2026 Specialized Epic HT Carbon

Gone are the days when a date with a hardtail race bike meant paying for it for days to come. Now, the Epic Hardtail Comp’s reality-altering combination of comfort and capability in a lighter-than-life package means counting down the hours until you meet again.

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, we 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, we optimized every inch of the Epic Hardtail frame to achieve the lightest production hardtail frame in the world anyway—but we also prioritized our commitment to creating an Epic Hardtail that’s as capable as it is comfortable with aggressive singletrack-inspired geometry, increased tire 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 REBA 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.

- Ridiculously capable, incredibly light, and refreshingly comfortable, the Epic Hardtail’s dropper-post friendly FACT 11m carbon frame rewrites the hardtail playbook with game-changing success.
- The REBA doles out travel with a steady hand courtesy of RockShox's Motion Control damper
Frame Specialized FACT 11m, Progressive XC Geometry, Rider-First Engineered™, threaded BB, UDH, 12x148mm rear spacing, internal cable routing Suspension Fork RockShox REBA, Motion Control damper, 15x110mm, 44mm offset, S-XL: 110mm Travel, XS: 90mm Travel Brakes Rear Brake SRAM DB6, 4-piston caliper, hydraulic disc, 160mm rotor Front Brake SRAM DB6, 4-piston caliper, hydraulic disc, 180mm rotor Drivetrain Chainrings 34T Cassette SRAM 12-speed,10-52t Chain SRAM 70 Transmission 12-Speed Flattop Chain Bottom Bracket SRAM DUB Threaded Wide Shift Levers SRAM Eagle 70 Rear Derailleur SRAM Eagle 70 Transmission, 12-speed, easy shift under load Crankset SRAM Eagle 70, DUB, 165/170/175mm, 34T Wheels & Tires Rear Hub Alloy, sealed cartridge bearings, 12x148mm thru-axle, 32h Spokes DT Swiss Elemental Front Hub Sealed cartridge bearings, 6-bolt, 15x110mm thru-axle, 28h Rear Tire Specialized Air Trak, Flex Lite Casing, T5/T7 Compound, 29x2.35 Rims Specialized Alloy 29, 27mm internal width, tubeless Front Tire Specialized Fast Trak, Flex Lite Casing, T5/T7 Compound, 29x2.35 Inner Tubes Specialized Turbo Tube 48MM Presta valve, 29x1.75/2.4 Cockpit Saddle Body Geometry Power Comp, steel rails Handlebars Specialized Alloy XC minirise, double-butted alloy, 8-degree backsweep, 6-degree upsweep, 10mm rise, 31.8mm SeatPost Specialized Alloy, Single Bolt, 30.9mm Grips Specialized Trail Grips Stem Specialized, 3D-forged alloy, 4-bolt, 7-degree rise Product ID 221528 Weight Weight 11.13 kg (24 lb, 8.6 oz) Weight Size LG