Specialized Epic Evo 8
Wheel Size: 29”
Travel: 120 mm rear / 130 mm front
Geometry Highlights:
- Sizes Offered: XS, SM, MD, LG, XL
- Headtube Angle: 65.4° (Low), 65.9° (High),
- Reach: 445 mm (Size Medium, Low shock position)
- Chainstay Length: 435 mm
Frame Material: Carbon fiber
Price: Complete bikes starting at $5,000 USD / $7,500 AUD / €5,200 / £4,250
Blister’s Measured Weight (Epic Evo, size L, without pedals): 27.5 lbs / 12.5 kg
Test Location: Washington
Reviewers:
- Zack Henderson: 6’, 160 lbs / 183 cm, 72.6 kg
- David Golay: 6’, 170 lb / 183 cm, 77.1 kg
Test Duration: 3 months
Intro
Specialized gave the Epic and Epic Evo a big overhaul earlier this year, and the changes they made are typical of how XC race bikes and their short-travel Trail-bike brethren are evolving — and how quickly those changes are happening.
As World Cup Cross Country tracks have gotten much more technical, XC bikes are adapting to bring riders greater confidence in rougher terrain. The new Epic (non-Evo) looks a whole lot like the prior-gen Epic Evo on paper, which left Specialized room to bump the Evo up a bit (and, in turn, move the just-launched Stumpjumper 15 closer to the prior-gen Stumpjumper Evo).
So, where does that leave the new Epic Evo? It shares a frame with the Epic XC race bike (albeit with a different link), but its geometry wouldn’t look out of place on a true do-it-all Trail bike, it’s got a surprisingly burly build, and looks on paper like it could be a great everyday bike for some folks — even those who aren’t going to slap a number plate on it any time soon. We were curious to find out.
[For a whole lot more on the design and spec details of the new Epic and Epic Evo, check out our First Look from their launch a few months ago.]
Fit & Sizing
Zack Henderson (6’, 160 lbs / 183 cm, 72.6 kg): Specialized was an early adopter of numerical sizing (S1, S2, S3, etc.) to encourage a more open-minded approach to bike size selection, but the Epic Evo sticks with typical T-shirt sizing from XS–XL. We opted for the Large, and that was definitely the right choice for my proportions, with a 470 mm reach, 613 mm stack, and 633 mm effective top tube.
The 470 mm reach sounds slightly more compact than my typical preferences on more aggressive Trail and Enduro bikes, but the longer effective top tube and XC intentions of the Epic Evo steered me away from sizing up, and it was absolutely the right choice on a bike designed with a more responsive ride character.
The size Large Epic Evo’s 613 mm stack height feels low coming from high-stack Enduro rigs, but for my fairly average proportions, it felt just about right for a more performance-oriented body position without feeling overly aggressive. I could see some riders electing to run a higher rise bar for a more upright position, but for the intentions of the Epic Evo, I ended up enjoying the more forward-biased body position in combination with the Epic Evo’s go-fast mentality.
David Golay (6’, 170 lbs / 183 cm, 77.1 kg): The fit of the Large Epic Evo worked well for me, too — I wasn’t the least bit tempted to change frame sizes.
The seated pedaling position on the Large frame feels dialed for my proportions and preferences. The seat tube is steep enough to avoid feeling hunched over on steeper climbs, but not so over the top as to feel awkward on flatter sections or make transitioning to an out-of-the-saddle sprint clunky. With the seat dropped and the Epic Evo pointed back down the hill, the Large frame felt compact and maneuverable, but appropriately so for what is, at its core — a beefed-up XC race bike.
Like Zack, I’d typically prefer a slightly longer reach on a more aggressive, gravity-oriented bike, but that mostly just points to the limitations of reach on its own as a sizing metric — especially when comparing bikes across different use cases and/or with substantial differences in their geometry elsewhere.
I did put a slightly higher-rise bar on the Epic Evo for a portion of my testing and found that swap to make for a slightly more neutral / intuitive body position and weight bias between the wheels, especially on descents with a bit of pitch (more on that in a minute). But I agree with Zack that the overall fit and body positioning of the Epic Evo feels sensible, given its overall intentions, and this was much more a case of me fine-tuning things to my preferences than trying to make a massive change to the bike.
Climbing
Zack: With fast-rolling tires, carbon wheels, and a very lightweight frame, I expected the Epic Evo to be a rocket on the way up the hill; I was not disappointed. If anything, the incredible efficiency of the Epic Evo was even more impressive than I expected.
From the first pedal stroke, the Epic Evo feels stiff and direct, as though every ounce of your effort through the pedals is being mainlined to the rear wheel. My first shakedown ride went from a planned 10-mile outing to nearly 20 miles — the speed and responsiveness of the Epic Evo is just that addictive.
Even running about 25% sag, the suspension feels quite stiff and hesitant to give up too much travel, making it even more encouraging of hammering on the pedals and bashing into technical features on the way up and across the hill. The compact chainstays and quick steering make for lightning-fast changes in direction, meaning that an attentive pilot can keep a blistering pace even in tighter and more awkward terrain.
While the Epic Evo’s efficiency brings incredible speed, it’s also a fairly tiring bike to ride, mostly because it doesn’t want to do anything slowly. The frame is stiff, the suspension efficient, and the body position fairly aggressive. There is 120 mm of travel on tap, but especially compared to a much more aggressive short-travel bike like the Banshee Phantom V3, the Epic Evo exists on another plane as far as how game-on it feels. A more plodding pace can feel somewhat harsh since the suspension and stiff frame simply don’t iron out bumps all that well, and the steep-ish head angle can feel a bit twitchy at slower speeds. The Epic Evo encourages pushing the pace all the time, and heeding that call brings a remarkable ability to cover lots of ground, quickly.
David: Yup, even compared to most of the relatively XC-derived ~120mm-travel Trail bikes we’ve reviewed in recent years (check out our Deep Dive for more on that), the Epic Evo stands out for how efficiently it pedals and how much it wants to tick off miles quickly. It really feels like a (modern, comparatively aggressive) XC race bike with a bulked-up build — which, of course, is precisely what it is.
I think my take on how fatiguing the Epic Evo is differs from Zack’s a bit, though. Yes, the Epic Evo can be tiring simply by encouraging you to try to tear your own legs off and sprint everywhere, but you don’t have to. With a little more care to keep your uphill pace in check, the Epic Evo mostly just feels eager to cover ground efficiently. Trying to pin it up every climb is indeed tiring, but the Epic Evo encourages you to do so by making it rewarding, rather than feeling out of sorts if you’re taking things easier. Dial back the pace a little, and the Epic Evo just feels sprightly and (at least comparatively) effortless on the way up.
That said, even by the standards of ~120mm-travel Trail bikes, the Epic Evo’s suspension feels notably firm off the top, especially in terms of low-speed compression damping (even with the climb switch open). That’s great for efficiency, but less so when it comes to compliance; the Epic Evo transmits a good bit of feedback through the rear wheel at lower speeds.
Personally, I think I’d prefer that the low-speed compression tune be dialed back in open mode, both to give the option for a more compliant, comfortable ride on the way up and (especially) for performance on the way back down. The climb switch is there if you want it; as is, I rarely felt the need to reach for it since the open mode is already quite firm.
So if you want your 120mm-travel bike to be relatively efficient — while also being pretty compliant and cushy on the way up — there are a few options that might fit the bill better. (Check out our Deep Dive for more on that.) The Epic Evo is more just efficient, period — and is very, very sharp for it.
It’s still an excellent technical climber if you’re into a bike that favors fairly precise riding and putting down power well over aiming for maximum grip and compliance to just rock crawl over everything. Its rear wheel traction is surprisingly good, given just how efficiently the Epic Evo pedals and how firm / supportive the rear suspension feels off the top. The best way I can describe it is that the Epic Evo’s rear suspension isn’t super quick to erase bumps, especially at lower speeds, but has enough compliance to even things out and keep the rear wheel gripping pretty well most of the time; you’re just going to feel what it’s doing.
But again, we’re talking about what is, at its core, an XC race bike that’s been doing some extra squats and bulked up a bit. The Epic Evo’s climbing performance is entirely in keeping with that design brief, and really damn good if you come to it with reasonable expectations for what sort of bike you’re working with. But I was less sure of what I could expect from the Epic Evo on the way down — and I was curious to find out.
Descending
Zack: In the same way that the Epic Evo wants to push the limits of your cardiovascular system on the way up the hill, descending on the Epic Evo is both demanding and incredibly rewarding.
The stiff, light frame has a fleet-footed feeling, with the Epic Evo preferring to skip over obstacles rather than absorb them. The 120 mm of suspension travel out back is there to bail you out, but it certainly doesn’t have any sort of plush feeling to it — rather, it feels purposeful and seems to only use as much travel as is absolutely necessary to keep the chassis pointed in the right direction. Specialized uses a digressive damper tune on the Epic Evo, meaning that there’s a lot of low-speed compression that blows off to softer high-speed compression on bigger hits. That lends a fast and very snappy (though not the most comfortable) feeling on smaller undulations and bumps, but an ability to use full travel fairly easily on bigger hits.
As we’ve mentioned, the Epic Evo does have a burlier build than the standard Epic, one highlight being the upgraded Code brakes and 200 mm front / 180 mm rear rotors on the size Large (some smaller sizes get 180 mm rotors front and rear, though it’s not clear from the specs exactly where that change happens in the size range).
These burlier brakes ended up being quite an asset in reigning in the Epic Evo when things got a bit squirrely, which could happen pretty quickly — it turns out that thin-casing tires, stiff carbon wheels on our Pro build, and an ultralight frame do not damp harsh impacts all that well. Truly sketchy sections could bring a sense of “windup” in the frame and wheels, as though it were flexing and then snapping back into its original form. This could lead to a somewhat skittish sensation at times, but the Epic Evo almost always maintained just enough poise to help you survive — nearly as though it was warning you of the limit rather than simply punishing you for passing it.
With that said, I will be the first to admit that I rode the Epic Evo well outside of its intended use. Riding little bikes at the limit can be a ton of fun and a great way to get more direct feedback from the bike regarding your line choice, riding form, etc. As wild as things could get sometimes, I was continually impressed by the Epic Evo’s ability to communicate its limits and bail me out when I occasionally surpassed them.
While some bikes feel like they have more travel than they actually do, the very efficient rear suspension of the Epic Evo never really lent that sensation — it felt like a short-travel bike, and an incredibly responsive one at that. I spend a lot of time riding big Enduro bikes with frightening levels of descending prowess, and I found myself falling in love with how the Epic Evo rewarded precise riding while also making trails that feel ponderous on a bigger bike seem exciting and new.
David: I’m mostly on the same page as Zack here, too. Unsurprisingly, the Epic Evo is pretty sharp in its handling and much more eager to change direction, pick clean lines, and skip over rougher bits of trail than it is inclined to smash its way through them. But it’s stable enough to have a fairly high bar for how hard it can be pushed before it starts to feel twitchy and out of sorts, while still feeling super quick and precise across a big range of speeds and sorts of terrain.
As mentioned up top, I did wind up trying a slightly higher rise bar for a good portion of my testing and found that to make the Epic Evo’s preferred body positioning just a little more neutral; with the stock setup, the front end felt a touch lower than I wanted, pulling me more forward than was ideal. Mostly, I felt locked into that position, making it harder to get more centered on the bike and get light to loft it over stuff when I wanted to. But, again, I only went a touch higher there, and with that small tweak made, I got along great with the Epic Evo’s handling manners.
Especially on more rolling, varied sorts of trails, the Epic Evo is a blast. It’s eager to build speed by pumping and/or sneaking pedal strokes where you can, and it’s happy to sprint up short, punchy climbs and generally just go fast in whatever manner you’d like. The Epic Evo is lively and eager to take to the air off any little feature if you care to do so, and is generally quick but intuitive in its handling. It’s also grippy and stable enough to corner quite hard, provided you’ve got a little support from the corner and no super big holes to remind you that you’re on a beefed-up XC race bike.
I had somewhat more mixed feelings about the Epic Evo’s rear suspension performance, though, especially when trying to step out and push it into steeper, rougher trails than it was probably strictly meant for. I think this was largely to do with the quite digressive-feeling compression tune that Zack mentioned.
As with pretty much everything to do with bike design and setup, it’s a tradeoff — and I get why Specialized made it. The firm low-speed compression damping provides a ton of support early in the travel to help with pedaling efficiency, and it makes the Epic Evo especially energetic and eager to build speed by pumping and working with the terrain on mellower, flowier bits of trail. But then it gives way to a more compliant feel when you really hit something hard and need the wheel to move.
And that works well a lot of the time, especially when you’re sticking to the sorts of trails that are most squarely in the Epic Evo’s wheelhouse. E.g., those that are varied, rolling, and fast, but not steep and rough to the point that you’d be tempted to break out a bigger bike. But the Epic Evo’s handling often put a little devil on my shoulder, whispering in my ear to push it harder on steeper, rougher terrain than its designers likely had in mind. And that was a blast, too — up to a point.
On bigger, sharper impacts, the Epic Evo’s rear suspension could feel like it was a bit quicker to blast through the middle part of the travel than I wanted, making the rear end settle down and upset my weight distribution between the wheels. Firming up the three-position open-mode compression adjuster on the Fox Float rear shock helped a little, but doing so mostly felt like it added more low-speed compression damping rather than firming things up at higher shaft speeds.
All that said, I’m also talking about taking the Epic Evo down some trails that most people are riding on at least ~140mm-travel Trail bikes (if not 160+ mm Enduro ones). The fact that I was even tempted to try them on the Epic Evo — and had a blast doing it — says a lot. I just think I’d rather have a slightly more middle-of-the-road damper tune in the open setting on the shock, and save the more digressive setup for the climb mode. Doing so would presumably reduce some efficiency in the open mode and maybe detract from the Epic Evo’s overall liveliness and energy a touch, but I’d personally take that trade and just use the climb switch more often.
The Build
Zack: For its $8,500 USD asking price, the Epic Evo Pro unsurprisingly does not leave much to be desired from a specifications standpoint. Shifting is handled by SRAM’s XO Transmission, the wheels are Specialized’s own Roval Control rims on Industry Nine 1/1 hubs, and the brakes are SRAM’s Code Silver Stealth — a welcome and unusually beefy choice for a 120mm-travel bike.
Fox’s Factory suspension and dropper post contrast their familiar Kashima shine against the frame’s (rather pretty) satin green paint, which has some gold flake in several areas to further tie in the colors. It’s an attractive bike, though the $8,500 price tag means it presents only a fairly average value — you can get a similar spec for less money with other companies.
While the regular Epic gets the XC-focused SID suspension from RockShox, the Epic Evo Pro gets a bump to Fox’s latest Float rear shock and a 130 mm Fox 34 GRIP2 fork, which sacrifices a bit of weight in the name of better performance in rougher terrain. I’m not the biggest fan of the GRIP2 damper in longer-travel formats due to its relatively low levels of compression support, but it works absolutely brilliantly in the Fox 34 — this was the most impressive lightweight short-travel fork I’ve ridden to date, and it does an admirable job of keeping the front end gripping in tricky terrain.
Specialized has been upping its tire game in recent years, and the Epic Evo Pro’s Purgatory T9 front tire paired with the Ground Control T7 rear tire proved impressive on the trail. I wouldn’t have minded more braking grip from a more substantial rear tire than the Ground Control, but rolling speeds were impressively high with fairly good wet grip, except in deeper mud. The GRID casing definitely feels a bit flimsy compared to my normal tire selections, and while I think they’re wholly appropriate on a bike like the Epic Evo, I would be tempted to bump up to GRID Trail tires, accepting a slight weight gain for a more damp-feeling casing.
Other parts left little to write home about, and I mean that in a good way. The Roval Control rims were stiff but not overly so, and they stayed true throughout testing despite a few solid rim pings when I managed to overwhelm the GRID casing tires. The XO Transmission was particularly impressive on the Epic Evo because of just how much the Epic Evo invited constant power output — shifting under power was a frequent yet uneventful affair with the Transmission setup.
As a small rant, I’m tired of plastic parts in headsets. It seems that every manufacturer is looking for ways to build new, smoother aesthetic lines into their top and head tubes, and plastic headset covers and other parts are becoming an all too common sight. It’s not just that I have a vendetta against plastic on its own (though I do, if I’m honest); it’s that these plastic parts love to creak, make popping sounds, and otherwise be noisy as they flex and shift under force. The one area of the Epic Evo that consistently made some noise without routine re-greasing was the upper headset cup and cover.
On a final note, it’s worth mentioning just how well Specialized nails the frame details on their bikes. The Epic Evo is no exception, with well-placed and well-considered frame protection details on the chain stay, seat stay and downtube, as well as quiet (and non-headset routed) internal routing. The updated SWAT downtube storage is also a vast improvement over the prior versions I’ve used on the Stumpjumper and Enduro, moving from the old plastic clip to a particularly smooth-feeling aluminum lever. The box also has a proper rubber seal around it, which kept grit out of the frame even in grim conditions.
David: Not much to add here. Specialized has done a really nice job of keeping the Epic Evo light and efficient where practical while beefing up a few key bits (most notably the brakes) compared to most other bikes in this class, and those bits are the ones where added weight will have the greatest performance impact. It’s a nice recipe for making a pretty XC-race-oriented bike a more viable all-rounder Trail bike for folks who’d prefer a relatively efficient, snappy bike that still displays a lot of that XC-derived DNA.
I’ll also echo Zack’s praise for the updated Purgatory front tire, in particular. It’s very impressive as a fast-rolling-but-still-pretty-grippy option that works surprisingly well in a fairly wide range of conditions, including faring a lot better than I expected when things got wet and greasy, so long as the mud wasn’t all that deep.
Who’s It For?
Cross Country and lightweight Trail bikes are increasingly common sights on all sorts of trails, and with the performance on offer, it’s easy to understand why — lightweight bikes have never been more capable and fun on the descents. As it grows in popularity, this category is also increasingly diverse, with some bikes performing more like mini-Enduro bikes than overgrown Cross-Country bikes. The Epic Evo sits decidedly on the latter end of the spectrum, with a clear go-fast attitude and responsive (if somewhat demanding) handling.
That unapologetic bias toward covering miles quickly makes the Epic Evo, well, a bit of a specialist, but it’s an extremely fun one. Riders with an XC slant who find some modern Trail bikes to feel inefficient will find a lot to like in the Epic Evo’s high-strung nature, and experienced bike handlers looking for a uniquely spirited ride will find the Epic Evo to be a rewarding way to spice up trails that feel a bit dull on a bigger bike.
Bottom Line
Specialized listened to the needs of their XC racers in designing the new Epic platform, and that bike has already delivered results at the highest levels of racing. The Epic Evo applies some slightly more aggressive spec choices to the race-bred DNA of the Epic, but it remains an efficiency-first, game-on bike. It’s no jack of all trades, but riders seeking a blisteringly fast ride with enough composure to hold it together on fun descents will find a lot to like in the Epic Evo.
Deep Dive Comparisons
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Deep Dive: Specialized Epic Evo 8
We compare the Specialized Epic Evo to the Trek Top Fuel, Banshee Phantom V3, Santa Cruz Tallboy, Revel Rascal V2, Transition Spur, Canyon Spectral 125, and Rocky Mountain Element.
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All I hear about is how lightweight cc bikes are this and that but we never actually say what it does weigh…
As with all our reviews, our actual measured weight is listed in the specs up top.
I have been riding the Epic 8 EVO Comp in Bend for the last several months and it’s perfect for our relatively mellow and flowy trails. The tradeoffs are well executed. It does not roll over tech like a 140/150mm bike, but it works, and it does climb very well. Going to try a low rise bar and tweak the rear suspension as mentioned in the review.
People who bought this bike are reporting that the sta is like 1 deg steeper than listed on the geo chart. Probably the reason why you felt the need to use high rise bars to balance it.