Santa Cruz makes a XXL in the current gen and previous gen Tallboy. You could build it up relatively light with the right component spec.
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I’m a little over 6’5, so I think taller than Nate?
The Tallboy is too slack and heavy for an XC bike, imho. 65.7 HTA, and their lightest build is still 28lbs! Could put XC tires on it and a smaller fork, but it’ll still be pretty sluggish.
Also, I don’t trust the judgment of anyone who hawks hamburgers for Wendy’s.
Currently ride an Anthem Advanced XL. The Specialized Epic geometry looks really similar. It’s acceptable, but I think ideally I’d fit better on a bigger frame.
- I presume that’s a joke…
- but if not… Nate has famously listed his height repeatedly at 6’ 6" for years on the cast.
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No, I’m an avid podcast listener…for some reason I thought he was 6’4. Guess I’m shorter than Nate 
It’s also disconcerting that he’s broken two Epics. From what I’ve heard on his bike handling skills…he can’t be pushing the frame that hard.
AFAIK, he has broken two top tubes, one on the older Yeti SB150? and now the Epic. So just one Epic break, not two.
And as far as breaking frames goes, it’s not about riding “hard”. These things don’t break under normal riding from even aggressive riders. They break as a result of crashes more than anything else. Without more details, we simply don’t know what happened in the case of the Epic.
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When did he break the Epic?? The 2021?
Not certain other than they mentioned in a recent podcast (308?) without any real detail. I would guess it was “recent”, but could be further back since Nate has been off the cast for a while.
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I’d probably temper that a little and say they “shouldn’t break under normal riding”. I’d personally feel really confident in a Specialized or Trek frame but as new models roll out there sometimes are things found when released upon the masses that aren’t found in pre-release testing. Niner had a lot of issues with some of the carbon frames before moving manufacturing to Vietnam, especially the Jet 9 RDO. There were a lot of reports of cracks in these frames and I personally had a hairline crack in the rear triangle. Niner was great and replaced under warranty but the forums were filled with similar reports. There made manufacturing changes after this and the problems went away. Canyon has had some issues with their carbon parts this year that have been well described. While the blame game was played somewhat, the quest to get the parts lighter likely at least played some role in the failures.
The current Epic is a relatively new design so it will be interesting to hear @Nate_Pearson 's account of what happened and if a hard crash led to the failure. The Epic is very light for a FS bike, so it’s probably a good reminder that you probably should carefully inspect your frame after a crash to look for problems so as to avoid a failure while riding. Modern XC bikes are definitely not bullet-proof.
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I was really hoping to get a new Epic but frame colors / builds aren’t what I want. If they do make some adjustment for 2022 I’m definitely interested. Would love to know how Nate broke his and what he thinks about it.
We are all just speculating as there are about a thousand ways to break a bike, but when a MTB top tube breaks, 99% of the time it is due to a crash where the handlebars (or something attached to them) swing around with high force/speed and impact the top tube laterally. Carbon fiber’s strength is very directional - withstanding Andre Greipel stomping on the pedals, but cracking in half when push/punctured laterally
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Good points. Also one of the reasons Trek has a knock block on their stems so that the bars can turn far enough to hit the top tube.
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My Lux has a knock-block, but honestly I think it’s kinda dumb for these to exist. They are anchored in the same carbon fiber that can get cracked without it, except that where the knock-blocks are installed, there is even higher force due to increased leverage at the steerer tube 
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The leverage is much, much smaller though? So the speed at which the steerer tube knob hits the knock block is much smaller.
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I cracked the top tube of my 21 Epic. Crashed, bars spun and the shifter hit the frame. I thought I had the levers loosely done up but still was enough to do the damage. Luckily for me insurance came through and I could get a replacement.
To prevent a repeat and help with my carbon anxiety I have put a Lizard Skins “carbon leather” patch along the top tube and have placed a Backcountry Research strap with tube and co2 in the exact place the shifter hits the tube when bars are spun.
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We’re talking two different things. The leverage for your hands related to the steering is greater at the end of the handlebars, but the leverage related to the knock-block is working against it at it’s location so close to the steerer tub.e I’m not saying they don’t work, but a big hit that would break the top tube without a knock-block would like break the knock-block. Anyway, see above re: how top tubes are broken.
The “knock block” on my Lux is on the headset top cap. Unless you’re running crazy headset preload that thing will spin before breaking the carbon at the anchor point on the frame. I think it’s a pretty smart design. Maybe the newer Lux does it differently though.
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It is one of the reasons I like the Supercaliber. When it was launched there was a lot of negatives due to it not being ultra light and the new Epic is certainly lighter. But the Supercaliber is stiff and it feels like it is build like a tank. Weight is not everything.
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That’s how mine is, but that is also kinda my point…in order to prevent the thing it is trying to prevent, it would have to be basically unusable. Although there is also the possibility that it isn’t supposed to prevent some catastrophic crash/failure, and just decrease the lower-energy, bike-fell-over-in-the-garage type of stuff that must’ve happened frequently? That would make more sense to me. Oh well 
Did you test ride both? I test road the supercaliber and it didn’t feel like it climbed as well although I don’t have times to compare them. When the brain is locked out (and not broken) it is like having a climbing cheat code.
Mega Fat Paw Cam might be nice. I have the Mega Fat Paw Grips (without cam). Much better for carpal tunnel issues for me than standard size grips. I still get some CT issues, and immediately shake it out when it comes on.
I may try the ones with “Cam” because my wife has the Fat Paw Cam (non-mega), and they feel pretty nice.
If neither of those work, I’d try the grips with added support for the heel of hand.
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