Hardtail

The Purest Form of Racing. A whole new breed of XC Hardtail, purpose built to hurt 'em on the ups, drop 'em on the downs and propel you straight to the top step. Where it thrives Between the tape What it's built for Speed, Efficiency, and Endurance Highlights - Progressive, superlight carbon frame / RockShox SID SL 100mm fork - Shimano XT/Deore 12-speed group / Shimano M500 disc brakes - WTB STX i23 tubeless ready rims / Schwalbe Racing Ray-Racing Ralph EVO tires Confidence on edge No hesitant, fistful-of-brakes descending here. The ultra slack, 66.5° front end gives you the stability and control you need to really open it up on the downhills. Brake later. Corner harder. Pass on the descents. Stay centered Scalpel HT's Proportional Response size-specific chainstays and steep seat angle keep you balanced between the wheels for better traction and power on the ups, and more confident control on the downs. Drop the chatter Sculpted flex zones in the chainstays partner with dropped seatstays to eat up the chatter from rowdy terrain, boosting control, smoothing the ride, minimizing fatigue. Go harder. Go faster. Go farther.

Gone are the days when a date with a hardtail race bike meant paying for it for days to come. Now, the Epic Hardtail Comp’s reality-altering combination of comfort and capability in a lighter-than-life package means counting down the hours until you meet again. 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 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. On the Epic Hardtail Comp, RockShox's long-beloved SID SL fork is tasked with handling suspension duties, while a full SRAM GX Eagle groupset leaves no doubts about why it sets the benchmark for accessible performance. - 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 SID SL doles out travel with a steady hand courtesy of RockShox's Rush RL damper, while Debon Air adjustability makes dialing in suspension performance a breeze. - SRAM's GX Eagle shifting has always been the benchmark for affordable high performance, and the latest offering simply raises it even further.

THINK FASTEST: The Epic World Cup is the fastest XC race bike in the world on smooth to moderately technical courses thanks to its unmatched combination of efficiency, control, and light-weight. World Champ Christopher Blevins said it best, “This thing gives me everything I could want from a hardtail, plus the control and capability of full suspension.” All it took to create this speed machine was a totally integrated development approach, inventing a radical new shock, and four decades of off-road winning experience. FRAME OF REFERENCE: To deliver maximum speed through ruthlessly efficient power transfer and precision handling, our engineering team set and achieved new standards in torsional rigidity and BB stiffness. This feat required an integrated development approach that merged a structurally superior double diamond layout with its shock cradled inside the top-tube, and finished off with the most sophisticated composite layup in Specialized history. SHOCKINGLY FAST: The Specialized Ride Dynamics team conceived of and invented a revolutionary shock technology for the Epic World Cup that gives the rider the efficiency and snappy response of a hardtail PLUS the control, capability, and momentum-carrying of full suspension—all with a simple setup. Co-developed with RockShox, the SID Deluxe WCID shock utilizes a unique independently adjustable positive and negative air springs to deliver the sought-after hardtail “snap”, combined with terrain-devouring forgiveness, and the ability to easily personalize set-up for a specific course or tune for rider preference and feel. Set it firm and it rides like a hardtail or open it up and you have a chunk-squashing ripper. But you aren't just limited “open and closed,” the simple nature of its setup allows the rider to set on a spectrum of firm to soft. PUNCHING ABOVE ITS CATEGORY: The Epic World Cup’s 75mm of rear travel delivers control and capability of a much longer travel bike. Because it’s designed to be ridden at or close to topped-out, it yields the same positive travel as a 100mm travel bike set up with 25% sag. To further optimize suspension performance, the Specialized Ride Dynamics team tuned the spring-rate to be relatively flat through the mid-stroke to handle the majority of bump forces like a longer travel bike. Due to its large size, the custom Mega Jounce Bumper is an “industry first” and plays a crucial role in smoothly managing bottom-out on the biggest impacts. HAVE WE LOST OUR MINDS? SORT OF: While the new, and groundbreaking SID Deluxe WCID shock provides the unique blend of support and compliance in the rear, the BRAIN is still alive and well in the fork. Its Position-Sensitive technology allows riders to sag into the fork 15mm for a balanced ride, providing supple small bump compliance and a firm pedaling platform without the need for a remote lockout or levers to flip. THE WEIGHT IS OVER: With a frame weight of just 1,915 grams (painted with shock and all hardware), the Epic World Cup edges out the lightest of competitors. This translates to faster acceleration, more efficiently climbing, and more agile handling. And all of that adds up to speed. We achieved the featherweight and monster stiffness of the Epic WC by applying what we learned in the development of our Aethos, the lightest production road frame ever made, specifically the advanced composite layup and tube shapes. - The all-new Epic World Cup frame features Ride Dynamics Developed suspension technology and 75mm of optimized rear wheel travel. Thanks to its shock technology, Epic World Cup delivers unmatched pedal efficiency and is ready for the roughest descents you can throw at it–no lockout switches required. - SRAM GX transmission builds on what top riders need in shifting performance and robustness, making it perfectly matched for the brutal demands of modern Cross Country racing. - An all-new SID SL BRAIN fork provides 110mm of bump-muting performance while discerning inputs from the ground or rider to provide ultimate efficiency. - Descending from a long World Cup lineage, hand-built Roval Control carbon wheels feature a modern 29mm internal-width hookless rim–maximizing strength, ride quality, and durability–while keeping weight to a minimum.

The Purest Form of Racing. A whole new breed of XC Hardtail, purpose built to hurt 'em on the ups, drop 'em on the downs, and propel you straight to the top step. Where it thrives Between the tape What it's built for Speed, Efficiency, and Endurance Highlights: - Progressive, ultralight Hi-MOD Carbon frame / Lefty Ocho Carbon 110mm fork / Integrated Cannondale App connectivity - SRAM XX1 Eagle AXS wireless 12-speed group / Level Ultimate disc brakes - HollowGram 25 carbon tubeless-ready wheels / Cannondale C1 Carbon bar and post Technology: Confidence on edge - No hesitant, fistful-of-brakes descending here. The ultra slack, 66.5° front end gives you the stability and control you need to really open it up on the downhills. Brake later. Corner harder. Pass on the descents. Stay centered - Scalpel HT's Proportional Response size-specific chainstays and steep seat angle keep you balanced between the wheels for better traction and power on the ups, and more confident control on the downs. Lead with Lefty - 110mm of the smoothest, most precise-handling ultralight front suspension out there. Extra-long fork offset brings extra agility to the super stable front end. Better control, more speed. Drop the chatter - Sculpted flex zones in the chainstays partner with dropped seatstays to eat up the chatter from rowdy terrain, boosting control, smoothing the ride, and minimizing fatigue. Go harder. Go faster. Go farther.