Description

Gone are the days where a date with a hardtail race bike meant paying for it for days to come. Now, the Epic Hardtail Comp’s reality-altering combination of comfort and capability in a lighter-than-life package means counting down the hours until you meet again.

Working towards the lightest bike possible has long been the race within the race, but at what cost? The battle of the grams certainly hasn’t been without its casualties, with hardtail XC race bikes coming to stand for a harsh, twitchy ride at the expense of capability and versatility.

But who said fatigue from fighting against your own bike makes you any faster? Instead, recognizing that the fastest bike is more than simply the lightest bike, we said out with the jarred-to-death tail, the measure-your-posterior’s-sorrows-by-the-yard tail and in with the avant-garde tail. The ridiculously capable, mystifyingly comfortable, head-shakingly light and all-around fast, Epic Hardtail.

Sure, we optimized every inch of the Epic Hardtail frame to achieve the lightest production hardtail frame in the world anyway, but we also prioritized our commitment to creating an Epic Hardtail that’s as capable as it is comfortable with aggressive singletrack-inspired geometry, increased tire clearance and a frame obsessively engineered for increased vertical compliance, all while creating a bike that lives and breathes the fundamentals of fast.

On the Epic Hardtail Comp, RockShox's long-beloved Reba RL fork is tasked with handling suspension duties while a full SRAM GX Egale groupset leaves no doubts why it sets the benchmark for accessible performance.

Ridiculously capable, incredibly light, and refreshingly comfortable, the Epic Hardtail’s dropper-post friendly FACT 11m carbon frame rewrites the hardtail playbook with game-changing success.

The Reba RL doles out travel with a steady hand courtesy of RockShox's Motion Control damper, while SoloAir adjustability makes dialing in suspension performance a breeze.

SRAM's GX Eagle shifting has always been the benchmark for affordable high performance, and the latest offering simply raises it even further.

Specifications

FRAMESET

Seat Binder - Specialized Alloy, 34.9mm

Frame - Specialized FACT 11m, Progressive XC Geometry, Rider-First Engineered™, threaded BB, 12x148mm rear spacing, internal cable routing

SUSPENSION

Fork - RockShox Reba RL, Motion Control damper, Solo Air, 42mm offset, 15x110mm thru-axle, 100mm of travel

COCKPIT

Stem - 3D-forged alloy, 31.8mm, 7-degree

Saddle - Body Geometry Power Sport, steel rails

Handlebars - Specialized Alloy Minirise, 10mm rise, 750mm, 31.8mm clamp

SeatPost - Specialized Alloy, Single Bolt, 30.9mm

Tape - Specialized Trail Grips

BRAKES

Rear Brake - SRAM Level TL, 2-piston caliper, hydraulic disc

Front Brake - SRAM Level TL, 2-piston caliper, hydraulic disc

DRIVETRAIN

Bottom Bracket - SRAM DUB, BSA 73mm, Threaded

Rear Derailleur - SRAM GX Eagle, 12-speed

Shift Levers - SRAM GX, trigger, 12-speed

Chain - SRAM NX Eagle, 12-speed

Crankset - SRAM X1 1000 Eagle, DUB, 170/175mm 34T

Cassette - Sram XG-1275, 12-speed, 10-52t

Chainrings - 34T

WHEELS

Rear Hub - Alloy, sealed cartridge bearings, 148mmx12mm thru-axle, 28h

Spokes - DT Swiss Industry

Rims - Specialized Alloy, Tubeless Ready, 25mm internal width, 28h

Front Tire - Specialized Fast Trak, Control Casing, T5 Compound, 29x2.35

Rear Tire - Specialized Renegade, Control Casing, T5 Compound, 29x2.35

Front Hub - Alloy, sealed cartridge bearings, 15x110mm thru-axle, 28h

Inner Tubes - Standard, Presta valve