Hey everyone, welcome!
In a recent online survey Specialized came number 1 bike to buy in four different categories.
Behind me I have their 2022, base model, short travel Epic EVO,
so let's take a closer look at this and see what 4000 USD or 5000 Canadian get you at the end of 2022.
And I have to admit that the guys at The Bike Shop in Calgary, Alberta did an awesome job,
I mean look at this, this looks like an absolutely brand new bike!
And here's the bike fully built, this is a RockShox suspension, SRAM drivetrain
and the rest is covered by Specialized branded components.
And if you are like many others and you bought this bike online you would have had no idea of how beautiful this color is.
This color is called Satin Doppio and the bike is fully wrapped with Ridewrap.
In the rear you have 110 mm of travel coming from this RockShox Deluxe Select + shock,
the 120 mm travel up front comes from this RockShox REBA fork which is Boost,110x15 mm.
42 mm offset, you see the 120 and this is a 29er bike.
This is their more entry-level air sprung fork with Motion Control as a damper,
and you have 20 clicks of rebound adjustment available to you.
And like many other RockShox forks, this is Torque Cap compatible.
Not only that but this bike actually provides the wheels with the Torque Cap andcaps.
End talking about the aluminum 29er wheels these are built with 28 straight gauge spokes,
something that's not uncommon for OEM wheels.
2022 brings wider internal rim dimension, you can see 29 on that sticker.
Wheels come with no name hubs that are Boost, you see the 15 x110 front and a 12 x148 rear hub.
As for the tires they are Specialized branded
and the bike comes with Ground Control T5 front and rear.
Really good looking tread pattern for these tires and they come in 29 x 2.35
they're supposed to be 60 mm wide.
Tires have tubes in them, and looking from the left you can see the SRAM branded brakes,
180 mm rotors front and rear and the two piston calipers of these SRAM branded brakes.
Brakes are the DOT-based Level T that don't offer a lot of flexibility just a Reach adjust
but at least they are well integrated both with the NX shifter and the dropper remote here on the left .
And I mentioned the Eagle NX shifter but their crank is the X1 1000 Eagle compatible,
it offers 175 mm cranks and a 32 tooth steel Eagle chainring.
Chain is also Eagle but is the cheapest one they have, is the eagle SX.
That is used with a SRAM Eagle NX real derailleur which is not too bad,
and an 11-50T cassette that is also Eagle NX.
To attach the derailleur this Frame uses the SRAM UDH or Universal Derailleur Hangar
and the frame comes with a DUB threaded bottom bracket which I'm sure it's appreciated by many.
To finish the cockpit we have Specialized branded lock-on Trail grips,
you have a 760 mm wide handlebar, 31.8, 20 mm rise with 60 mm stem.
I showed you the dropper remote before, that goes along with the TranzX branded dropper, 30.9 with only 125 mm drop.
As for the saddle, this is what is called body geometry Power Sports saddle, also Specialized.
But I think one of the main reasons why people get a bike like this is the design of the new Epic EVO frame.
This has no proprietary components, it has no Brain, and it comes with a pretty aggressive 66.5 degrees head tube angle.
The Reach is not too long for a Medium at 436 mm.
It has a 74.5 degree seat angle with a 438mm chainstay,
and if you flip the chip to the High position you will raise the bottom bracket by 6 mm and steepen all these angles by 0.5 degrees.
As for other details, multiple positions for that front bottle cage,
this is the cheaper FACT 11 carbon from Specialized
and you see the bosses for the second bottle cage and the sizing of the frame, this is a Medium.
Tire clearance is generous in the back, you see that 2.35 tire having plenty of room
so you can probably install a 2.4 or 2.5 tire even on this frame.
If the frame comes with a beefy chainstay protection here on the down tube you only have this film
coming pretty much from the top to bottom
and you can also see this ginormous draining hole at the bottom of the Bottom Bracket.
So there's is definitely a lot to like about this new frame from Specialized, however cable routing is not one of the best that I've seen.
Cables and hoses come out nicely from the chainstays at the back,
then they are fed through that rubber connector between the rear triangle and the front triangle
you even have a hole at the top for a shock remote,
but then it all falls apart when you come here at the head tube, you have all these cables loose .
Yes, you can feed four of them into the frame but there's nothing holding them in place, so Specialized, you can do better than this!
And every time I talk to someone about this new Epic EVO weight comes into the discussion very early on.
Weight of the bike fully stock with that extra frame protection installed
comes up to 28 pounds exactly, we're slightly under that 12.7 kilograms.
That 28 pounds is not bad for an entry-level build down country bike from any company
but the reality is I bought this bike mostly for the frame.
The frame which is supposed to be only about 100 grams heavier than the S-Works which is much more expensive than this one.
Stripped down to the frame but with all the necessary hardware, I kept the seat collar, you have the thru axle in the back
you have a shifter cable through here that is like 50 grams
no bottom bracket and I have Ridewrap film installed on this frame.
The weight of it is 2100 grams, again deduct 50 grams for this, so 2.05 Kg and 50 grams for this frame, ready to go.
If you have the FOX shock that one is about 100 grams lighter, so that's your 1950 grams which is what I was expecting.
So lightweight, good geometry, not too extreme, especially since I want to build this bike into a cross-country racer.
Believe It or not Jordan Sarrou from Specialized actually raced the S-Works version of this frame at the UCI level.
So what do you guys think?
Do you like downcountry bikes? Are you interested in any of the new Epic Evos?
Let me know in the comments below, do you have any comments, do you have any questions, let me know as well,
and until next time hope to see you folks on the trails.
Cheers guys, cheers!