Cross country courses are nothing like they used to be. Today's tracks have more in common with trail riding than the pancake flat NORBA courses of yesteryear. For this reason, Specialized threw away the hardtail rulebook and drafted their own chapter to create the Epic Hardtail Comp.
It's one of the lightest frames, tipping the scales around 1175g. To make it this light, the entire frame was built from a superlative FACT 11m carbon fibre, and some cues were taken from Specialized's road bikes. The Rider-First Engineered™ concept that originated with the Tarmac was adapted so that 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.
The geometry has also been tweaked for more speed and stability by slacking-out the head tube angle, 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 has also been widened to 12x148mm and includes internal split-housing cable routing.
For the build, this Epic takes value to new heights with a custom-tuned RockShox Reba RL fork, 1x11 SRAM GX shifting, and fast rolling Roval Control alloy wheels.
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By pairing a FACT 11m carbon fibre frame with 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. It also features a 148mm rear spacing and all-new triangulated post-mount brake mounts.
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The RockShox Reba RL 29 fork offers up 90/100mm of smooth travel, while an easily accessible compression and rebound adjusts permit you to customise the feel according to the terrain at hand.
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One-by 11-speed shifting is provided by a durable SRAM GX component spec.