Specialized Epic 8 Pro review

Fresh for 2024, the 120mm-travel Specialized Epic 8 Pro is the second-tier racer in the line-up, with only the super-exclusive S-Works version sitting above it.

The Epic’s name had always been seen hand in hand with Specialzied’s custom Brain shocks and forks, whereby inertia valves automatically locked or opened the suspension when you hit a bump.

The Brain has now gone, and while the S-Works Epic 8 features RockShox Flight Attendant, electronically doing the same job, lower-spec bikes rely on the ‘Magic Middle’ custom shock tune to filter out pedal bob.

In addition, the new Epic 8 sports marginally revised geometry, ensuring it's still a class-leader.

This all plays out well on the trail. The Epic 8 is amongst the best cross-country bikes I’ve ever ridden.

Uphill, the bike is fast, and it doesn’t flinch at anything on the way back down, ensuring there are no excuses for anything other than a podium-topping performance.

Specialized Epic 8 Pro frame and suspension

Specialized’s 11M carbon is used on this version of the Epic, one step down from the 12M found on the S-Works bike.

Specialized recognises that with cables running in and out of the frame, for the shock lockout and the dropper, that headset-routed cables might not appeal to the privateer racer. Instead, it has opted to route them internally, via the head tube.

There’s also down tube storage, via the SWAT 4.0 door. This features a smooth locking lever, and the ability to attach CO2 canisters and tyre repair plugs to the underside of the door for quick access in race situations.

There’s space for two bottles within the frame.

The 120mm of rear-wheel travel is provided by a flex-stay single-pivot design, as is the case on most modern XC race rigs.

Specialized Epic 8 Pro geometry

Specialized hasn't been shy with the shape of the Epic 8 – when it comes to race bikes, it's definitely at the longer, lower and slacker end of things.

For starters, there’s a geometry flip chip that, in the low setting, gives a sub-66 degree head angle – almost unheard of in XC territory.

The Large bike has a reach of 475mm. There are slightly longer-reached XC bikes out there, but the slack head angle ensures the wheelbase length of 1,210mm is at the longer end of the scale.

I measured the seat angle at 76.5 degrees on my Large, with a saddle height of 750mm, in the low setting. This is where the bike spent the bulk of its time during testing.

To pick holes in the geometry, the chainstay length is constant across all four sizes. This means the front-to-rear balance changes with bike size.

Some brands – Yeti and Cannondale, for example – offer longer chainstays on their larger bikes.

Specialized Epic 8 Pro specifications

RockShox’s SID Ultimate and SIDLuxe Ultimate shocks are controlled by a three-position TwistLoc on-bar barrel lever.

Open and Firm modes are as you’d expect, but the Magic Middle mode of both exists thanks to custom internals.

These give a digressive tune, enabling the fork and shock to remain relatively still under pedalling forces, before opening up on bigger hits, allowing more travel to be used for a given impact size, which better smooths the way.

The goal is to keep the bike efficient under power, but reactive to bumps, without needing to continually change suspension modes. Specialized’s engineers told me they expect riders to be in the Magic Middle mode for around 80 per cent of riding or racing.

The Magic Middle’s damping is speed-sensitive – slower shaft speeds, such as pedalling forces, are tuned out, while higher shaft speeds – when you hit a bump at speed – open the damping circuit, enabling the suspension to move.

SRAM’s X0 Transmission and Level Silver brakes keep the Roval Control carbon wheels, with their broad sidewalls, rolling – wrapped in fast-rolling Renegade rear and grippier Fast Trak front tyres.

It’s good to see Specialized recognises that racers want power data – the X0 crank has a spindle-based Quark power meter installed from the factory.

With 125mm of drop, the BikeYoke Divine SL post isn’t the longest around. The rest of the finishing kit comes from Specialized and includes a separate (rather than integrated) bar and stem, and the excellent Power Expert saddle – a real crowd-pleaser.

Specialized Epic 8 Pro ride impressions

With the suspension fully open, it’s much more simple now to set the sag than it was with the old Brain system, because there’s no mechanical platform preventing the bike sitting into its travel.

As ever, setting up the RockShox suspension is easy, with the fork’s pressure chart reliable and the shock’s sag markers making measuring how far the shock sinks under your weight quick.

Throughout testing, I tried differing sag levels. My set-and-forget sag at the rear was 23 per cent – less than most XC bikes.

I ran my tyre pressures a psi or two lower than with some of the other XC bikes I was testing at the same time.

This is because my experience of the broad-walled Roval rims suggests the width of the walls is effective at dissipating impacts, which lowers the risk of punctures noticeably.

As such, I ran the front Fast Trak at 22psi and the rear Renegade at 23psi – of course, this may be adjusted for course conditions, rider weight and personal preference.

Specialized Epic 8 Pro climbing performance

Unsurprisingly for a bike designed for the race course, the Epic 8 Pro climbs very well.

I found myself spending a lot of time in its Magic Middle setting. The firmness around the sag point, and the fact that I settled on relatively high pressure in the shock, ensures very little energy is wasted when you’re putting the power down, whether on snaking traverses or steep, loose climbs.

The bike is held at sag, keeping the seat angle steep and the wheels driving the bike forward.

There’s just enough give in the system to enable the Renegade to dig in and grip, too.

The sidewalls’ suppleness helps prevent the low-profile tread from slipping out on all but the slimiest or loosest surfaces.

Sat down, there’s virtually no movement in the suspension and when you stand up, the shock’s tune ensures the stanchion barely moves into the shock’s body. Hit the afterburners and it feels as though not a single watt is wasted.

Despite this stability, the Epic 8 still climbs techy lines with confidence and there’s ample grip to winch the bike over rocky or rooty steps.

On the smoothest ascents, I occasionally used the full lockout, but if there was dirt under my tyres, rather than tarmac, I kept it almost exclusively in the Magic Middle.

The stiff chassis refuses to twang, while the Transmission gears shift well under load.

In the car park, the Magic Middle’s digressive tune can feel odd, with the bike falling into its travel if you give the saddle a firm bump with your bum. However, this doesn’t seem to hold it back off-road.

Interestingly, of the four XC bikes I tested together, the Epic 8 was probably the most bob-prone in its Open mode, even with only 23 per cent sag.

Sat-down pedalling efforts on smooth terrain resulted in the shock moving around noticeably more than other bikes. As such, the Open mode was reserved for descents only.

Specialized Epic 8 Pro descending performance

With the shock remaining relatively static under body-weight shifts, it’s no surprise that in the Magic Middle mode, the Epic 8 hauls on fast, flowy trails. It encourages you to pump the bike over every roller and hit jumps bigger than an XC bike has the right to do.

In this mode, when you land a jump or bang it over rocks and roots littering the trail, both fork and shock open up effectively. So, while a fully open bike might be a hint smoother, the Epic 8 still deals with impacts more than competently.

With the Magic Middle’s ability to work in a broad range of situations, I found myself twisting the TwistLoc less frequently on the Epic 8 than on competitor bikes.

It’s fair to say, though, that when presented with a long, less pedal-heavy descent, I opened the fork and shock up to their fully Open modes.

Here, the suspension is as smooth and effective as you could wish for on a race bike. Even with 23 per cent sag, the suspension is supple and comfortable on hits large and small.

When encountering drops to flat or ugly rock gardens, the shock’s progression late in the stroke is controlled, ensuring that ankles, wrapped in skinny XC shoes, never felt they were at risk of being snapped.

This performance from the dampers is mirrored by that of the chassis.

It’s stiff where it needs to be, barely flinching as it’s hustled through rock gardens, and forgiving enough that when you’re pointing it over matted roots, it holds a line with ease.

Even on BikePark Wales’ black-rated runs, the Epic 8 rarely felt rattled.

When it comes to handling, Specialized seems to have got it right. The stability at speed is impressive, thanks to the slack front end. At the same time, the low 328mm BB height helps the bike rip through berms.

The 435mm chainstays are short, which helps keep it nimble – longer stays would improve overall balance, but the steep seat angle meant I never felt my weight was too rearward when seated.

The Roval rims are supremely comfortable and their wide walls defend well against punctures.

The wheels aren’t super-rigid, which helps smooth the way over off-camber trails and awkward drops. The DT Swiss 350 hub could have a quicker pick-up, though.

My only major criticism is the roundness of the Fast Trak – the bike noticeably drops aggressively as soon as you lean it over, occasionally leading to a twitchy feel in low-speed tech. I found the tyres a little more prone to deflection when pushed hard through mid-sized rock gardens, when compared to a Maxxis Rekon.

Some people may appreciate more than 125mm drop from the dropper, too.

How does the Specialized Epic 8 Pro compare to the Mondraker F-Podium RR?

Both the Mondraker F-Podium RR and the Specialized Epic 8 Pro leave nothing to be desired on the geometry front – although both could benefit from size-specific chainstay lengths.

The RockShox suspension, with its Magic Middle setting, is the Epic 8's defining feature, and Specialized has done a great job here – making it some of the best XC suspension on the market.

The Fox dampers on the F-Podium are a touch over-damped, leaving the ride a little more rattly over small and mid-sized hits.

However, hit serious chunk and the progressive nature of the Mondraker's Zero Suspension System, and the sturdy chassis, ensure that when things get serious, it doesn’t get overawed.

Specialized has also put together an impressive parts package for the money – I’d say the inclusion of the Transmission groupset, with its power meter, makes it a better value proposition than the Mondraker.

Specialized Epic 8 Pro bottom line

The Specialized Epic 8 Pro is a no-compromise, composed speed machine.

The Epic seems to thrive in any situation – under power, up steep climbs, on flow tracks and, where it really shone, on the gnarliest tracks I could find. It simply does it all.