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  5 | 1 customer reviews

Men's Epic Expert

£3,072.00  £3,840.00

Colour: GLOSS GOLD FLAKE / CANDY RED / COSMIC BLACK
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Part Number:

90318-3102

GTIN/UPC:

888818317943

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 re-evaluated 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 fibre wheelset. Get ready because this is going to be Epic.

FRAMESpecialized FACT 11m, full carbon frame, XC Geometry, threaded BB, 12x148mm rear spacing, internal cable routing, 100mm of travel
FORKRockShox SID 29 w/ Brain, tapered alloy steerer, bottom-adjust Brain Fade, Solo Air, 110x15mm Maxle® Stealth thru-axle, 100mm of travel, 42mm offset,
REAR SHOCKRockShox/Specialized Micro Brain shock w/ Spike Valve, AUTOSAG, 51x257mm
FRONT HUBSpecialized, sealed cartridge bearings,15x110mm thru-axle, 32h
REAR HUBSpecialized disc, sealed cartridge bearings, 12x148mm spacing, 32h
SPOKESDT Swiss Revolution
RIMSRoval Control Carbon, 22mm internal width, tubeless-ready
INNER TUBESStandard, Presta valve
FRONT TYREFast Trak, GRIPTON compound, 2Bliss Ready, 29 x 2.3"
REAR TYREFast Trak, GRIPTON compound, 2Bliss Ready, 29 x 2.1"
CRANKSETTruvativ Stylo, 6K alloy, Boostâ„¢ 148, 24mm spindle
CHAINRINGSAlloy Eagle 32T
BOTTOM BRACKETSRAM GXP
SHIFT LEVERSSRAM GX Eagle, trigger, 12-speed
REAR DERAILLEURSRAM GX Eagle, 12-speed
CASSETTESRAM GX Eagle, 12-speed, 10-50t
CHAINSRAM GX Eagle, 12-speed w/ PowerLink
FRONT BRAKESRAM Level TL, hydraulic disc, organic pads, 160/180mm rotor
REAR BRAKESRAM Level TL, hydraulic disc, organic pads, 160 rotor
HANDLEBARSSpecialized Mini-rise, 7050 alloy, 8-degree backsweep, 6-degree upsweep, 10mm rise, 720mm width, 31.8mm clamp
GRIPSSpecialized Sip Grip, half-waffle, S/M: regular thickness, L/XL: XL thickness
STEMSpecialized XC, 3D-forged alloy, 4-bolt, 6-degree rise
SADDLEBody Geometry Phenom Comp, Adaptive Edge design, Hollow Cr-Mo rails, 143mm
SEATPOSTSpecialized, alloy, single bolt, 21mm offset, 30.9mm
SEAT BINDERAlloy, 34.9mm
PEDALSSpecialized Platform, 9/16" spindle

Please note: Manufacturers can sometimes change the specification of the products from time to time.

Size S M L XL
BB Drop 38.9mm 38.9mm 38.9mm 38.9mm
BB Height 332.6mm 332.6mm 332.6mm 332.6mm
Bike Standover Height 764mm 770mm 776mm 799mm
Chainstay Length 438mm 438mm 438mm 438mm
Fork Length, Full 506mm 506mm 506mm 506mm
Fork Rake/Offset 42mm 42mm 42mm 42mm
Front Center 659mm 688mm 716mm 742mm
Head Tube Angle 69.5° 69.5° 69.5° 69.5°
Head Tube Length 95mm 105mm 120mm 140mm
Reach 408mm 433mm 456mm 475mm
Seat Tube Angle 74.75° 74.75° 74.75° 74.75°
Seat Tube Length 400mm 434mm 470mm 520mm
Stack 588mm 597mm 611mm 630mm
Top Tube Length, Horizontal 568mm 595mm 623mm 649mm
Trail 94mm 94mm 94mm 94mm
Wheelbase 1095mm 1123mm 1152mm 1178mm
Comment author

Verified Purchase | 2020-10-16 16:27:46

I have ridden this for 1 year now. 95% of that on rocky, shaley terrain plus a bit of bike park stuff. Roughly 1300 kms of off road riding in all types of weather. I have made no changes except a dropper added. I did not buy it to race but I did buy it to make ascents as easy as possible.

It lives up to its name! Reliability has been excellent even down to the tyres resistance to punctures and tears. The front and rear shocks are well up to the job and the brain works very well but takes a little getting used to. The bike is very comfortable, long steady climbs make me feel fitter than I am and the 29 inch wheels make short punchy climes over roots and rocks very achievable. Steep descents were a little hairy at first but adding the dropper sorted that out. I cannot recommend it enough. Buying this really stretched my budget but very satisfied with the product and service from the store in Dublin.