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.
1 Like
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.
2 Likes
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.
1 Like
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?
2 Likes
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.
1 Like
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)
1 Like
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
2 Likes
not sure if this helps but this is the rear shock on my epic evo with flight attendant. Bike is a large but i held the scale up there to give you and idea.
1 Like
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.
2 Likes
Thanks!
I donāt have any specific pictures of my bottles but hereās an idea of what Iām working withā¦
How do yall feel about pro riders who go all in on helping the manufacturers design bikes, only to jump to another team the next year?
This is a broad overall statement, and I know they have to think about making a living, but it seems very disengaging
It is all part of the corporate game these days. I think if most people could get a big pay raise by switching companies they would too. The people you work for can always offer to match or pay even more to retain the rider or employee.
Ultimately their time as a professional is limited. You need to get the most while you can. Now that doesnāt always mean getting paid to ride now but possible future roles in the company after. It can get complicated.
3 Likes
Bikes take 3+ years to design and finalized. Would be pretty absurd to assume it never happens or the rider had ulterior motives to not help make it the best bike possible.
I bet most companies use the data they get more than rider feedback anyway.
1 Like
Not saying thereās ulterior motives. Look at the SuperCaliber, Neff had a good bit of input or at least a lot of the marketing revolved around her.
And now sheās on Cannondaleā¦
Any good manufacturer will value and take into account their feedback regardless if someone stays or goes. If itās good feedback, that helps them build a better bike for future sponsored riders. And at the same time, riders are leaving other manufacturers and joining them, so itās a two-way street.
The Supercaliber came out a few years ago though and she just switched teams this year, so she was on the team for several years after the bike came out. Itās not like she jumped ship right after the bike came out.
1 Like
You mean, what a better placement for the battery. One of the most common complaints was about the battery placement. When fully dropped, the battery can get ripped off by the rear tire. The Fox electronic dropper was praised for the battery placement like this, and SRAM looks to have taken a page from their design and done it similar.
1 Like
