Specialized's S-Works Epic World Cup: Epic Win or Epic Fail?

That's an awful expensive bike to make that kind of noise when you brake.

I like the regular epic, and now with longer travel up front and more slack, the thing is going to be a killer!

We know that you have been testing bikes for over 25 years now.

Would you opt for the Epic WC or the ZFS-5 to create a very fast "XCG" (XC/Extreme Gravel) drop-bar Frankenbike in your opinion? Cheers again for the thorough review!

fantastic I bought my bike last week I so exited race 2024 Brasil ride showww

Why they ran that one brake line through the headset on a mtb blows my mind!

Helpful and insightful video, thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts. If I may offer some respectful feedback, doing the commentary while riding is hard to follow as the visuals are distracting and the narration is labored. Maybe do the narration in studio with selective clips from the ride? It would be easier for the viewer. Thanks again and please don’t take the feedback as in any way negative, your insights are great.

Hi ya again.just had a s-works epic HT built for me,2020 frame I believe.havent ridden it properly yet,only the short distance from the bike shop.god the thing is light,climbs like a goat.I have an older spesh stumpy,been bulletproof, still one of my best best ever,and I have had alot of bikes over the years,but I think this epic is going to be a god send.keep up the good work fellow Yorkshireman👍

Great review, and it feels spot on to what I'm feeling, with the exception I haven't been riding through supper rough stuff, and with this type of riding, mostly tamed trails and fire roads, this bike is unbelievably good. BUT I just put myself into riding Cape Epic again in 2024, 10 years after my first one (which I rode with a 2014 Epic Sworks), and I am now pondering if I should stick to the Race Epic (I have a 2020 S-Works Epic Race) or go to an Epic Evo. I'm a relatively light rider at 67kg, and a decent technical rider at descents. As I have just got the bike and could not do rides longer than 3hrs yet, wondering if Cape Epic would be too much for it. Any views @GuyKesTV?

Me gustaría que estuvieran los vídeos subtitulados en español tendrías muchos más seguidores

They needed an answer to the Trek Super Caliber on the WC level. I must say they are one step behind.

How tall are you for this Large size bike ???

Ebike mountain bikers are cheaters and nothing else! With the exception of those who have a physical disability!

How often do you hit the pedals? That BB is LOW as hell, you would have to sometimes. I have the 2022 epic and I hit the pedals too much already as it is and this is 10mm lower.

I'm looking way more forward to the next epic evo, but with manitou suspension.

Great review! Fork is somewhat better than 100 mm earlier version as I understand, can it be setup fully open?

Great video. Were you running the “full gulp” setting when you got that KOM?

Had mine a little over a month and I have to say it’s by far the best xc bike I’ve ever ridden. With the 110mm fork and longer reach dimensions you can run the fork really soft compared to your traditional 90-100 forks on older frame geo. As for the rear shock design the 75mm is perfect. You don’t set this bike up with sag also there is an internal bump stop if you bottom out that with give you a few more mm of travel. The rear suspension design also allows for a lower bb height similar to hard tails. The frame is insanely stiff in the bb area similar to hard tails so this thing is very snappy and responsive.

No thanks, my Supercaliber 9.9 is fine for me! 👊🏼

thank you for the review. I have the exact same bike with about 5 or so rides on it (prior Yeti SB130, Epic Evo, n-2 Epic) and the bike still confuses me in terms of a winner or should have gone EVO w/ lockouts. Just like you I have been setting PB all over the place and climbs really nice. At times I feel the suspension is perfect (full and half gulp) but on chatty trails w/ rocks and roots it is really harsh... but damn, it is fun to ride! Super interested to see what Spesh does with EVO and all the rumor shots of a XC version of flight attendant.

Ill be sticking with my sworks 2022 epic ht with a remote lockout 32 factory. A very honest review ✌🏻

Question.did’t you use the 3 tokens in the rear shox.I have the same bike and loving it.But sometimes I bottoming out with the rear shox on mid gulp.can i fix it with the 3 tokens or do i but more pressure in rear shox.?🤔And love you video,Nice work.👌🚀

It suits somebody with deep pockets

Better than the Lux WC?

Have you ever tested Banshee bikes? If not, have you ever considered doing so?

You were Flying up those hills 😂

Epic fail for me

The climbing review is...well it tells you everything unfortunately, something a bike like this should have excelled at but 🤷‍♂ A non fancy standard rear shock with lockout seems like it would have transformed this bike into something it is advertised for to do...Same issue i have with the Trek Supercaliber, also a compromised bike that is in many builds heavier than a cheaper 100-120mm XC bike

I give the Epic WC a C-. I would have preferred 100/120mm travel, no Gulp or Brain (no propriatery suspension), 76*STA with an adjustable headset providing both 67* and 65* HTA, and an all out effort to make the bike as light as reasonable. With this configuration you could put the bike in XC mode with a 67* HTA or Downcountry mode with a 65* HTA.

Btw a Orbea Alma frame is only 830 gram in weight size medium

How does this compare in your opinion to the Santa Cruz Blur xc you tested a while back?

Guys brain damping....ahhh trees...breath....excitement...talking....meltdown....epic bike great tech but for most riders way too focused but still what a weapon! Any chance you could test bikes like carera or voodoo? Would be interesting to see how they stack up against other brands.

I'd love that, Get me up n down the Malverns in no time...Ha !!

Is every bike he tests amazing? Gotta keep the sponsors happy

Ebike dude was new to mountain biking you can tell by his cadence 😜

Thanks to Laura Stigger, it’s now a World Cup race winning bike. Love the tech, feels very very niche. Awesome piece of kit. Needs a race whippet to justify the price. Happy to stick with my Cannondale Scalpel HT. The Cervelo test cannot come quickly enough. As perversely, I’ve given up on my Cannondale Scalpel Si. Propriety tech fail has meant it’s been on a workshop stand more than on the dirt! Why do I mention this? Guy needs to do a video on pros and cons of proprietary tech!

I had to turn off the going through the trees bit ,I got nervous just watching lol .

5 years down the road this mtb won´t be supported by Specialized so it will be useless