for me too… I’d definitely get a sram one if they ever release one, not sure I’d venture in a 3rd party battery
Yeah, I’m not sure if people are concerned about the size or the weight?
The current batteries are only 24g each, so that’s only about 1/5 of a pound even if you have 4 of them on your bike. Maybe they could make a battery that is 30% lighter if they cut the capacity in half, but it doesn’t seem worth it to save ~ .07 lb on your bike (again for 4 batteries). But racers like “race stuff” and the weight weenies tend to hate on the weight of the AXS stuff, so maybe a race day battery would sell.
As far as size, I personally don’t have any issue with them and I wouldn’t want any less capacity. I’ve only had a low battery warning once in a race (starting with a full battery), but that was a ~13 hour race and it never died.
totally agreed. besides, mechanical Eagle still works with an FA bike (source: my bike). Instead of reducing capacity it would be cool to cram the same capacity in a smaller housing and/or (more likely) increase the capacity in the current housing with new battery tech. Would also be nice to be able to just plug in a USB-C cable directly into the battery instead of having the charging adapter with Micro-USB.
FYI, this dual charger is USB-C, cheap, and works well. Dual-Port Charger for Sram AXS
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Anyone on the new Scalpel??
I’ve been riding my new Specialized Epic 8 for a couple of weeks. It came spec’s with a 34 chainring up front. Just curious if this was the norm now? My older bike had a 30.
32 was stock on my Evo last year, switched out to 36.
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depends on what I’m doing. If I’m on an a race course where I know I won’t spin out a 30f10r, I’ll run the 30 for closer ratios. (that’s me this coming weekend, spinning out for 1 min of a 1h 15m lap is the trade I’ll make for having more ratios come mile 66 of 75.) If there are long paved segments where I can turn a bigger sprocket up front, I’ll go up to a 34, but I personally haven’t been on a course where I thought “Man I’d love a 36 right now” but that’s me.
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Totally get the rationale for larger or smaller chainrings but I find it curious that the Epic came with a 34. I find that to be a fairly large size upfront in most cases.
I can help here! I am 189cm. I ride 58cm road bikes now. I used to ride 61 frames. I bought a Smuggler XL, this is one of those new ‘long reach’ xc/downcountry bikes. I very much disliked it. Too long, didn’t turn well, etc. I sized down to a Large Epic Evo 7 – So much better. So fun. I could argue its a hint short for me. The new Epic 8 in a Large will be the perfect middle ground here. Its a bit longer than the epic 7.
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I’m 188cm tall, short arms, normal legs, riding 58 road/gravel frames. I ride a large on my trail bike. I had a chance to demo a L and an XL Epic 8 at Sea Otter and I was clearly an XL.
I ordered one when I got home and it just arrived. I have about 5 rides on it now. Fantastic bike, the more rides I get under my belt the more impressed I am.
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I‘m 187 with 92 inseam. I ride a Epic 8 Large with an 80mm stem. Perfect size.
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Honestly, the XL just fit better. The cockpit felt comfy and I was nicely balanced when descending. Prior to this I’ve always been on large frames and previously was riding a large Yeti SB100. Heck, I even had a medium Santa Cruz bullet back in the day. This is my first XL. For me it was the right call.
That said, I imagine I could have fit a large with a few tweaks to the stem, bars and saddle position.
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Just got an S-Works Epic 8 frame in black. No kids, wife rides. I’m raw dogging it. 
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Maybe this fine group can help me out. I just sold my Epic Evo 7, I have lots of money and most importantly permissiont to buy a new MTB. I am not in a huge hurry, I have 4 other bikes to ride. My goal event is BreckEpic. I need lots of travel and the ability to cary things simply is a plus. This leads me to the Epic 8. 120/120 travel and SWAT box, light weight, great downhiller. I am pretty sure I want the flight attendant stuff! But I have an issue, I really dislike the s-works colors, I went into the store to buy one the other day and disliked the glossy barby color so much I left sad and emptyhanded. Ordering the Black Frameset and swaping out the suspension is what I would want to do, but no shop is willing to swap the parts for me and take the hit on the ‘native suspension’. Thats about 1,500 dollars of parts I don’t need. I considered buying a cheaper EVO and slowly converting it, but that adds even more cost. I am considering the EVO frame only, then I just have to ditch the rear shock.
- Is there anything I haven’t conisdered regarding the EPIC?
- Any other bikes to consider? Yeti ASR has a GREAT build, but only 115 rear travel and no swat
- Should I wait for a new Santa Cruz bike to comeout?
- Any other sweet bikes out there?
Thank you for reading!
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Why did you sell your Epic Evo 7? Sounds just what you are looking for. Could’ve have even thrown flight attendant on it. 
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Update:
24.5 with pedal and cages, sealant + new bar.
…my dad really wanted it. He loved the Chameleon color.
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There are other Flight Attendant bikes out there in different colors.
Pivot
Evil
Mondraker
Yeti
Rocky Mtn Element
I’m sure I’m missing some.
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