The Epic 8 race bike with a longer fork and meatier rubber. That's the trick.
The formula for the Evo is not complex. Take Specialized's World Cup winning XC frame, put on a different fork and parts kit. Boom. It's an Epic Evo. 130mm fork, slacker-by-half-a-degree, and meatier rubber. That's it. But the result feels like more than the sum of its parts. Not an afterthought, but a legitimate, well-thought-out contender for your next downcountry ride.
Specialized is the other goliath of the US bike industry, alongside Trek. Mike Sinyard founded it in 1974 with $1,500 he made selling his VW van; in 1981 he designed the Stumpjumper, arguably the first mass-produced mountain bike. Sinyard is still the majority owner (Taiwan's Merida holds the other 49%). The Morgan Hill, CA headquartered company puts out a catalog that spans just about every type of bike you could imagine, and despite making "I want to get around my retirement community" bikes for your great aunt, also makes its way consistently to the top of World Cup XC and DH podiums. The dealer network is dense enough that warranty support is rarely an epic saga, and you're likely to have a few bike-twinsies at most West Coast trailheads.
Specialized's naming conventions sort of make sense. Epic = their XC race bike. EVO probably stands for evolution or evolved, far be it from us to look through mounds of press releases to find out, but what it means when you add EVO to Epic is "we slacked out our XC race bike, let it gain a few lbs and we think you're gonna like it."
"S-Works" means "we made a bike for trust-fund havers and dads going through a midlife crisis who want to spend $12K plus on a non-ebike."
"SWAT" means "we cut a hole in your frame and made a spot for you to store your edibles and/or multitool and CO2." It was a good idea when Specialized came up with it, (though it does add a few grams), now plenty of other manufacturers have copied it.
Now you know everything important about how Specialized names their bikes, but what about how the Epic EVO performs?
Most brands maintain separate molds for their XC race bike and their trail-leaning sibling. Specialized argues the chassis is good enough to do both jobs, and the World Cup XC racers who increasingly chose the Evo over the Brain-equipped Epic for technical courses tend to back that up.
Build kits run from the Comp (around $5,000, SRAM GX Eagle, Fox Performance, FACT 11m frame) through the Pro ($8,500, X0 AXS, Fox Factory) and an Expert in between, up to the S-Works Epic 8 Evo at the top (around $14,000, FACT 12m carbon, top-tier suspension, unicorn tears).
Reviewers generally agree about the bike, with an asterisk. Singletracks landed on the surprise factor: an XC bike that descends harder than its travel suggests, infectious enough that several friends asked the tester how to buy one. Flow Mountain Bike called it a brilliant example of the modern XC trail bike, no caveats attached. The Radavist's Spencer Harding kept it simple: a great bike, balanced, light, and fun as hell. Freehub framed it as the right pick for the all-day rider who'll occasionally push into technical terrain. Pinkbike's Dario DiGiulio is the qualifier of the bunch: he frames the Evo as a compromise relative to the standard Epic, suggesting the XC-spec Epic might actually be all the bike most riders need.
The Epic 8 Evo is what happens when a brand with Specialized's engineering capacity commits seriously to the downcountry side of XC. Same chassis as their World Cup race frame, fork and kit tipped toward trail use, in-frame storage they finally allowed, and a price ladder that runs from approachable to absurd. Not the most distinctive personality in the category, but arguably the best-engineered.
The current EVO is a compromise, with the Epic positioned as a more solved solution. The EVO will still appeal to a lot of people, but don't underestimate the capability of the XC spec - it might be all the bike you need.
Read full review at Pinkbike →The Epic 8 is a prime example that our trail toys have reached a crescendo. Stated plainly, this is the lightweight and fun-focused bike I have been waiting for. This little XC ride learned everything it knows from the gravity sleds it cuddles alongside in the shed.
Read full review at Singletracks →The Epic Evo is a great bike; balanced, light, and simply fun as hell to ride.
Read full review at The Radavist →The new Specialized Epic EVO is a brilliant example of a modern XC trail bike.
Read full review at Flow Mountain Bike →If you're in the market for a bike that prioritizes covering a lot of ground quickly but want something that won't shy away from the occasional run down seriously technical terrain, then the Epic Evo would be an outstanding choice.
Read full review at Freehub →
