Men's Epic Expert

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 reevaluated 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 fiber wheelset. Get ready, because this is going to be Epic.

Technical Specifications

FRAMESET

FRAME

Specialized FACT 11m, full carbon frame, XC Geometry, threaded BB, 12x148mm rear spacing, internal cable routing, 100mm of travel

SEAT BINDER

Alloy, 34.9mm

SUSPENSION

REAR SHOCK

RockShox/Specialized Micro Brain shock w/ Spike Valve, AUTOSAG, 51x257mm

FORK

RockShox SID 29 w/ Brain, tapered alloy steerer, bottom-adjust Brain Fade, Solo Air, 110x15mm Maxle® Stealth thru-axle, 100mm of travel, 42mm offset,

WHEELS

RIMS

Roval Control Carbon, 22mm internal width, tubeless-ready

FRONT HUB

Specialized, sealed cartridge bearing, 15x110mm spacing, torque caps, 32h

REAR HUB

Specialized disc, sealed cartridge bearings, 12x148mm spacing, 32h

SPOKES

DT Swiss Industry, stainless, 2.0

FRONT TIRE

Fast Trak, GRIPTON compound, 2Bliss Ready, 29 x 2.3"

REAR TIRE

Fast Trak, GRIPTON compound, 2Bliss Ready, 29 x 2.1"

INNER TUBES

Standard, Presta valve

DRIVETRAIN

REAR DERAILLEUR

SRAM GX Eagle, 12-speed

SHIFT LEVERS

SRAM GX Eagle, trigger, 12-speed

CASSETTE

SRAM GX Eagle, 12-speed, 10-50t

CHAIN

SRAM GX Eagle, 12-speed w/ PowerLink

CRANKSET

Truvativ Stylo, 6K alloy, Boost™ 148, 24mm spindle

CHAINRINGS

Alloy Eagle 32T

BOTTOM BRACKET

SRAM GXP

COCKPIT

STEM

Specialized XC, 3D-forged alloy, 4-bolt, 6-degree rise

HANDLEBARS

Specialized Mini-rise, 7050 alloy, 8-degree backsweep, 6-degree upsweep, 10mm rise, 720mm width, 31.8mm clamp

GRIPS

Specialized Sip Grip, half-waffle, S/M: regular thickness, L/XL: XL thickness

SADDLE

Body Geometry Phenom Comp, Adaptive Edge design, Hollow Cr-Mo rails, 143mm

SEATPOST

Specialized, alloy, single bolt, 21mm offset, 30.9mm

BRAKES

FRONT BRAKE

SRAM Level TL, hydraulic disc, organic pads, 160/180mm rotor

REAR BRAKE

SRAM Level TL, hydraulic disc, organic pads, 160 rotor

ACCESSORIES

PEDALS

Specialized Platform, 9/16" spindle

* Weights based on production painted frames as pictured. Actual weights will vary based on colorway, frame size, and component variation. Specifications are subject to change without notice.

Geometry

	S	M	L	XL
Crank Length	170mm	175mm	175mm	175mm
Handlebar Width	720mm	720mm	720mm	720mm
Stem Length	60mm	80mm	90mm	100mm
Saddle Width	143mm	143mm	143mm	143mm
Seatpost Length	350mm	400mm	400mm	400mm
Stack	588mm	597mm	611mm	630mm
Reach	408mm	433mm	456mm	475mm
Head Tube Length	95mm	105mm	120mm	140mm
Head Tube Angle	69.5°	69.5°	69.5°	69.5°
BB Height	332.6mm	332.6mm	332.6mm	332.6mm
BB Drop	38.9mm	38.9mm	38.9mm	38.9mm
Trail	94mm	94mm	94mm	94mm
Fork Length, Full	506mm	506mm	506mm	506mm
Fork Rake/Offset	42mm	42mm	42mm	42mm
Front Center	659mm	688mm	716mm	742mm
Chainstay Length	438mm	438mm	438mm	438mm
Wheelbase	1095mm	1123mm	1152mm	1178mm
Top Tube Length, Horizontal	568mm	595mm	623mm	649mm
Bike Standover Height	764mm	770mm	776mm	799mm
Seat Tube Length	400mm	434mm	470mm	520mm
Seat Tube Angle	74.75°	74.75°	74.75°	74.75°