2010 Specialized S-Works Epic review

Thanks to the Specialized demo wagon, I got a chance to take a couple rides on the new 2010 S-Works Epic this weekend at the Burnin' at the Bluff race.  The first ride was just a casual lap around the 13+ mile race course, the second was one of my race laps at the relay style race.

First off I'll describe the terrain I rode.  The trail at council bluff lake recreation area is essentially a 13 mile loop (counting the extra trail used for the race) around the lake.  It has lots of dips (which were filled with water), some decent hills, some amazing rock gardens and lots of opportunities to break stuff. Here's a link to the trail map thanks to GORC.

My first impression of the bike concerns it weight.  I normally ride a 27 pound 2008 Specialized Stumpjumper FSR Pro that I built up a couple years ago and when I took off on the Epic the weight difference was very noticeable.  It's amazing what a difference 5 pounds makes.  It felt very light and responsive.

My second impression was the drivetrain.  For 2010 Specialized went with the SRAM XX group on the S-Works Epic which has a 2 x 10 gear setup with Specialized own carbon cranks.  I rode the bike around the campground before hitting the trail and I couldn't believe how quickly and easily it changed gears.  It felt seamless and there was none of the normal grinding noise I'm used to on my bike.  Up and down the shifting was really fluid.

My third impression was the suspension.  Once I hit the trail and started encountering rocks and roots the suspension started to come into play.  The fork was set up stiffer than my bike so I felt more of the trail but when I got into the really rough stuff it handled it very well and when I got hard on the brakes there was no front end dive.  The rear shock was set very firm as well and there was a slight clicking sound/feeling when the brain activated the shock but it absorbed all the bumps and felt very good.  When I stood up to pedal I didn't notice any bob whatsoever.

On the downhill's I didn't go as fast as I normally do, since I was unfamiliar with the ride and wasn't quite sure how the bike would handle it, but at the speed I was traveling it never felt loose or out of control.  The suspension did a very good job of keeping the tires in contact with the trail.

The uphills are where the bike really shines.  On hills where I normally downshift, on this bike with just a little more effort it flew up the hills and I barely noticed I was climbing.  It was a blast to climb on this bike.

I generally kept the chain on the big ring in front and worked off the 10 gears in the back.  I used the small gear up front as my bailout gear when I found myself losing momentum on a steep grade.  With just a flick of my left thumb I was able to make it up the worst Council Bluff has to offer.  Speaking of shifting, the XX does really well under load.  On my bike (with an X0 rear derailleur) when I downshift with heavy pressure on the crank it makes an awful grinding noise and sounds like something is going to break.  On the XX it was just a silent, smooth shift; front and rear.  Very cool.

During the race I turned in my fastest time (by a few minutes) while on the Epic; that's with the intentional slower speeds on the technical descents.  With more time on the bike I believe I could have shaved a few minutes more.

The 2+ hours I spent on the bike sold me.  Many times I thought to myself; "they can't make a mountain bike any better than this".  I really didn't want to give it up, but I now plan to be riding one for the 2010 season.