They look to be following the same kind of design language as the Maven that SRAM released last year. Those also use mineral oil instead of DOT, like the mtbr photos show.
I have nothing to contribute other than I am eagerly awaiting the delivery of my new Scalpel 1.
Look forward to your thoughts
supercaliber has flight attendant. gotta assume an epic world cup with full flight attendant is on the way. right?
Maybe, but Iād say they will just say to race the Epic 8
Speaking of FA, I posted this on another forum but didnāt get any responses so thought Iād try hereā¦
Thinking about putting Flight Attendant on my size small Santa Cruz Blur but Iām worried about water bottle fitment with it as itās already pretty tight there. Anyone have this setup and have pics or comments about it? Or even pics of pro bikes that are size small, I didnāt have any luck finding any.
I donāt think it will fit, my medium is almost touching
what if i never ride technical trails and maybe do one nue race every 1-2 years that is half gravel/half xc and only real goal is to do sub9 leadville in the next couple years?
i do think the epic 8 is rad. but dont really have any goals other than leadville. was thinking epic wc or supercal. leaning wc because ive been on specialized for a few years.
What about the WC makes you think it would be better for you at Leadville (or gravel racing) compared to the Epic 8? Itās really a preference thing, but I wouldnāt just assume a shorter travel bike will be faster on a non-technical course (especially for 8+ hour days). Also consider whether you like a lockout on your bike or not. WC still uses the brain(proprietary) on the fork and no lockout on the shock. Epic 8 has dual lockouts on the low end manual versions and with FA. Iām not saying the WC isnāt a great bike for someone who likes short travel, but there is a reason itās become a low volume niche bike for them.
WC is available without the brain fork now since 2024 year model.
i was asking about a flight attendant sworks epic wc. wouldnt that get rid of brain and lockouts?
It would, I just didnāt think it existed (but I also didnāt realize they added a lockout to the fork this year). I still see the WC is a pretty niche bike and donāt see the advantage for a race like leadville, but I also donāt understand why anyone would ride a hardtail these days either. But there are clearly folks who donāt like the current trend of XC bikes and thatās cool.
I would still get the Epic 8 FA and not the world Cup. You basically just said you donāt do much technical mountain biking so Iād take all the travel I could get for the descents at Leadville and youāll probably be faster overall.
But, if itās a one bike for one race, realistically buy something used you can sell afterwards. None of these bikes will be the reason you do or donāt go sub 9.
do we dislike the supercal as much as we dislike the epic wc? supercal 9.9 has full flight attendant now. which is why i wondered if epic wc would have full fa soon.
I havenāt ridden one, but Iāll assume itās similar to the WC. None of these are bad bikes, I just think a modern XC bike is probably a better fit for 90% of the people out there. But Iām also biased going from a shorter travel XC bike to a modern 120/120 and have done leadville multiple times. I wouldnāt pick a WC or Supercal over any of the good 120/120 bikes, I just donāt like the tradeoffs. Thatās why I was wondering why you were leaning toward the WC over a longer travel modern XC bike. What are you seeing as the advantage to the short travel bikes?
ive actually been stuck on a hardtail for a couple years cause some bum in chattanooga stole my full susp and scraped a few layers of carbon off the top tube. i finally fixed it this past fall. hopped on it and the dxmn brain rear shock was blown. gotta get that fixed before spring and maybe i never look at anything in the future except the epic 8. but for some reason the looks of those other bikes just appeal to my curiosity.
Both the Supercal and Epic WC are great bikes, but more āNicheā. And, I donāt think theyāll be faster for most people. They both have less suspension travel, but theyāre not going to be more efficient than a FS with lockouts or Flight Attendant, so what youāre getting is a bike that may be lighter (maybe?) but is way less flexible. And for most people, a bike like the Epic (or many others) will actually be more comfortable, more controllable and faster overall on the day.
Iām just not sure Iād ever see myself choosing one, even for Leadville. Iām either going 120/120 FS with lockouts or Flight Attendant and I think the Epic 8 is the Best in Class there. Or, Iām going uber-lightweight Hardtail or drop-bar Hardtail if Iām in really good bike shape and a really good bike handler and descender. Both great bikes, but a little bit caught in the middle for me.
(I personally ride a 120/120 Oiz with Flight Attendant. Love it, but I think the Epic 8 is a better choice now, mainly because of service, parts, dealer accessibility)
Iām pretty sure the SuperCaliber isnāt lighter than even the Epic 8.
Even seeing some of the TREK factory team race the Too Fuel.
Maybe they should make another lightweight 120/120 bike
I have not had the opportunity to ride wc or supercal but I have had plenty of time on std. epic with brain and long test ride on the new epic 8 evo and s-work std. epic with flight attendant. i would never buy another brain bike after 7 rear shock rebuilds due to failed brain or leaking shock. i really enjoyed the handling and fit of the evo but thought it rode like a stiff dump truck over the rocks and roots. the s-works with flight attendant was a magic carpet by comparison with similar tires and sold me on fa. i ended up buying cheapest evo 8 model and installed FA myself with a pike instead of sid fork. will give further review soon hopefully. snow started melting in Michigan today.