Specialized Epic World Cup Review

The Specialized Epic Worldcup at Morgen Hill blurs the line between a full-suspension race rig and a cross-country hardtail. Is this concept rad, or should it be filed under “Frankenstein-bike”?

Combining the best of both worlds is often easier than one might imagine. However, it’s not uncommon to also merge the problems of two worlds into one product. A prime example is hybrid cars, where the maintenance-prone internal combustion engine technology meets heavy batteries. And this entire system must be complexly interlinked. It’s a developer’s, mechanic’s, and eventually the owner’s nightmare.

The Specialized Epic World Cup may be an unmotorized vehicle, but here too, efforts are made to merge the best of both worlds. The Epic World Cup seeks to blend the riding characteristics of a full-suspension bike with the responsiveness of a hardtail. To achieve this, a unique frame has been designed, along with a completely independent suspension system.

Merging the benefits of a full-suspension and a hardtail is an ambitious goal that many companies have fallen short of achieving. (By the way, here we have an article that explains the pros and cons in detail.)

To achieve this goal, Specialized is moving away from the Brain technology that has used an inertia valve to automatically lock out the rear suspension of the Specialized Epic full-suspension bikes for decades. Instead, a special shock is used, featuring separately adjustable positive and negative air chambers. The well-known Brain system is now employed solely in the fork.

The fact that suspension elements have two air chambers isn’t new. The positive air chamber is responsible for the spring rate of the shock or fork. The negative air chamber significantly determines the responsiveness of the suspension element.

What’s new, or rather rediscovered, is the fact that the positive and negative air chambers can be tuned separately. This is precisely the key to the new concept of the Epic World Cup.

Using the counterintuitive setup to select the firm ride mode effectively eliminates the shock’s negative air chamber. The result: the shock simply overlooks small bumps. The first few meters on the trail reveal that the bike’s behavior, in normal riding conditions, closely resembles that of a hardtail indeed.

Only when a truly hard hit is absorbed by the rear wheel does the shock release its 75 mm of travel. And then, the Epic Worldcup behaves like a full-suspension rig. The high breakaway torque in this setup takes some getting used to. Those expecting the comfort of a full-suspension bike will be disappointed in this mode.

Those not keen on the feeling of a high initial breakaway torque have the option to refill the negative air chamber with a new setup. The mid-stroke damping requires significant, but not extreme, hits to release the travel.

With some pressure in the negative chamber, the breakaway torque is noticeably reduced compared to the hardcore setup. And when riding over a small root, the shock opens, while it remains firm during out-of-the-saddle pedaling. During our test, the golden mean proved to be the best tuning option for us.

In the soft ride mode, the shock gets a standard fill of the negative air chamber. This results in the rear suspension behaving as one would expect from a full-suspension bike. Thanks to roughly 10% sag, it responds to even the smallest bumps and ensures a comfortable ride even on gravel.

However, when you hit the trail, it becomes evident that with just 75 mm of travel in the rear, you quickly find the bike’s limit. Compared to a Scott Spark or Orbea Oiz, the bike is lacking a significant 45 mm of travel in the back. For big jumps or particularly rough hits, riders will need to use their legs to absorb some of the hit’s energy.

The entire system does not offer the option to switch between ride modes while on the trail. The idea behind this system is that riders choose their preferred mode based on the terrain or personal preference and stick with it throughout the ride.

For the fork, Specialized continues to rely on the Brain technology, which automatically unlocks the suspension via an inertia valve. While it does this reliably, it announces its presence with a noticeable initial resistance. Those seeking maximum comfort may not appreciate this. However, racers are willing to accept it.

As a result, the new Epic World Cup does away with the need for any lockout lever on the handlebars, sparing riders the need to think about their suspension setup during rides or training.

Specialized offers the World Cup in 5 sizes from XS to XL, nailing the geometry. Sporting a 66.5-degree head angle, it follows the trend. The riding position is sporty without being extreme. With the arrow symbol , you can pull individual models from our extensive market overview into comparison with any other bike. This allows you to directly compare geometry data head-to-head.

With its rigid seatpost, tires with just a hint of tread, and minimal rear suspension travel, it’s clear that the Epic World Cup is fine-tuned for racing. Off-road, it charges ahead. On the power stroke, the bike, weighing in at just 9.46 kilograms, indeed imparts that divine sensation of peak condition. The super lightweight Roval Carbon wheels do their part to stoke this feeling.

Downhill, the high seat post remains limiting. Even the 110 mm of travel on the fork, which is a bit more generous than traditional designs, doesn’t compensate for this. The Specialized Epic World Cup can be intuitively navigated along the trail, but demands solid skills in more technical sections. In practical testing, the bike comes across more as a comfortable hardtail than a superlight race full-suspension.

We stripped down the Epic World Cup and weighed the S-Works frame with rubber protectors but without the shock at a frame size L at 1560 grams. That’s a respectable weight, considering that many race full suspension frames break the 2000-gram barrier. Even the weight weenies at Cervelo can’t match this weight with their ZFS 5. However, it’s nearly twice as heavy as a comparable hardtail frame.

For that, you get a steering stop limiter, a threaded BSA bottom bracket, and the option to mount two bottle cages. And the substantial bolt connections of the shock to the seatstays leave no doubt about the frame’s stiffness. No excessive flex in the frame was felt even in field tests.

The striking resemblance inevitably draws one to compare the Trek Supercaliber with the Specialized Epic World Cup. Even though nobody in Morgan Hill would ever admit it, it’s undeniable that the Supercaliber was at least a minor inspiration during the development phase of the new Epic World Cup.

Subtracting the typical three to four-year mountain bike development period from today’s date roughly brings us back to the presentation date of the 2019 Trek Supercaliber. Trek has already unveiled the second generation of the Supercaliber last year.

Nonetheless, the frame of the Specialized is significantly lighter, the whole concept is executed without the need for a lockout lever in comparison to the Trek, and it also features a distinctly more modern geometry. We’ve already drawn up a comparison for you so you can form your own opinion.

The Epic is available in three spec levels ranging from €7200 to €12500. We’ve taken a closer look at all the options. With the arrow icon , you can drag each model into the comparison with any other bike from our extensive market overview.

Find out what matters in race bikes and how to correctly gauge the weight of a race bike in our race bike buying guide.