Cross-country racing has always been a battle of grams—a contest to see who can build the lightest machine. The Epic HT flips the bird at that hoary convention. Yes, you’re looking at the lightest production hardtail to date, but the new Epic HT is a hell of a lot more than that. This is the most capable and comfortable XC race bike ever.
Capable, comfortable…those aren’t adjectives that get tossed around much in elite cross-country racing. But here’s the thing—you’re not reaching the podium if you’re death-gripping the brakes or getting pummeled by the trail. The fastest bike is more than simply the lightest bike. This is proof.
Ridiculously Capable
Cross-country courses have grown rougher, so we made the Epic HT more capable. It starts with all-new geometry. Taking a page from our trail bike playbook, we slackened the head angle to 68.5 degrees, reduced the fork offset, increased reach and moved to shorter (60-75 millimeter) stems on all frame sizes. End result? The Epic HT retains a short wheelbase for deft handling, yet it offers more predictable steering and a more centered rider position for increased control.
More Versatile Than Ever Before
We boosted tyre clearance, letting you take full advantage of wider-volume tyres on more challenging tracks. And while we were at it, we equipped the bike with a 30.9-millimeter seatpost, which gives you the option to run longer-travel dropper posts for even more maneuverability and control on technical sections.
Tuned for Comfort. Tuned for Speed.
A fatigued you is not a fast you. That’s a simple fact, yet history is littered with ultra-light and ultra-harsh XC bikes. We fine-tuned our composite lay-up and tube shaping to make the new Epic HT more forgiving…and even faster. Smaller diameter seatstays, for example, increase vertical compliance. Ditto for our new arced seat tube design that offers as much vertical compliance as the previous, smaller-diameter seat tube, yet plays nice with all sorts of dropper posts.
Simple, Reliable, and Utterly Badass
There’s a reason people don’t use Ferraris to pick up their groceries. Sophisticated, race-bred machines have a reputation for being fickle, sensitive, and frankly, a royal pain to own and operate. Let’s call bull**** on that right now.
The Epic HT is a World-Cup-caliber race rocket that’s also hassle free. There are no proprietary, bolt-on bits and pieces to fret over. And yep, there’s a threaded bottom bracket here as well. Proven, reliable, and utterly badass.
Amazingly Light
The Epic HT sets a new standard in capability and comfort, and it does all that while also being the lightest production frame on earth. We optimised every inch of this frame, fine tuning the fiber and resin mix as well as custom shaping every ply to eliminate unnecessary overwrap. We even ditched the aluminium inserts in the rear dropouts. End result? A remarkable frame that tips the scales at 790 grams.
Geometry
South African Availability
Two models will be offered in South Africa. The Epic Hardtail S-Works Carbon Ultralight 29 from September and the Epic Hardtail Comp Carbon 29 from December.
