Submitted by
siegerhund
a Cross Country Rider
from North Park, PA Date Reviewed: October 28, 2009
Favorite Trail:
AnySouth
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Purchased At:
Pro Bikes
Strengths:
Light,quick, and very nimble! Holds excellent lines. Climbs great.
Weaknesses:
Seatpost is Hvy.
Similar Products Used:
98 Stumpjumper M2 Pro ( Goodbye! )
Bike Setup:
All stock except for 2.1 Nevegals Stick E's.Will change stem and seat post soon.
Bottom Line:
I went from 1998 technology to 2009. WOW! I'm now faster in the mud then I was on the dry dirt on my old bike. Great investment!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
helo300
a Cross Country Rider
from Pomona, NY, USA Date Reviewed: October 25, 2009
Favorite Trail:
Stewart Airport
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$3200.00
Purchased At:
Cyclesport
Strengths:
Perfect geometry. Not too twitchy, not too slow. Fairly light bike which is fast, light wheelset and great hubs. Carbon frame very stiff. Rock Shox SID Race is a great fork. Brain works very well. Avid brakes are great! Stock Specialized tires work surprisingly well for a low profile XC Race tire.
Weaknesses:
Not really a weakness, but the DT Swiss Skewers are a pain to use. Can easily swap those skewers, the seatpost, QR seat collar, and bar/stem for lighter equipment if so desired.
Similar Products Used:
None
Bike Setup:
Totally stock except I had to get pedals. Bought the Crankbrothers Eggbeater Ti pedals. Nice.
Bottom Line:
Down and dirty racer that is more than plush enough for my liking. I just riding this bike. Very, very efficient and fast! Nice feel to geometry. Dialed in. Great bike and glad I purchased it.
Specialized fire-saled out the 09's in preparation for getting the new model 2010 year bikes in. $4400 bike discounted to $3200! Saaweeeet machine.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
bike182mtb
a Racer
from australia Date Reviewed: August 28, 2009
Favorite Trail:
woodford to glenbrook
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$3600.00
Purchased At:
lbs
Strengths:
frame its so stiff it rocks going up hill and brain shock as a race bike its great
Weaknesses:
some parts are a bit cheap and heavy[cassette,seatpost,stem]
this bike is so much quicker then my old NRS[on a 50 min race about 3-4 mins].it climbs well and the brain just works.the ride is a little hard for normal riding .but when its time to race watch out these things rock.dont know if you would find a quicker bike around a x/c race track.they go where you point them [maybe its the 20mm front axle]and are light sub 22 pounds.and strong the frame fields like you cant brake.this is the best bike i have riden.as someone said it hard to ride slow and you want to stand up and charge up hills i would give it 10 out of 10 chilis if i could
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Frank
a Cross Country Rider
from Perth, Western Australia Date Reviewed: June 20, 2009
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$5000.00
Strengths:
This bike has it all. What a great overall bike. Great for cross country riding and one hell of a racing bike. Doesn't have any problems climbing and going down is just as nice as going up. Thumbs up to Specialized for the design of the brain, they have really got it working perfectly (no stuffing around with locking out etc). Once you adjust the shocky and the brain setting to your liking you will be amazed on the ride you will have... WHAT A GREAT BIKE!!!
Weaknesses:
Standard tyres are excellent for racing but if you use it alot for cross country use you will get alot of flat tyres. Definatley change the tryes if cross country is your thing... WHAT A GREAT BIKE!!!
Similar Products Used:
Cannondale, Giant and Scott
Bike Setup:
Apart from the tyres, haven't changed anything on it, don't need to everything on it is absolutely perfect... WHAT A GREAT BIKE!!!
Bottom Line:
You won't find a better bike for the price you get this for. You really need to ride it to appreciate what this bike has to offer... WHAT A GREAT BIKE.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
simonchetwynd
a Cross Country Rider
from Newbury, UK Date Reviewed: April 5, 2009
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$2400.00
Purchased At:
LBS - Banjos
Strengths:
Fast, fast, fast.
Test rode the Giant Anthem X1 at the same time as the Epic. The Epic was 1 minute faster on a 1hr 20 route and 5 minutes faster than my 2005 Giant NRS.
Brakes are the best I've ever tried on any bike.
Brain works superbly well, it pedals like a hard tail on the road and there's no bob at all cranking it up hill. Hit a bump though and it opens up just like its supposed to - no messing around with lockout levers on this bike.
Weaknesses:
Ride is harsh compared to my old NRS but I suppose this is the price you pay for light weight and climbing efficiency.
Rockshox SID Race forks are no better than Rebas but cost £100 more.
Stock tyres and tubes are very thin, punctures are going to be a big problem unless you go tubeless.
If you want a bike that gives a plush ride on steep rocky descents, look for something else. However, on cross country trails this bike rocks, its like a rocket. It just accelerates, brakes and climbs so well. Its actually quite difficult to ride it slowly.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
cambrose
a Cross Country Rider
from Breck, CO Date Reviewed: March 27, 2009
Favorite Trail:
Peaks & CO Trail
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$4400.00
Purchased At:
Mountain Sports Outl
Strengths:
Fast, Responsive, climbs like a goat!
Weaknesses:
If you're looking for a cushy XC ride this isn't it. Stock Bars, Stem and Seat Post are heavy.
All stock except for Specialized Jett saddle, Monkey Lite XC carbon bars and Ritchey Elite post.
Bottom Line:
If you want a fast, responsive XC carbon bike with a great component package you can't beat the Epic Expert Carbon for the money! Specialized has really honed the brain technology over the past few years and this bike climbs about as efficient as my single speed with a much more forgiving decent. I bought this as a race bike, but now I use it for everything. I can't believe the difference the carbon makes on long rides. I used to get a lot of back fatigue, but not on this baby! The DT Swiss wheel set is great! Light weight, smooth and strong. The ratcheting skewers took a bit to get used to, but now I don't think I could use anything else.
Bottom line- if you want a fast, responsive, light weight cross country bike this is the one!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
zippy895
a Racer
from florida Date Reviewed: March 23, 2009
Favorite Trail:
santos
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$5500.00
Purchased At:
the bike shop/ormond
Strengths:
climbing,acceleration,efficiency
Weaknesses:
for me....brake modulation,tires,bar bend.
Similar Products Used:
03 sworks epic,04 stumpjumper pro,hand full of fisher sugars(cracked frames),01 racer-x,05 sworks hard tail,trek liquid.
Bike Setup:
2009 large...25.18# w/out peddles stock.a few parts changes for personal feel afterwords
Bottom Line:
the bike climbs!you cannot compare with old style epics.accelerates just as well as climbing.i dont have much time on this bike,but can tell you it is wayyyyy different/better than older epic design.during a demo day,a riding buddy was able to test an 09 anthem,top fuel and swork epic.before trying the epic,he was elated about the top fuel....then he became speechless after riding the swork epic.he owns an 03 sworks and owned a carbon fuel in the past.he was so bummed about how much better the epic was,he decided to not ride his 03 the rest of the day and sat out .
well,i for one am satisfied with the new bike.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
jbeene
a Cross Country Rider
from Tulsa, Oklahoma Date Reviewed: December 9, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Tahoe Rim
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$2800.00
Purchased At:
Tulsa Mid Town
Strengths:
Light, strong climber, excellent components
Weaknesses:
Heavy for carbon, but feels bombproof
Similar Products Used:
2008 Specialized Epic, Cannondale F1000
Bike Setup:
Stock except for FSA Carbon Riser Bar and XTR pedals and converted to tubeless. Wheels and tires were already tubeless 'ready', just needed to be taped and Stan-gooed.
Bottom Line:
This is a great cross country hard-tail! Fast and aggressive. The Sram X.0 and Juicy Ultimates rock. I like the Sram drive train better than my XTR on my Epic. Rode this bike hard all season an it still performs flawlessly. The stock LK Pros are great but I switch to Captains for wet or gravely stuff. If you haven't gone tubeless, just do it. I have a large and with the pedals it's right under 24 pounds.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
cody clary
a Cross Country Rider
from newark oh u.s.a Date Reviewed: December 4, 2008
Favorite Trail:
star hill
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Price Paid:
$4400.00
Purchased At:
bike doctor
Strengths:
smooth drive train, powerfull brakes, dialed suspension, tires grip well, comfortable seat, the locking grips rule! Specialized bikes in general are very very good! The wheel set is strong and light weight! very smooth headset!
Weaknesses:
heavy cassette! but its still a nice cassette!
Similar Products Used:
specialized fsr stumpjumper 2006
Bike Setup:
stock
Bottom Line:
if you got the money to spend buy a specialized epic carbon exbert because ita a hell of bike! it rules!!!!!anything specialized is very good! lots of detail involved with the company!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
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