Time for cmh to pony up and get an 036?

[cmh]

Congrats cmh!  I'm super jealous; the Epic is one of my dream bikes.  Amazing rides and I see a ton of them at the races.  I was actually reading your post on the Epic bikes on MTBR recently.

Thanks! I demo'd one back when I wound up buying the Rumblefish, but wasn't terribly impressed. Same with the Stumpjumper. At this last demo day, though, I was blown away by both. Since the Stumpjumper FSR is a long travel trail bike, like the Rumblefish, it was the Epic which really got my attention. It was crazy fast, but comfortable, and within moments of hopping on it, I set a PR on a trail where I go when I want to ride fast. That's pretty damn telling.

Which model/paint scheme are you getting?  Will it be 1x11?  Have that crazy new RS fork?  I want to demo one, but I'm afraid trying leads to buying...

* Epic Elite Carbon 29 World Cup. I've realized that my bikes have a theme when it comes to names:
Strange names: Rumblefish
Long names: Epic Elite Carbon 29 World Cup
Strange, long names: Boris the Evil Brute Sprung
* Definitely 1x11 - the one that I demo'd had the XX1 which I've ridden on several bikes now and am fairly convinced is the best drivetrain out there right now. However, that bike was $10k - uh, yeah, no... so mine will have the X1, two levels down.
* No RockShox RS-1 fork - that's on the $10k and $12k models - see above. This one is the SID with the Brain valving. Actually the same one on the 2015 that I demo'd.
* Yeah, I would warn caution when it comes to demoing the Specialized. Nobody warned me, and look where I wound up.

[Carbon_Dude]

Yep, congrats CMH!  The Epic is one of those bikes I wouldn't mind having in my garage next to my Chiner.  Before I build my 057 I came really close to buying an Epic 29er frame on eBay and doing my build from there.  I test road an Expert Carbon Epic and the Epic World Cup, I preferred the geometry of the Expert Carbon Epic as the WC felt like it had a shorter wheelbase and steeper HT angle.

If I want'ed to buy a big name bike tomorrow, the Epic would be near the top of my list.  I also have owned 26" Epic and really liked that bike as well so moving up to the 29er a few years ago, it was a logical choice to go for the Epic until I saw the price tag.  I wanted the SRAM XX1 drivetrain and in order to get that, the price was around $7k.  Specialized is very proud of their bikes.

Which model Epic did you order and what was the cost, if you don't mind me asking?

[cmh]

Yep, congrats CMH!  The Epic is one of those bikes I wouldn't mind having in my garage next to my Chiner.  Before I build my 057 I came really close to buying an Epic 29er frame on eBay and doing my build from there.  I test road an Expert Carbon Epic and the Epic World Cup, I preferred the geometry of the Expert Carbon Epic as the WC felt like it had a shorter wheelbase and steeper HT angle.

Yep, and that's exactly what made me love the World Cup. Many of the trails that I ride don't need the long travel and slower handling of the Rumblefish, so I'd been wanting something more XC agressive and I think there are few bikes the deliver that quite so well.

If I want'ed to buy a big name bike tomorrow, the Epic would be near the top of my list.  I also have owned 26" Epic and really liked that bike as well so moving up to the 29er a few years ago, it was a logical choice to go for the Epic until I saw the price tag.  I wanted the SRAM XX1 drivetrain and in order to get that, the price was around $7k.  Specialized is very proud of their bikes.

Which model Epic did you order and what was the cost, if you don't mind me asking?

I got the Epic Elite Carbon 29 World Cup - and although the shop that sponsors our team is a Specialized dealer, they got all weird when I contacted them to try and buy from them, so I went local and paid full price.

I had been looking at used ones on eBay, and it was the proximity in price between some of the used XX1 bikes and the brand new X1 bike that convinced Grace and I to go new. Only a little bit more for a bike with a full warranty. Four years into owning the Rumblefish I discovered the swingarm had cracked, brought it to the dealer and got it replaced no problem, no charge. Hard to argue with that.