Specialized Says the New Epic is the Lightest (Production, Hardtail) Mountain Bike on Earth

Specialized just announced updates to the Epic hardtail, and it’s a weight weenie’s dream come true. This racy, cross-country hardtail frame weighs a claimed 774g in size medium, but that’s not all Specialized wants you to know about the bike.

Looking at the geometry of the new Epic, Specialized slackened the headtube by more than a degree to 68.5°. The designers also reduced the fork offset and increased the reach for a longer, slacker bike. In their marketing materials, Specialized says these changes were made in response to “rougher” race courses and also to make the bike more comfortable.

The silhouette of the Epic has been updated as well, with thinner seat stays and an arced seat tube. The seat tube change, along with a new carbon fiber layup, is said to improve comfort and also boost tire clearance. Specialized is billing the new Epic hardtail as “the most capable, comfortable, and versatile in its class” and the ability to run wider tires could arguably check all three of those boxes.

Now, about the weight. The new Epic drops 101g off the weight of the previous version, which was itself 200g lighter than the one before it. Specialized adds the caveat that this is the lightest production hardtail on earth, but it’s not like there are many custom frame builders working in carbon fiber to get weights this low. We’re not sure about qualifying the statement with the word hardtail either; a full suspension frame would clearly have to weigh more. Outside of folks modifying stock carbon frames by shaving bits off, it’s safe to say this is probably the lightest at the moment.

Pricing for the top-of-the-line, S-Works Epic hardtail is set at $9,520USD with an AXS drivetrain. There’s also an S-Works “Ultralight” build priced slightly less at $9,020, and an XTR build for $8,520. More affordable builds, and bare S-Works frames, and currently listed as “Coming Soon” on the Specialized website.

	Small	Medium	Large	Extra large
CRANK LENGTH	170mm	175mm	175mm	175mm
STEM LENGTH	60mm	75mm	75mm	75mm
SEATPOST LENGTH	350mm	400mm	400mm	400mm
SADDLE WIDTH	155mm	143mm	143mm	143mm
HANDLEBAR WIDTH	760mm	760mm	760mm	760mm
REACH	405mm	430mm	455mm	480mm
TOP TUBE LENGTH, HORIZONTAL	579mm	604mm	633mm	662mm
STACK	608mm	608mm	622mm	636mm
WHEELBASE	1090mm	1115mm	1146mm	1176mm
CHAINSTAY LENGTH	430mm	430mm	430mm	430mm
FRONT CENTER	668mm	693mm	723mm	753mm
BB DROP	63mm	63mm	63mm	63mm
BB HEIGHT	309mm	309mm	309mm	309mm
SEAT TUBE ANGLE	74°	74°	74°	74°
HEAD TUBE ANGLE	68.5°	68.5°	68.5°	68.5°
SEAT TUBE LENGTH	400mm	430mm	470mm	520mm
HEAD TUBE LENGTH	95mm	95mm	110mm	125mm
BIKE STANDOVER HEIGHT	762mm	792mm	816mm	847mm
FORK RAKE/OFFSET	42mm	42mm	42mm	42mm
FORK LENGTH, FULL	506mm	506mm	506mm	506mm
TRAIL	101mm	101mm	101mm	101mm