2021 Specialized Epic Hardtail Expert

Go ahead, try and find something that’ll put a bigger smile on your face than absolutely smashing the perfect line on a fast, capable hardtail. The Epic Hardtail Expert exists to make that smile even bigger—and to make sure your face gets just as hard of a workout as your legs. Working towards the lightest bike possible has long been the race within the race, but at what cost? The battle of the grams certainly hasn’t been without its casualties, with hardtail XC race bikes coming to stand for a harsh, twitchy ride at the expense of capability and versatility. But who said fatigue from fighting against your own bike makes you any faster? Instead, recognizing that the fastest bike is more than simply the lightest bike, we said out with the jarred-to-death tail, the measure-your-posterior’s-sorrows-by-the-yard tail and in with the avant-garde tail. The ridiculously capable, mystifyingly comfortable, head-shakingly light and all-around fast, Epic Hardtail. Sure, we optimized every inch of the Epic Hardtail frame to achieve the lightest production hardtail frame in the world anyway, but we also prioritized our commitment to creating an Epic Hardtail that’s as capable as it is comfortable with aggressive singletrack-inspired geometry, increased tire clearance and a frame obsessively engineered for increased vertical compliance, all while creating a bike that lives and breathes the fundamentals of fast. The Epic Hardtail Expert's RockShox SID SL BRAIN fork offers 100 millimeters of incredibly efficient travel in a lightweight package while Roval's lightweight yet tough Control Carbon wheelset and a wide-range SRAM 12-speed group round out the lightweight build.

At a Glance

• Ridiculously capable, incredibly light, and refreshingly comfortable, the Epic Hardtail’s dropper-post friendly FACT 11m carbon frame rewrites the hardtail playbook with game-changing success.
• The 100mm-travel RockShox SID SL BRAIN fork is firm when you want it firm and plush when you want it plush—no levers required.
• Descending from a long World Cup lineage, hand-built Roval Control Carbon wheels feature a modern 25-millimeter internal-width hookless rim, and maximize strength, ride quality, and durability while keeping weight to a minimum.