Completely without electronics, additional cables and a handlebar remote control, the Brain system on the Specialised Epic Since the 2000s, the suspension has been optimised to ensure that not one watt of power is wasted in the suspension. For the new generation of the race fullys, the US developers led by Mike McAndrews have revised this centrepiece of the bike. The Brain has learnt something new, so to speak. Firstly, the Brain shocks now come from Rock Shox, just like the suspension forks, which have always been modified by Rock Shock using Specialized technology. In addition, the Brain reservoir and compensation reservoir will in future be located behind the rear wheel axle. Together with the new inner workings and the straightening of the oil line, the system should work faster and react more sensitively to influences.
Brain 2.0: reacts faster to kicks and blows
The sensitivity of the Brain system on the rear triangle can still be adjusted in five stages and makes remote handlebar controls for hardening the suspension superfluous. This keeps the cockpit tidy, especially as Specialized has also dispensed with the option of mounting a front derailleur. So if you want to ride Epic, you'll have to make do with a chainring. The maintenance intervals on the Brain 2.0 are pleasing. The hydraulic system should only be serviced every 200 riding hours - just like the Rock Shox shock.
The name suffix "FSR" has been removed from the new Epic. This is because the Horst link on the rear chainstay, which decouples braking and drive influences from the rear suspension, had to make way for weight reasons. As with many current race fullys (Scott Spark or Cannondale Scalpel F-Si), the flexing carbon struts take over this task. As a result, all new Epic models - whether Pro, Expert or Comp - come with a carbon fibre rear triangle. Of course, this also has a noticeable effect on the weight: Specialized has teased 345 grams out of the frame of the Epic S-Works, while the Comp and Expert chassis is said to be an impressive 525 grams lighter than the previous model - mainly thanks to the carbon rear triangle. At 1850 grams (incl. shock and Brain), the S-Works frame should therefore be one of the lightest race fully frames on the market. The chassis of the Epic Comp will weigh almost exactly 2000 grams including shock.
Geometry: slacker steering angle and a shorter fork offset
In terms of geometry, the Epic follows the current trend: the reach is one centimetre longer on average, while the stems are ten millimetres shorter as standard. The head angle has been flattened to 69.5 degrees - on the old Epic it was 70.8 degrees. All in all, no dramatic changes to the geometry, but some that were necessary due to the more technical race tracks. However, Specialized has reduced the fork offset - i.e. the dimension between the front wheel axle and the head tube axle - from 51 to 42 millimetres. Cannondale did the opposite with the Scalpel F-Si and increased the offset. With the Epic, the shorter offset should prevent the wheelbase from becoming too long due to the significantly slacker steering angle.
The bottom bracket goes "back to the roots". For service and durability reasons, the Epic once again has a classic BSA bottom bracket shell. Two bottle cages can also be fitted for long races. Specialized didn't want to reveal anything about the prices yet. The final prices are not expected to be finalised until around Eurobike 2017. But here is a foretaste:
Prices Specialised Epic 29 2018
Epic Men S-Works Carbon Di2 9999 Euro
Epic Men S-Works Carbon Sram 8999 Euro
Epic Men Pro Carbon 6999 Euro
Epic Men Expert Carbon 4999 Euro
Epic Men Comp Carbon 29 3999 Euro
Epic Men Comp 29 2999 Euro
Epic Men S-Works Carbon frameset 5299 Euro
Epic Woman S-Works Carbon 8999 Euro
Epic Woman Comp Carbon 3999 Euro
Epic Woman Comp 29 2999 Euro
Specialised Epic 2018: The models
