During my yearly pilgrimage to the Sea Otter Classic, I was asked to take a detour before the bulk of the event to check out a new off-road bike from Specialized. I wondered what this new bike would be, certainly not an Epic… the Epic 8 just came out two years ago, and its kinda the bike for most racers. So I set my heart for a new Epic HT, and thought “this is what’s coming”, some magic gravel middle super hardtail…. Boy, was I wrong.
Meet The New Specialized Epic 9
I found myself face-to-face with an all-new Epic design, one that looked different from the Epic 8 but had the same calling cards. I wandered over to the bike, with no real information given just yet, and, as most riders do… lifted it up. Truthfully, I was kinda shocked and very excited to see what Specialized couldn’t wait another two years to launch.
How did we get here? The Specialized Epic is a bike that is easy to spot and easy to understand. If you were a mountain biker from the 90s, frozen in time (ENCINO MAN style), and brought back to the current… you’d see the Epic 9 and say, “Well…that must be the top of the line Specialized full suspension race bike” – amongst other hilarious 90’s weezing the juice style one liners (hopefully).
The reason is that Specialized kept the Epic name (and trademark) synonymous with racing and performance. They never ventured off the path, bounced around new names, or deviated from the plan. So when the design team thinks they can improve it, they push out a new one as quickly as possible.
The thing that works about the Epic being the same but fluid is that it’s always changing toward what CX/marathon riders are looking for. Nearly every iteration forecasts the trends and nails it. I can say that about nearly every Epic (Epic WC really wasn’t my bag, though). The S-Works Epic 9 follows all the lines laid before it, but makes some of its own.
S-Works Epic 9 Recap
If you missed the tech and news piece, you can check out all the details here – as I’m gonna mention the hits to get to the ride impressions faster.
Specialized has taken the current Epic formula, shaved off a meaningful amount of weight, and made the suspension calmer and more active. They kept the handling modern without turning it into some confused downcountry detour, but also kept the platform open enough for a 130mm fork – allowing for a “make your own EVO design”.
Impressions: S-Works Epic 9
My bike for the two days of mixed XC riding was the S-Works Epic 9. This is the same model the Specialized Factory Team will be racing all season, and the same one they helped to develop. It sits right at the sharp end of the new lineup, and unlike the even lighter LTD UL build, this one feels like the more complete expression of what the bike is meant to do.
The LTD UL is lighter (and slightly less expensive) but has less travel and no RockShox Flight Attendant. The S-Works Epic 9 has everything that you’d need to be the fastest: S-Works FACT 12m carbon frame, RockShox SID Ultimate Flight Attendant fork, RockShox SIDLuxe Ultimate Flight Attendant shock, SRAM XX SL Eagle Transmission, Quarq power meter, Super light Roval Control World Cup wheels, SRAM Motive Ultimate brakes, and a RockShox Reverb AXS dropper. The whole package weighs 21.29 lbs without pedals – bonkers.
The S-Works Spec
If you’re looking for more in a spec, you don’t need it. That is, unless you’re looking for Shimano shifting or Fox suspension. The Epic 9 comes with all the top kit from SRAM on the mountain side. I love seeing the high-power Motive Ultimate brakes on a cross-country build, and I believe this will be the standard moving forward.
As for wheels, you can’t find many (production-wise that I know) lighter than the Roval World Cup wheels (the 993g NOBL Ethos 180SL is one such example, though it’s not clear if that includes tape and valves like the 998g Roval World Cups). They are under 1000g, and you can beat the heck out of them.
As for touch points, the S-Works Epic 9 arrives with the newly minted S-Works EVO Mirror saddle and some very new (launched with the Epic 9) Roval Control SL MTB bars. If you’re a fan of the older version of the Control SL bars, you’ll like this one more, I promise.
New Bars – Who Dis
The new Roval Control SL integrated cockpit looks like Specialized took the old one-piece bar/stem and gave it a little less World Cup chiropractor energy. The big shift is the stem angle, which moves from a very aggressive -12° on the previous setup to a more livable -6° on the new Epic 9.
The upsweep bumps from 1° to 2°, backsweep stays at 8°, and stock width remains 760mm, so the overall feel is plenty racy, just not quite as slammed and severe at the hands. The new bar keeps the sharp XC intent, but with a slightly more neutral wrist position. This creates a front end that will be easier to get along with for more riders over longer days.
S-Works Epic 9 – Ride Impressions
Sometimes, at press events and other rides, it’s hard to separate the location from the bike or gear you’re riding. For this launch, we were in Monterey, near the Sea Otter Classic XC course, and as an East Coaster, I was more than excited to get out of the cold.
However, riding in new locations and unfamiliar terrain takes you out of your comfort zone. It lets you see what the gear can do, because you might not know exactly what’s coming, and that’s what happened to me on most of the riding.
My Bike
First, throwing a leg over the Epic 9 (after getting my fit numbers in) felt like I was riding my own bike after a tune-up. A very comfortable feeling – one that I’m used to. As I mentioned, I know the Epic well, and this feels like the Epic 8 from the saddle. Once the ride kicked off, I needed that familiarity, as Matt Beers was a ride guest and everyone wanted to see just how fast he was. After a long morning flight, I was biting the stem to keep my spot.
I quickly learned that the new Epic 9 is an all-out race machine, but allows the rider to roll with the punches (and I felt like I took a few). The very first thing I noticed was the weight. It’s not all the wheels, but they play a central part in the equation. Paired with the stiff lockout of the Flight Attendant and the one-piece bar, the 998g wheels sing uphill.
Then you notice that extra bit of confidence in the way the bike’s geometry and vibe. It’s hard to describe; it’s like a good cup of coffee. You feel like, “yeah, I’ll gap that” and put a bit more intention into the trail features. This sensation is a mix of the slightly tweaked geometry and suspension feel. The updated suspension design is a huge part of what makes the Epic 9 a threat in the tech.
Welcome to the Magic Middle
The Specialized design team says this new Epic has 11% less stiction than the Epic 8 suspension. You can feel it in the slightest bits. The suspension is active but buttery-smooth, so you really don’t notice it. It adds to the climbing, the traction, and more importantly, the way the bike feels on most of the riding you’ll encounter.
Oh @#$! Mode
As for the fully open mode, it comes on when you least expect it, and when you need it. I never bottomed out the travel, but the sensation on the trail makes you feel like you might. When ripping down hill over the roots and rocks of the Santa Cruz trail systems, it was point and shoot. On the gnarlier bits you crawl, the suspension is active, constantly adapting with Flight Attendant input.
I noticed the fully open mode, especially when I brake-checked some unfamiliar features. These were drops and gaps that were new to me. I didn’t bail, but I could have had more speed if you know what I mean, and the lines I took would make most cringe. But the Epic 9 ate it up; it enabled me to pull myself out of a tailspin without pogoing me off the front end or making me feel like I was jumping on a blown-out mattress. I was greeted with positive suspension feedback and, to my surprise, not a bottom-out knock.
As for the fully locked mode, there’s not much to say. It’s there when you need it, like at the start of a race, hitting the pavement on climbs, long open sections, and a sprint for the line. The one thing I noticed is that the combo of the bar/stem, lightweight wheels, and lighter overall package puts an exclamation point on the lockout’s efficiency.
There are more ride notes to take, and we hope to include more than “it’s faster” in the full review. In every way except one, the new Epic 9 feels like an excellent predecessor to the short-lived Epic 8 series. That one glaring detail is the price.
The $15,250 Elephant in the Room
If there’s one thing that can change the tune of a great product, it’s the price. Now, that doesn’t mean the product isn’t worth the asking price; it’s that the pricing itself might be out of control. In this instance, $15,250 for a cross-country race bike feels like it’s too much. Just like the $25,000 Factor Bugatti and the new Colnago C72 – especially with how much we have going on in the world currently. But again, this is the race bike, the halo build, the factory team spec.
The Pricing Trend
But looking at the trend in Epic pricing from the past five years, the trend is pretty clear: Specialized’s top-end XC race bike has gotten a whole lot pricier, and they set the standard.
The 2021 S-Works Epic landed at $12,000 (this was a big pill to swallow at the time), the 2024 S-Works Epic 8 jumped to $14,500, and the new 2026 S-Works Epic 9 now sits at $15,250.
- 2022 S-Works Epic — $12,000.
- 2024 S-Works Epic 8 — $14,499.99.
- 2026 S-Works Epic 9 — $15,249.99.
The big picture doesn’t need much help: in just a few seasons, the halo Epic has gone from “painfully expensive” to “yeah… that is a used-car conversation,” with the new Epic 9 now about $3,250 higher than the 2022 S-Works Epic, or roughly a 27% jump.
I understand that the Roval World Cup wheels are $3,000 compared to the previous SL model’s $2,000, but it’s still hard. The same goes for the inclusion of Rock Shox Flight Attendant suspension, I know, that’s another added layer of cost.
The lower-spec models are not much of a price break; the Epic 9 Pro lands at $12,000, and the Epic 9 Expert at $7,500 (no Flight Attendant).
For Who Then?
I guess the larger discussion is, are we still willing to pay for bikes this expensive? For the “XC racer at all costs” crowd and the Triple A Jr Squads with team buses, yeah, I’m sure they have them with a few to spare in the trailer. But for the working racer, this lineup is hard to navigate and justify. The prices are too much for anything else in the race budget.
But Specialized knows this bike has a buyer, and eliminating the Evo and World Cup versions will undoubtedly push them towards one of these models.
More to come in a long-term review.
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