I did 27 races this year on the epic, from short track distances to 60+ mile marathons. I've also put slicks on it and did a fair amount of training on the road. So I've got a pretty good feel for this bike.
I made very few equipment changes to the bike right off the bat. I put Crank Bros Eggbeater 4ti pedals on it and ESI "Racer's Edge" black grips. After cutting the sidewall of the rear tire on my first ride, I switched the tires to Schwalbe. I went with a a 2.4 Rocket Ron on the front and 2.25 Racing Ralph (with Snakeskin) on the back. I set them up tubeless with Bontrager stems (for the removable core), the Specialized rim tape and Stans sealant, a very fast and reliable setup. I also got a set of SRAM Matchmaker-X clamps for the shifters and brakes for the cleaner look and adjustability. Even though they weigh a few grams more than separate clamps, I like it better.
Early in the year I would experience lower back pain and a burning sensationafter about 3 hours of racing. It would hurt so bad that I'd have to either ride with one hand so I could sit up or if there was a gravel or paved section, ride without my hands on the bars. After a few seconds of sitting up, the pain would go away for awhile. I think it was a combination of the more extended riding position than I was used to and lack of core training on my part, so I spent some time doing exercises on a medicine ball and lots of riding. The pain disappeared in mid-April and hasn't been an issue since.
The best feature of the bike is the brain suspension setup. It provides a stiff and stable pedal platform on smooth ground but goes fully active in the rough stuff. I've been on road rides and had several people say they couldn't believe the bike doesn't bob when standing for a hill climb. I keep the brain set to full firm on both the fork and shock and love it. At high speeds I can feel a little vibration on the front when going over small rocks, but I've gotten used to it and don't notice it any more. I've taken the bike to the shop for service of the suspension 3 times, according to its maintenance schedule. I think it was $50 for the in-shop services, and I don't know what the third one is since I haven't gotten it back yet. In my last ride before the Castlewood Adventure Race, I blew out the platform on the rear shock. It still functioned fine, but was fully active like a normal shock. I went ahead and rode it in the race on December 4th and took it to the shop on the 6th. They sent the parts to Specialized and are supposed to get them back today.
The bike came with a SRAM XX 2x10 drivetrain which is really nice; great, crisp shifting, even under load. But over time, I realized that I never used the small chain ring in front so decided to switch to a 1x10 setup. Dropping the front shifter, cable, housing, derailleur and inner chain ring took over half a pound off the bike.

But I couldn't find a chain-guide that would fit the bike. The seat-post mounted type wouldn't work because it has a curved oval seat-tube and the bottom bracket mounted type wouldn't work because it has a press-in bottom bracket.

At my last cross-country race of the year, the Slaughter Pen Jam in Bentonville Arkansas, about an hour and a half into the race, I broke one of the rails on my seat. It was a Specialized Phenom SL with hollow titanium rails and the right side snapped behind the seatpost mount. The trails there are really fun with lots of short climbs and dips and it broke at the bottom of one of the dips. I usually try to come off of the seat and hover when riding through those, but there were so many of them I was just staying seated. Even though I still had about forty minutes of riding left, I was winning the race so I just kept going. It made my rear-end a little sore because I was riding on my left cheek, but it wasn't painful. The next day (a Monday), I took the seat into the shop and I had a warranty replacement in my hands on Friday.


One place the bike really shines is on long gradual climbs. With just a little extra effort you can fly up a hill without downshifting. But something that still makes me nervous is the feeling of descending rough trails on such a light bike; it doesn't have that confidence inspiring solid feel of a heavier bike.
Over the course of the year I've tried several different tire combinations, and I think my three favorite are:
- Race setup: Rocket Ron front and Racing Ralph rear
- Dry hardpack: Specialized Renegade front and rear
- Muddy: Continental Mountain King
- Strengths: lightweight, climbing, comfort (after getting used to it), quick acceleration, awesome warranty
- Weaknesses: high price, minor rear flex on high-speed turns, stuff breaking after an admittedly hard year of use
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