Wil reviews the 2023 Specialized Epic World Cup

After months of teasing, the Specialized Epic World Cup has finally arrived! A brand new model for 2023, the Epic World Cup cuts a striking, hardtail-like figure that immediately draws parallels with the Trek Supercaliber. Looks aside, the big news is that unlike the existing Epic (and every model since the Epic was launched back in 2002), this one doesn’t use a Brain damper to control its rear suspension. Instead it utilises an all-new shock with an innovative air spring that aims to provide a highly efficient pedalling platform while maintaining a clean, cable-free cockpit.

So what’s it actually like to ride? And how does it compare to the best XC bikes on the market? I’ve been putting the new Specialized Epic World Cup to the test on my home trails to find out!

Watch our Specialized Epic World Cup video review here:

The new Specialized Epic World Cup isn’t just lighter, simpler and smoother than the current Brain-equipped Epic, it’s also considerably more tuneable.

An overview of the Specialized Epic World Cup

Designed for flat-out World Cup XCO racing, the Specialized Epic World Cup is built to compete alongside speedy XC bikes like the Canyon Lux World Cup, Giant Anthem, Scott Spark RC and Trek Supercaliber.

The Epic World Cup features an entirely new full carbon chassis that’s built around a single-pivot suspension platform. The shock sits within a hollowed-out pocket in the top tube where it’s driven by the carbon flex-stays and the world’s tiniest swing link. This delivers just 75mm of rear wheel travel, which sees this bike slotting somewhere in between the Epic HT and the regular 100mm travel Epic.

Because of the Epic World Cup’s genre-blending performance, Specialized says it will no longer be producing high-end hardtails. As for the future of the regular Epic with its Brain damper? We’ve got our thoughts on that, which we’ll touch on in a bit.

The RockShox SIDLuxe WCID shock

The biggest news with the Specialized Epic World Cup is the omission of the shock’s Brain damper. In its place is a new RockShox SIDLuxe WCID (World Cup Integrated Design) shock that was designed and engineered by Specialized’s in-house Ride Dynamics suspension team in collaboration with RockShox.

Based on a regular SIDLuxe shock, the SIDLuxe WCID shock uses a slightly narrower body that helps to maintain a slim profile for the frame’s top tube. Featuring a 40mm stroke and a whopping 215mm eye-to-eye length, it is considerably longer than a conventional XC shock. This provides room for a bigger air can and a high volume air spring.

The main air valve and tooled rebound and compression adjusters are located at the head of the shock. You won’t find a lockout though, and that’s because this shock was designed not to need one in the first place.

Rather than relying on hydraulics to provide a pedalling platform for the Epic World Cup, the Specialized team developed a unique air spring within the SIDLuxe WCID shock.

No Brain, but a clever air spring instead

Rather than relying on hydraulics to provide a pedalling platform for the Epic World Cup, the Specialized team developed a unique air spring within the SIDLuxe WCID shock.

Unlike a traditional air shock, there is no transfer port between the positive and negative chambers. You add pressure to the positive chamber in the normal way, but there’s no equalising process required. Instead you’ll find a brass Bleed Valve on the outside of the shock body. Pushing this will introduce ambient air pressure into the negative chamber, which allows you to tune the negative spring independently of the positive spring.

Specialized refers to this as the ‘Gulp’ setting. How much of a ‘Gulp’ the negative chamber takes will depend on whether you open the Bleed Valve with the shock fully extended, fully compressed, or somewhere in between. While it is infinitely tuneable, Specialized refers to three main settings to help simplify things;

• Firm – ‘No Gulp’ setting with 0% sag for the firmest and most hardtail-like feel
• Medium – ‘Half Gulp’ setting with 5% sag for a balance of efficiency and comfort
• Active – ‘Full Gulp’ setting with 10% sag for the plushest performance

What’s particularly interesting about the new Epic World Cup is the fact that it’s designed to be run with no sag when you’re in the Firm/No Gulp setting. There are very few full suspension bikes that are meant to be run this way, with the Giant NRS being a classic example from 20 years ago. The Starling Beady Little Eye is a more recent example, but the concept is still extremely rare.

There’s good reason for that too. With no sag and minimal pressure in the negative spring, there is a very pronounced nose in the beginning of the air spring curve that requires significant force to overcome. This reduces initial sensitivity, which is something that most suspension designers are trying to avoid. However, Specialized has harnessed this to create a pedalling platform that ends up performing a similar function to the inertia valve in the Brain damper. It’s actually quite clever, and it certainly works on the trail.

There’s a new RockShox SID SL fork too

While the Specialized Epic World Cup can handle any fork from 100-120mm of travel, the stock bikes feature a custom RockShox SID SL with 110mm of travel. This is actually the first time we’ve seen the lightweight 32mm SID SL chassis offered with more than 100mm of travel, and currently it’s an exclusive for Specialized.

You’ll spot some additional machining up at the fork crown to reduce weight, but otherwise most of the structure and the DebonAir spring are carried over from the regular SID SL.

The Brain damper is new however. It still features an inertia valve with a weighted brass mass that’s designed to keep the damper under pedalling inputs, before opening up when hitting a big enough bump. Compared to the pervious version, Specialized has removed the Spike Valve to provide greater high-speed flow for more supple performance once the inertia valve has opened.

The lightest XC bike on the market?

The Specialized Epic World Cup frame is produced in two variants. While physically identical, the Pro frame employs FACT 11m carbon fibre, whereas the S-Works frame uses FACT 12m carbon. According to Specialized this results in a 100g weight differential, though the two frames are said to maintain the same strength and stiffness values.

Looking at the lightest option, the Specialized Epic World Cup S-Works frame is claimed to weigh just 1,765g. That’s for a painted frame with the shock, seat collar, frame protection and rear thru-axle.

That last detail is worth pointing out, as for some reason almost every other brand on the market quotes their frame weights without the thru-axle. I have to say that I much prefer Specialized’s method, which seems like a far more honest approach.

However, for the sake of a more accurate comparison, I’ve removed the rear axle weight to see how the new Epic World Cup stacks up against the lightest XC bikes on the market;

• Specialized S-Works Epic EVO – 1,659g
• Specialized S-Works Epic World Cup – 1,712g
• Giant Anthem Advanced Pro – 1,735g
• Orbea Oiz OMX – 1,798g
• Specialized Epic World Cup Pro – 1,812g
• Scott Spark HMX SL – 1,870g
• Canyon Lux World Cup CFR – 1,894g
• Cannondale Scalpel Hi-Mod – 1,910g
• Trek Supercaliber – 1,933g
• Santa Cruz Blur 4 – 1,933g
• Merida Ninety-Six RC – 2,064g

Now as always, it’s worth taking the above figures with a grain of salt. These are unconfirmed weights provided by the manufacturers, and it isn’t always clear what size they’re referring to or whether they’re including things like paint and small parts.

Specialized has also acknowledged that it is trying to be more realistic about its claimed frame weights, and that involves taking an average from real-world production frames rather than picking the lightest out of the lot. So while the Epic EVO may be lighter than the Epic World Cup on paper, in reality the difference is likely to be negligible.

Specialized Epic World Cup geometry

While the Specialized Epic World Cup may be conservative on rear travel, it’s very progressive when it comes to the geometry.

Compared to the regular Epic, the head angle on the Epic World Cup is a full degree slacker at 66.5°. The bottom bracket also sits 10mm lower with a hefty 58mm BB drop.

However, while it is very slack and low for a pointy XC race bike, the rest of the numbers don’t necessarily move in the direction you’d expect. The reach is 5mm shorter than the regular Epic, and the seat angle is actually a full degree slacker at 74.5°.

This boils down to the dynamic ride height of the Epic World Cup, which sits a lot higher in its travel due to the reduced sag. So when you’re actually riding the bike, the fit is very similar to the current Epic.

Specialized Epic World Cup price & specs

There will be just two models in the 2023 Specialized Epic World Cup lineup to begin with.

Prices will start at $13,900 AUD for the Epic World Cup Pro that I’ve been testing, and will go up to an eye-watering $18,900 AUD for the S-Works model. There will also be a S-Works frameset available for those who wish to build up their own custom race bike.

For the extra five grand, the S-Works model upgrades to a SRAM XX SL transmission, Level Ultimate brakes and a snazzy one-piece Roval Control SL cockpit. There are some minor differences like carbon saddle rails and lighter hubs, but more importantly, both bikes are spec’d with exactly the same fork and shock.

2023 Specialized Epic World Cup S-Works

• Frame | FACT 12m Carbon, Single-Pivot Suspension Design, 75mm Travel
• Fork | RockShox SID SL Ultimate, Brain Damper, 44mm Offset, 110mm Travel
• Shock | RockShox SIDLuxe WCID Ultimate, 215x40mm
• Wheels | Roval Control SL, Carbon Rims, 29mm Inner Width
• Tyres | Specialized Fast Trak T7/T5 S-Works 2.35in Front & Renegade T5 Control 2.35in Rear
• Drivetrain | SRAM XX SL Eagle AXS 1×12 w/34T XX SL Carbon Crankset & 10-52T Cassette
• Brakes | SRAM Level Ultimate Stealth 2-Piston w/160mm Rotors
• Bar | Roval Control SL Cockpit, 760mm Width
• Stem | Roval Control SL Cockpit, 70mm Length
• Seatpost | Roval Control SL Carbon, 30.9mm Diameter
• Saddle | Specialized S-Works Power, Carbon Rails
• RRP | $18,900 AUD

2023 Specialized Epic World Cup Pro

• Frame | FACT 11m Carbon, Single-Pivot Suspension Design, 75mm Travel
• Fork | RockShox SID SL Ultimate, Brain Damper, 44mm Offset, 110mm Travel
• Shock | RockShox SIDLuxe WCID Ultimate, 215x40mm
• Wheels | Roval Control, Carbon Rims, 29mm Inner Width
• Tyres | Specialized Fast Trak T7 Control 2.35in Front & Renegade T5 Control 2.35in Rear
• Drivetrain | SRAM X0 Eagle AXS 1×12 w/34T X0 Alloy Crankset & 10-52T Cassette
• Brakes | SRAM Level Silver Stealth 2-Piston w/160mm Rotors
• Bar | Specialized S-Works Carbon XC Mini-Rise, 10mm Rise, 760mm Width
• Stem | Specialized Pro SL, 31.8mm Diameter, 70mm Length
• Seatpost | Roval Control SL Carbon, 30.9mm Diameter
• Saddle | Specialized Power Expert, Titanium Rails
• RRP | $13,900 AUD

What I particularly love about the Epic World Cup is how much its character changes when modifying the shock setup.

Specialized Epic World Cup sizing & fit

To suit my height of 175cm, I’ve been riding a medium size in the Specialized Epic World Cup.

As mentioned earlier, the fit is pretty similar to the regular Epic. However, thanks to the lower BB and slightly taller stack height, you’re nicely integrated into the frame. Along with the 760mm low-rise handlebars and the slack 66.5° head angle, the Epic World Cup doesn’t feel anywhere near as angry as you’d expect of an XCO race machine. Instead it has a decidedly calm and controlled feel to it.

The contact points are excellent, though I’m biased as I already have a Specialized Power saddle fitted to my personal bike. The lock-on grips are fine, though I’d consider swapping these out for some lighter and squishier silicone push-on grips.

Rear shock setup

Given the unique behaviour and adjustability of the new SIDLuxe WCID shock on the Specialized Epic World Cup, it requires some time to get acquainted with the various tuning options.

For the Firm setting, you simply inflate the main air valve to the required pressure. Then use a 4mm hex key to push in the brass Bleed Valve to set the negative chamber at ambient air pressure. This is the ‘No Gulp’ setting, and the shock should have zero sag when you’re sitting on the bike.

For the Active setting, you need to deflate the shock then compress it fully. With the shock compressed at bottom-out, press the Bleed Valve to introduce ambient air pressure. Allow the shock to fully extend, then inflate the main valve to the desired pressure. This is the ‘Full Gulp’ setting, and the shock should have 4mm of sag when you’re aboard.

Obviously the Medium setting sits right in the middle. Instead of fully compressing the shock, you hold it halfway through its stroke before pressing the Bleed Valve. This is the ‘Mid Gulp’ setting, and it should provide 2mm of sag.

While that might all sound a bit complicated, Specialized has developed a handy setup chart with recommended pressures and rebound settings to help get you started.

The suggestions were pretty spot-on too. For my 67kg riding weight I needed 128psi in the shock for the Active/Full Gulp setting, and 116psi in the Firm/No Gulp setting.

These pressures are on the lower side, which is due to the shock’s high air volume and the low 1.88:1 average leverage ratio. As a result, small changes in pressure are quite noticeable on the trail, so it’s worth using a digital shock pump and taking your time to get things dialled in.

You’ll need a 4mm hex key to adjust rebound and compression settings. I set rebound on the faster side (7/10 clicks) and left the compression setting all the way open (4/4 clicks).

Fork setup

There’s a setup chart for the SID SL Brain fork as well. Recommended pressures are much lower compared to a conventional SID SL, which is due to the increased support from the Brain damper. I’d normally run 100psi in a SID SL, but here I needed just 75psi. I set rebound damping a bit quicker than halfway (14/24 clicks) to balance with the back end.

The blue dial offers five settings for the Brain damper, which adjusts how much force is required to trigger the inertia valve. It’s worth noting that the platform only engages when you’re 15mm into the travel. This allows the fork to sag properly, and it provides decent sensitivity at the top of the travel before the fork firms up.

Each of the five Brain settings is useful depending on the track conditions and how you have the shock setup. I favoured the middle position when the shock was in the Firm setting, and I typically ran the Brain damper fully open when I was in the Active setting.

Specialized Epic World Cup weight

Confirmed weight for our Specialized Epic World Cup test bike is 10.32kg. That’s without pedals and with the tyres set up tubeless.

Of course the 180g Roval Control SL seatpost helps to reduce weight, and the Control wheelset is also quite light (1,505g confirmed).

There is a minor weight penalty with the SID SL Brain fork though, which adds almost 200g over a regular SID SL (1,488g vs 1,305g). Otherwise the SIDLuxe WCID shock isn’t a whole lot heavier than a conventional SIDLuxe shock (293g vs 260g), though the advantage does flip if you’re including a remote lockout and cabling.

Thanks to the supple and lightweight Control casings, the tyres came in at 738g for the Fast Trak and 681g for the Renegade. As usual, I fitted a CushCore XC insert into the rear wheel to help protect the carbon rim. Tyre pressures varied from 20-22psi on the front and 22-24psi on the rear.

What do we dig about the Specialized Epic World Cup?

Firstly, it has to be said that the Specialized Epic World Cup is one seriously good-looking bike. The shock is well-hidden within the top tube, helping to achieve the elegant, near-hardtail profile.

Unlike other bikes with integrated suspension, the shock is a doddle to remove when needed. There are no lockout cables to fiddle with either, and that contributes to the Epic World Cup’s clean lines and clutter-free cockpit.

On the trail, it’s the incredible efficiency that really defines the character of the Epic World Cup.

Set up in the Firm/No Gulp setting, this is the most efficient full suspension bike I’ve ridden. It feels pretty much locked-out, offering the kind of snappy pedalling performance you’d expect from a hardtail. This can be a little jarring to begin with since there is no negative travel like a conventional full suspension bike. There’s no real off-the-top sensitivity, and the air spring’s nose means the shock remains quite firm over smaller rocks and roots, especially at slower riding speeds.

Once you hit something hard enough to break through that threshold however, the suspension is surprisingly smooth and effective. Launch off a ledge and into a bed of rocks, and the shock offers a touchdown feel just like a conventional full suspension bike.

I found this transition to be more seamless than the Brain damper on the regular Epic, which suffers from a distinctive ‘clunk‘ every time the inertia valve opens. There is no such feedback here, and thanks to the implementation of larger top-out and bottom-out bumpers, the shock manages itself smoothly at either end of the stroke. Specialized says it’s fine to bottom out the shock once or twice on a ride, and whenever I did hit full travel it was a relatively quiet and controlled affair.

Even with the firm suspension setup, the Epic World Cup isn’t uncomfortable like you might assume. The initial movement in the fork offers useful vibration control, while the supple and high volume tyres provide terrific damping and all-terrain grip. There’s also notable compliance from the carbon rims and skinny handlebar, which all helps to mitigate high-frequency trail buzz.

Split-personality suspension

What I particularly love about the Epic World Cup is how much its character changes when modifying the shock setup. In the Active/Full Gulp setting, the back end is noticeably more sensitive across smaller rubble. And if you flip the fork’s Brain damping to the lightest setting, traction and comfort increases all-round.

I wouldn’t describe it as plush, especially compared to bikes like the Scott Spark and Merida Ninety-Six. But it is still plenty effective when you’re charging across rocky and technical XC trails. The mid-stroke is particularly active through the chunder, and there’s sufficient progression to prevent the shock from blowing through its travel. It really encourages you to ride hard and fast to get the best out of it.

There’s also a pleasingly minimal degree of feedback through the pedals, since Specialized designed the Epic World Cup with a fairly neutral level of anti-squat. This does mean that the shock will bob a little if you’re mindlessly plodding in the Active setting. However, it’s worth remembering that this doesn’t necessarily translate to a lot of vertical wheel movement due to the low leverage ratio. And if you pedal smoothly and meaningfully, the suspension firms up sufficiently.

Overall I’ve found the Active setting to be a good match for the rocky and techy nature of my local trail network. You don’t get quite the same instantaneous boost of acceleration whenever you stomp on the pedals, but it’s still incredibly responsive. Of course you could always try the Medium/Mid Gulp setting if you were after more of a middle ground between the two extremes.

Heroic handling

Clever suspension tech aside, it’s perhaps the geometry and handling that has impressed me most about the Epic World Cup.

Despite being a near-10kg featherweight, the slack 66.5° head angle affords terrific stability on the descents. The supportive suspension means it’s well-balanced dynamically too, with none of the fore-aft pitching that can happen on squishier bikes. This makes it a surprisingly planted and relatively forgiving bike if you miss your ideal line choice, and it meant I was less nervous despite not having a dropper post.

Handling is still very quick on tight singletrack. The short chainstays and low-hanging BB encourage you to slice through corners with vigour, and there is excellent lateral rigidity through the chassis to make the most of it. The tiny linkage and beefy shock internals means there’s minimal wagging from the rear end, and while this lateral stiffness is never noticeable in terms of discomfort, it is apparent in the responsive handling.

The Brain fork also contributes to the precise steering by resisting dive on smoother trails. It remains high in its travel on high-speed berms, and along with the slack head angle, there’s very little risk of the front wheel tucking if you overcook it.

What are the downsides?

As tuneable as the suspension is on the Specialized Epic World Cup, there’s no way of adjusting between the settings on-the-fly. This means you really have to commit to your chosen setup at the beginning of the race, and live with the fact that you can’t make the suspension stiffer or softer while you’re out on course. The lack of external adjustments, cables and remotes is what gives the Epic World Cup its clean and clutter-free cockpit however, and it also allows you to put all of your focus on the trail and riders ahead, without need to worry about flipping levers.

Also, while the suspension works mighty well in the Active setting, it doesn’t offer the floaty comfort of plusher and longer travel bikes like the Spark and Ninety-Six. I noticed more feedback on longer trail rides, particularly as I was getting tired.

Of course you need to remember that the Epic World Cup isn’t trying to be the cushiest bike out there. After all, this is a dedicated race machine that’s specifically designed for short track and XCO events up to 90-minutes long, where comfort is less of a priority.

For longer format marathon racing and multi-day events, or for recreational XC riding, I’d suggest looking at the 120/110mm travel Epic EVO. It offers more active suspension, with similarly progressive geometry that makes it an absolutely ripping bike to ride on flowy singletrack.

Adapting the Epic World Cup

Now I will point out that there are some avenues to explore with improving the versatility of the Epic World Cup.

While the SIDLuxe WCID shock comes from the factory without any volume spacers, there’s room to fit up to three spacers inside the air can to increase bottom-out support. I’d be curious to add some of these in order to try the shock with 20-25% sag to see if I could get it to ride more like a conventional full suspension bike.

I’d also love to add a dropper post, and I’d be interested in trying out the Epic World Cup with a conventional non-Brain fork with 120mm of travel. That might all sound a bit over-the-top, but this is a remarkably capable XC bike, and there’s no doubt more performance to be tapped into.

Headset routing & proprietary suspension

As for other downsides, some will lament the arrival of headset cable routing on a Specialized mountain bike. It does appear to be pretty well designed however, as I found out when I pulled it all apart to clean and grease the bearings.

The hidden steering limiter offers useful crash protection while being unnoticeable on the trail, and I also like that there’s a regular stem and round headset spacers. The fact that only a single brake hose passes through the upper headset makes it less of a big deal, and combined with the new Stealth brake levers, it does contribute to the beautifully clean cockpit.

While the Brain-equipped fork is relatively well proven, there is currently a question mark over the proprietary SIDLuxe WCID shock, which is yet to meet its real test in the mass market.

It does share a number of spare parts with the standard SIDLuxe shock however, and we’re told that damper and air sleeve servicing is similar. It’s also considerably less complex compared to the Brain shock on the regular Epic.

Furthermore, Specialized says the new shock structure is actually stiffer than a conventional shock. This is due to a huge Teflon support bushing in the middle, which has been made possible by the longer air can. It’s claimed that there is less binding under compression, which should result in smoother sliding and less wear over time. Well, that’s the theory anyway.

Component highs & lows

As you’d expect for a bike costing almost $14K, the Specialized Epic World Cup Pro has largely been flawless during my time with it. Aside from a creaky headset that was silenced with some fresh grease, the whole bike has been remarkably quiet and unfussy.

Both the shock and fork have bedded in nicely, becoming noticeably smoother after the first few rides. I will note that the Brain-equipped fork is a big improvement over the previous version, with the removal of the Spike Valve resulting in a much plusher action once the inertia valve has opened up. The increase to 110mm travel has also allowed more room for a larger IFP volume, which helps to smoothen it out further. The blue threshold dial offers meaningful adjustment, and the supportive damping is a great match for the Epic World Cup’s rear end.

The frame itself is well-finished, and I love the inclusion of the bottle cages, SWAT tool and storage case. The threaded BB, standard rear brake calliper and easily removable shock will no doubt be appreciated by mechanics too.

The textured chainstay protector is effective, and combined with the direct mount derailleur, drivetrain noise is nonexistent. The bulletproof SRAM XO transmission delivers precise and reliable shifting under hard pedalling loads, which is ideal for XCO racing. And given the intended target market, the included power meter is a nice touch. If you’re curious to know what it’s all about, see our SRAM Eagle transmission review for the full story.

While the Stealth brake levers offer rattle-free hose routing, there seemed to be a large amount of dead stroke that no amount of bleeding could rid them of, forcing me to run the lever reach further out than I would have liked.

I’ve enjoyed the excellent modulation though, and found them powerful enough even with the tiny 160mm rotors. However, riders north of 80kg will likely want to upsize for more bite.

As we detailed in our Roval Control wheel review, I have nothing but praise for these lightweight carbon hoops. They offer great compliance, ease of tubeless setup, and top-notch DT Swiss 350 hubs.

The broad rims provide an excellent platform for the 2.35in tyres, which offer plenty of volume and support for running low pressures. The rear tyre is suffering from a slow leak after the thin casing rubbed some granite up the wrong way, but otherwise I really like the Fast Trak and Renegade combo, particularly with the softer T7 rubber compound up front.

Specialized Epic vs Epic World Cup

Now when we first heard about the Specialized Epic World Cup, we were a little confused as to how it would sit within the current lineup. Specialized says this bike will replace its high-end hardtail options, so moving forward you won’t find any Epic HT model above the Comp level. This I can understand.

However, the Californian brand explained that it will continue to produce the regular Brain-equipped Epic, which will sit alongside the new Epic World Cup. This, I’m less sure about.

In my experience, the Epic World Cup is a better bike in every regard. It’s lighter and simpler, and its unique shock offers a smoother feel on the trail compared to the Brain-equipped Epic. I was expecting the short travel rear to feel compromised on the big stuff, but that’s not the case – it’s very well controlled. And the fact that you can easily tune the negative spring to turn it into a near-rigid platform makes it more efficient than the regular Epic on smoother courses.

The downside is the price of entry. Currently the cheapest complete bike is the $13,900 AUD Pro model I’ve been testing, which is a hefty amount of money. It would appear that Specialized is rolling out this new tech only for the most well-financed of consumers.

To fill the gap below that price point, Specialized recently introduced an updated 2023 Epic Expert ($10,400 AUD) and Comp ($7,100 AUD). This would suggest that the Epic World Cup and regular Epic will coexist for the meantime, albeit at different price points.

And what about the Epic EVO? We see that sticking around in the Specialized lineup for a while longer, as it remains a terrifically fun and capable XC bike that just so happens to be one of the lightest options on the market. Given the rise of 120mm travel XC bikes like the Scott Spark and Orbea Oiz however, there’s certainly room for a more race-oriented version of the Epic EVO that would be a nice complement to the Epic World Cup.

Specialized Epic World Cup vs Trek Supercaliber

Anyone that sees the Specialized Epic World Cup for the first time immediately compares it to the Trek Supercaliber. And for good reason.

Introduced in 2019, the Supercaliber has been a contemporary pioneer of the short travel platform, with its unique IsoStrut suspension design offering just 60mm of travel. The goal was to create a bike that straddled the gap between a hardtail and a traditional full suspension race bike, and the concept has been well and truly proven since with huge success across World Cup, World Championship and Olympic victories.

I’ve spent a lot of time on the Supercaliber, and as part of this review I had the opportunity to ride it back-to-back with the Epic World Cup. It turns out that while these are both short-travel bikes that look pretty similar, how they feel on the trail is quite different.

The general fit and geometry is pretty similar between the two bikes, with the glaring exception being the Supercaliber’s steeper head angle (69° vs 66.5°). The bottom bracket also sits 6mm higher, and along with the firm suspension, it feels more nervous on the descents. It runs out of travel more quickly, and the bottom-out feel is harsher.

It is incredibly responsive though, and the use of a dual remote lockout provides a very stiff platform that the Epic World Cup can’t quite match, particularly up front with its Brain-equipped fork.

It’s the automated platform and cable-free cockpit that forms a big part of the appeal for the Epic World Cup however. And with the new SIDLuxe WCID shock, the tuning options allow you to go either side of the purely race-focussed Supercaliber.

In the Firm/No Gulp setting the Epic World Cup is snappier at the pedals, albeit with a more convincing get-out-of-jail-free card on bigger hits thanks to having a full 75mm of travel at its disposal. On the other side, it offers more all-round comfort and grip in the Active/Full Gulp setting. Along with its contemporary geometry, it’s this versatility that sets it apart from the Supercaliber.

Otherwise pricing isn’t too far different between the two. That is to say these are both expensive, premium-level race bikes. They both come from the biggest names in the game, and that comes with benefits in terms of warranty and dealer support.

As to how these bikes compare to the rest of the competition? Check out our group test on the best XC bikes to see how they all stack up.

Flow’s Verdict

The new Specialized Epic World Cup isn’t just lighter, simpler and smoother than the current Brain-equipped Epic, it’s also considerably more tuneable.

Set the SIDLuxe WCID shock in the Firm setting and it offers snappy, hardtail-like pedalling performance that’s ideal for short track racing. Dial it in to the Active setting, and you’ve got more grip and control for tackling longer and more technical courses.

Despite the new shock offering a more seamless feel compared to the Brain, it’s worth remembering that this is still very much a race-focussed bike. You need to push it hard to get the most out of it, and that makes it less suited to all-round XC riding compared to the Spark, Anthem and Specialized’s own Epic EVO. If you’re after plushness and comfort, you’ll be better off looking toward those options.

In contrast, the Epic World Cup has been purpose-built to combine the efficient pedalling of a hardtail with the big-hit insurance of a full suspension bike, and in that sense it does a marvellous job. It isn’t cheap, but if you value the clean cockpit, sleek design and automated pedalling platform, the Epic World Cup is one of, if not the most efficient full suspension bikes out there.