2025 Specialized Epic Hardtail Comp

Working towards the lightest bike possible has long been the race within the race, but at what cost? The battle of the grams certainly hasn’t been without its casualties, with hardtail XC race bikes coming to stand for a harsh, twitchy ride at the expense of capability and versatility.

But who said fatigue from fighting against your bike makes you any faster? Instead, recognizing that the fastest bike is more than simply the lightest bike, Specialized said out with the jarred-to-death tail, the measure-your-posterior’s-sorrows-by-the-yard tail, and in with the avant-garde tail. The ridiculously capable, mystifyingly comfortable, head-shakingly light, and all-around fast Epic Hardtail.

Sure, Specialized optimised every inch of the Epic Hardtail frame to achieve the lightest production hardtail frame in the world anyway—but they also prioritised their commitment to creating an Epic Hardtail that’s as capable as it is comfortable with aggressive singletrack-inspired geometry, increased tyre clearance and a frame obsessively engineered for increased vertical compliance, all while creating a bike that lives and breathes the fundamentals of fast.

On the Epic Hardtail Comp, RockShox’s long-beloved SID SL fork is tasked with handling suspension duties, while a full SRAM Transmission groupset leaves no doubts about why it sets the benchmark for accessible performance.