TL brakes, and a hand-built Roval Control carbon fiber wheelset. Get ready, because this is going to be Epic.

  • Full fact 11m carbon fiber frame combines stiffness, strength, and light overall weight to deliver an off-the-hook race bike. Meanwhile, the new geometry, RockShox Brain shock, and 100mm of travel, make the Epic the best handling, fastest XC rig you've been on.

  • Our custom RockShox SID fork with Brain features a top-adjust Brain fade, and a custom offset to make it suitable for the new Epic.

  • The 12-speed SRAM GX Eagle groupset brings the performance of Eagle at a doable price point.

Technical Specifications

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FRAMESET

FRAME

Specialized FACT 11m, full carbon frame, XC Geometry, threaded BB, 12x148mm rear spacing, internal cable routing, 100mm of travel

SEAT BINDER

Alloy, 34.9mm

SUSPENSION

REAR SHOCK

RockShox/Specialized Micro Brain shock w/ Spike Valve, AUTOSAG, 51x257mm

FORK

RockShox SID 29 w/ Brain, tapered alloy steerer, bottom-adjust Brain Fade, Solo Air, 110x15mm Maxle® Stealth thru-axle, 100mm of travel, 42mm offset,

WHEELS

RIMS

Roval Control Carbon, 22mm internal width, tubeless-ready

FRONT HUB

Specialized, sealed cartridge bearing, 15x110mm spacing, torque caps, 32h

REAR HUB

Specialized disc, sealed cartridge bearings, 12x148mm spacing, 32h

SPOKES

DT Swiss Industry, stainless, 2.0

FRONT TIRE

Fast Trak, GRIPTON compound, 2Bliss Ready, 29 x 2.3"

REAR TIRE

Fast Trak, GRIPTON compound, 2Bliss Ready, 29 x 2.1"

INNER TUBES

Standard, Presta valve

DRIVETRAIN

REAR DERAILLEUR

SRAM GX Eagle, 12-speed

SHIFT LEVERS

SRAM GX Eagle, trigger, 12-speed

CASSETTE

SRAM GX Eagle, 12-speed, 10-50t

CHAIN

SRAM GX Eagle, 12-speed w/ PowerLink

CRANKSET

Truvativ Stylo, 6K alloy, Boost™ 148, 24mm spindle

CHAINRINGS

Alloy Eagle 32T

BOTTOM BRACKET

SRAM GXP

COCKPIT

STEM

Specialized XC, 3D-forged alloy, 4-bolt, 6-degree rise

HANDLEBARS

Specialized Mini-rise, 7050 alloy, 8-degree backsweep, 6-degree upsweep, 10mm rise, 720mm width, 31.8mm clamp

GRIPS

Specialized Sip Grip, half-waffle, S/M: regular thickness, L/XL: XL thickness

SADDLE

Body Geometry Phenom Comp, Adaptive Edge design, Hollow Cr-Mo rails, 143mm

SEATPOST

Specialized, alloy, single bolt, 21mm offset, 30.9mm

BRAKES

FRONT BRAKE

SRAM Level TL, hydraulic disc, organic pads, 160/180mm rotor

REAR BRAKE

SRAM Level TL, hydraulic disc, organic pads, 160 rotor

ACCESSORIES

PEDALS

Specialized Platform, 9/16" spindle

* Weights based on production painted frames as pictured. Actual weights will vary based on colorway, frame size, and component variation. Specifications are subject to change without notice.

Geometry

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SMLXL
Crank Length170mm175mm175mm175mm
Handlebar Width720mm720mm720mm720mm
Stem Length60mm80mm90mm100mm
Saddle Width143mm143mm143mm143mm
Seatpost Length350mm400mm400mm400mm
Stack588mm597mm611mm630mm
Reach408mm433mm456mm475mm
Head Tube Length95mm105mm120mm140mm
Head Tube Angle69.5°69.5°69.5°69.5°
BB Height332.6mm332.6mm332.6mm332.6mm
BB Drop38.9mm38.9mm38.9mm38.9mm
Trail94mm94mm94mm94mm
Fork Length, Full506mm506mm506mm506mm
Fork Rake/Offset42mm42mm42mm42mm
Front Center659mm688mm716mm742mm
Chainstay Length438mm438mm438mm438mm
Wheelbase1095mm1123mm1152mm1178mm
Top Tube Length, Horizontal568mm595mm623mm649mm
Bike Standover Height764mm770mm776mm799mm
Seat Tube Length400mm434mm470mm520mm
Seat Tube Angle74.75°74.75°74.75°74.75°
Geometry

Rider Reviews

5

7 Reviews

 

Awesome

Awesome fast beautiful bike


Name:
Paulo

Helpful?

Best xc race bike to ever exist

This bike has everything! 😃 Super light, amazing suspension, great shifting, and so fast. 💯% worth it!!! I recommend this bike to everyone. Who wouldn’t want it?

Would Recommend?
Yes!

Name:
Hayden

Helpful?

Love the bike and yes my rear shock did go out.

I was looking for a true XC bike and not a 'trail' bike as that is more my riding style. The bike is everything I wanted, quick handling on Midwest single track, stable at speeds over fast downhills - well, fast upper Midwest downhills, and hooks up beautifully on the climbs. The bike allows me to push as hard as I want, and seems to do better the harder I push. I did have my shock go out on me when I was in Bentonville, it worked but made squishy sounds and didn't lock out. My LBS had it out of my bike and back from Specialized within two weeks. No push back about it at all. Overall a great bike to ride, race, and enjoy on cross country single track.


Name:
Driftless

Helpful?

No words to say - TRY IT!

It's the best bike i ever had! I have had, Giant, Scott and a 2015 Epic Comp - but this new Epic Expert 2018 is the best bike i ever have droven.


Name:
Danish R.

Helpful?

All I was looking for

This bike has got all the speed, climbing and race abilities as the previous version. AND it has got all that the previous version not had, like stable decending ability and better tracking as well as an overall better balanced geometry. This is my speed weapon for Cape Epic 2018.


Name:
Rosebuddy

Helpful?

Love this bike

This bike is so nimble it feels like a Trailbike on the down hills and climbs like nothing I've ever ridden so if you're looking for a new xc race rig this is the bike for you


Name:
Settio

Helpful?

Tequila Sunrise Bike

I had a 2011 Epic, the new Epic is faster, smoother, more comfortable, everyone that sees it complements the paint, but the real good stuff is a lot deeper then that, I'v only got 2, 20 mile rides on it, the first one was on soft suspension to break it in, I'm still experimenting with the set up, and there are so many thing to set up it may take awhile, it just keeps getting better, and better. This bike is a rocket ship. I have made quite a few upgrades, I moved a lot of things over from the old Epic, S-Works carbon bars, Crank Bros carbon seat post, X01 Eagle, cranks, gold chain, cassette, trigger shifter, ESI grips, Rocket Ron 2.25's, it now weight 24.3 pounds, with computer, and heart rate monitor on the bars. Its turning to winter here in Michigan, I may have to go on a trip south soon, I just want to ride, the Fat Boy, and Sequoia (my gravel bike) can wait, SNOW is coming GRRRR !!!


Name:
Dyno D.

Helpful?

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