{"id":16424,"date":"2017-09-13T14:30:00","date_gmt":"2017-09-13T13:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/2017\/09\/13\/review-2018-specialized-epic-comp-carbon-r6860\/"},"modified":"2023-02-08T06:27:21","modified_gmt":"2023-02-08T06:27:21","slug":"review-2018-specialized-epic-comp-carbon-r6860","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/review-2018-specialized-epic-comp-carbon-r6860\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: 2018 Specialized Epic Comp Carbon"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week, we spent two days on the tranquil Boschendal Farm Estate<\/a> being introduced to the Specialized Bicycles 2018 range which recently landed in South Africa. Having ridden and thoroughly enjoyed the previous generation Epic, and watched the 2017 Specialized S-Works Epic<\/a> turn my colleague into an uncontrollable race snake after just a few rides, I was very keen to get my hands on the new model and see what the engineers at Specialized have been up to.<\/p>\n

I rode the Women\u2019s Epic Comp Carbon: the middle in the range of three Women\u2019s Epic models. Below are my impressions after this first ride on the Boschendal trail network.<\/p>\n

\"ccs-58780-0-44564300-1505305227.jpg\"<\/a><\/p>\n

At first sight<\/h2>\n

The Women\u2019s Epic comp carbon is nothing short of eye-catching with a gleaming \u201cGloss satin acid mint fade\/ Tarmac black\/ Acid pink\u201d colour scheme.<\/p>\n

Specialized made the decision to drop gender specific geometry on their new bikes for 2018 after analyzing measurement data from the Ret\u00fcl bike fit system collected over several years. According to this research, the difference between men’s and women’s anthropomorphic data is not as big as we have always believed. Hence the Women\u2019s Epic features the exact same frame geometry as the men\u2019s model, but with contact points selected for women, and a tweaked suspension tune for lighter riders. As a package, the bike looks lean, mean, and race ready.<\/p>\n

\"ccs-58780-0-43808200-1505305374.jpg\"<\/a><\/p>\n

What is new?<\/h2>\n

The Epic has undergone a redesign for 2018. In short, the frame on this model has had over 500 grams shaved off it and the geometry has progressed with the longer, slacker trend to be able to deal with the increasing level of gnar seen on the World Cup XC racing circuit. Interestingly, this has gone hand in hand with a reduced fork offset to keep the handling sharp on technical climbs and slow speed corners. Each frame uses size specific tubes to ensure the required stiffness carries across the size curve: a technique Specialized refer to as Rider First Engineering.<\/p>\n

The head tube angle has slackened from 70.5 to 69.5 degrees, the chain stays have shortened by 10 millimetres to 438 millimetres, the reach has been extended 15 millimetres to 433 on the medium frame. In addition, the wheelbase has grown by 11 millimetres to 1123 millimetres on a medium frame. The seat tube diameter has been expanded from 27.2 to 30.9 millimetres which means that a greater range of dropper posts can now be accommodated.<\/p>\n

The famous Brain suspension has been relooked and features an updated RockShox damper, a new position closer to the rear axle for improved sensitivity and response time, and the oil hosing has been integrated into the suspension links to create a smoother path for oil flow and to minimise turbulence while keeping the aesthetic clean.<\/p>\n

Finally, the rear pivots have been replaced with flex stays in an effort to further shave weight off the frame.<\/p>\n

On paper these changes should result in a bike with better stability at high speed and a higher tolerance for technical riding, making it less likely to pitch you over the bars in a moment of crisis, but hopefully retaining the race whip pedigree that has made the Epic legendary.<\/p>\n

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\n\"ccs-58780-0-65392900-1505239788.jpg\"<\/a>\n<\/div>\n
\n\"ccs-58780-0-70018600-1505239792.jpg\"<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\"ccs-58780-0-15924100-1505305548.jpg\"<\/a>The repositioned Brain and pivot-less rear stay saves weight and creates a sleek look.<\/span><\/p>\n

Specifications<\/h2>\n

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