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Call it a healthy disrespect for the status quo but we were getting bored with hardtail designs. So instead of playing along with a glued-on smile we opted to turn the cross country world on its head with a bike thats not only the lightest mountain frame weve ever made. Its our lightest frame—period. Introducing the S-Works Epic Hardtail.
Over the last decade cross country racing has evolved into a completely different animal—the courses are rowdier more technical and overall theyre inherently different. Because of this we realized that the best bike for the job needs to not only be lightweight and stiff but also be able to descend and climb with equal prowess. Determining the best geometry was the easier of the two as we took our current XC race geo and added some trail DNA to the mix. This equates to a longer top tube a shortened head tube and a slacked out front end the result of which is a tremendous increase in downhill stability plus a wider fit range. And just as importantly this doesnt require any sacrifice of climbing proficiency. The weight aspect was more complicated though. We were posed with the question How do you take weight out of something thats already so light? But the answer was relatively obvious: you get the best mountain bike engineers together in one room and let the magic come out.
Up until now there were two ways to lighten up a frame—use less of the same grade of carbon or use less of a higher-grade carbon. Option one is never a viable solution as it sacrifices stiffness and strength two attributes that shouldn’t be tampered with. And while we did end up using option two we weren’t content with the amount of weight we could cut out by just using a different grade of carbon. So how else do you cut weight? Well we began looking at our layup schedules to see if they could be improved which shed light on a new discovery—layup inefficiencies.
Beginning with our Rider-First Engineered™ frame technology each size Epic Hardtail is specifically tailored to size—every carbon layup and tube are exclusively selected based upon hundreds of hours of collected ride data. What does this mean for you? It not only creates the optimal balance of rigidity weight and responsiveness across every frame size but it led us to the discovery of how to save weight through the studying of the layup.
Through extensive layup studies we made the discovery that by further controlling the construction and layup schedules we could drastically decrease weight all while maintaining the ride characteristics that you’d expect from a top-level XC race bike. With this discovery each frame now features complex cut carbon plys that allow difficult junctions to be covered with less overlap. And while this does complicate the carbon frame puzzle by adding more pieces to the mix it allows us to design and place them more intelligently. The result of this is a lighter frame stronger junctions and a drastic increase in stiffness. We then took the weight savings one step further by using Japanese military ballistic-grade carbon which we now call 12m to create the lightest mountain bike weve ever made. How much lighter of a frame you ask? Less than 900 grams for a size Large frame—the same weight as a full 24oz Purist water bottle.
For the build the S-Works spares no expense opting for a custom RockShox SID World Cup fork with Brain SRAM XX1 Eagle™ 12-speed shifting SRAM Level Ultimate hydraulic disc brakes and hand-built Roval Control SL carbon wheels.
To provide the optimal blend of stiffness crazy light weight and strength we constructed the frame from our S-Works FACT 12m carbon fibre. And when combined with our XC 29 Geometry this Epic is guaranteed to deliver uncompromising blistering speed and agile handling come race day—no matter the course.
The RockShox SID World Cup 29 fork with Brain provides 90/100mm of efficient travel. It features Brain technology that distinguishes between terrain and rider input in order to maximize your power while a Brain Fade adjusts the oil flow when not hitting bumps.
The 1x drivetrain is controlled by SRAMs venerable XX1 Eagle™ components to form the ultimate in efficiency and intuitive feel while also having the added benefit of significant weight savings and minimal required maintenance.
Frame: FACT 12m full carbon frame w/ unique S-Works lay-up XC Geometry internal split-housing cable routing PF30 BB 12x148mm rear end triangulated post-mount 160mm brake
Fork: Custom RockShox SID World Cup w/Brain top-mount Brain Fade adjust rebound adjust Solo Air spring tapered carbon crown/steerer 110x15mm Maxle Stealth thru-axle
Bars: Specialized Mini-rise FACT carbon 6-degree upsweep 8-degree backsweep 10mm rise 720mm 31.8mm
Stem: Specialized S-Works SL 6-degree rise titanium hardware 31.8mm clamp
Shifters: SRAM XX1 Eagle
Rear Mech: SRAM XX1 Eagle
Speed: 12
Chainset: SRAM XX1 Eagle carbon 30mm spindle 52mm chainline 32T
Bottom Bracket: SRAM PF30 OS press-in bearings
Cassette: SRAM XG-1295 12-speed 10-50t
Chain: SRAM XX1 Eagle black 12-speed w/PowerLink
Front Brake: SRAM Level Ultimate hydraulic disc carbon lever titanium hardware organic pads 180mm rotor
Rear Brake: SRAM Level Ultimate hydraulic disc carbon lever titanium hardware organic pads 160mm rotor
Rims: Roval Control SL
Tyres: Fast Trak GRIPTON compound 29x2.3 60TPI Aramid folding bead 2Bliss Ready Front - Fast Trak GRIPTON compound 29x2.1 60TPI Aramid folding bead 2Bliss Ready Rear
Seatpost: S-Works FACT carbon 0mm setback 27.2mm
Pedals: Resin Test Ride with toe clips CEN std
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