It's one of the lightest frames, tipping the scales around 1175g. To do so, Specialized built the entire frame from a superlative FACT 11m carbon fibre, and then took some design cues from their road bikes.
Specialized borrowed the Rider-First Engineered™ concept that originated with the Tarmac. Now, the frame design applies specificity to every tube size and carbon layup for every frame size. This creates the optimal balance of rigidity, weight, and responsiveness, so every frame, regardless of size, performs just as intended. They have also tweaked the geometry for more speed and stability by slacking-out the head tube, lengthening the top tube, and correcting the seat tube angle. This way, it feels more planted then ever, and frankly, it's stupid fast. The rear spacing was also widened to 12x148mm and included internal split-housing cable routing.
For the build, this Epic Hardtail successfully balances value with performance, with a custom-tuned RockShox SID fork with Brain, SRAM GX Eagle™ 12-speed shifting, and quick-to-accelerate Roval Control Carbon wheels.
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By pairing a FACT 11m carbon fibre frame with a XC 29 Geometry, this Epic places a focus on revolutionary tube angles and extremely light overall weight for explosive speed and nimble handling on the race circuit. For good measure, it was also given a 148mm rear spacing and all-new triangulated post-mount brake mounts.
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The Custom RockShox SID 29 w/ Brain fork provides 90/100mm of efficient travel. It features Brain technology that distinguishes between terrain and rider input in order to maximise your power, while a Brain Fade adjusts the oil flow when not hitting bumps.
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SRAM's 12-speed GX Eagle groupset, with its 10-50t cassette, provides a wide gear range that lets you spin up the climbs, yet have plenty of top end for the descents. One-by setups also decrease weight and make it next to impossible to drop a chain.