Curious as to who is trying to purchase a new xc bike in 2026 (especially in the US), and how you’re finding availability. I’ve been keeping an eye out for 6+ months, and more actively looking the last few, and really struggling to find stock (in Large).
Thanks.
Which bike in particular are you looking for?
I’m not trying to buy a new xc bike, but I did a quick search and found the ones I would want in my size pretty easily at a store in Denver. I could not find the new Anthem as that seems like it might not be out until July-ish.
Having said all that: I’m a marketplace sleuth. I’d buy used anyway since the bikes I’d be interested in are dime a dozen and affordable.
Giant was banned from the US earlier this year due to slave labor. I don’t know if that important has been rescinded.
Ah yeah, forgot about that.
Been on the hunt for an epic 8 rear shock takeoff as recommended by @cassinonorth and some decent stuff out there on pinkbike. I’d need to run a remote for the lockout, which wouldn’t be that difficult thankfully but would need to modify my esi chunky grips. Finding the spec tuned ones out there a bit tougher with the magic middle, but some.
Also stumbled across a complete xo transmission group for 950. Which I absolutely do not need, but damn, that’s a nice price.
Then I stumbled upon epic 8 evos all over pinkbike and marketplace and got thinking maybe I’ll just get one of those and sell my 7. Never ending ha
I was looking for Epic 8’s, but there never seemed to be many 2026’s around. I see Epic 9 Experts are in stock, but the comp/sport don’t show up for me on specialized’s site. I was also considering Chisel FS, but the frame only option seems unavailable. I do see now the chisel comp is available. I even entertained a Chisel HT, but they’ve never been that freely available.
Hopefully the Giant Anthem hits the US market soon, and maybe the lack of Santa Cruz Blur’s available is a sign a new one is coming.
Back in perhaps 2024/2025, it just seemed like many folks were buying Epic 8’s, and this year it doesn’t seem like many are buying new bikes. So wondering if others are struggling to find bikes in shops or online to actually buy.
I’ve seen plenty of stock of the outgoing Scott Spark RC on some reasonable discounts at most of the bigger online retailers.
Maybe the 8s were so good, they don’t see the need to change to the 9, but I may be wrong.
While looking for bars and groupsets on PinkBike/marketplace, there are some really nice Epic 8 builds out there for attractive prices. Makes me hesitant to keep upgrading my 7 and just buy someone’s already upgraded 8.
I spoke with a local dealer yesterday and after some checking they called me back and said Sep 5th.
It really has me curious, I just remember when the E8 came out, and it seemed like “everybody” was jumping on one, (either first year, or second year when there were some deals), and I’m just not noticing many folks going for a 9. I think maybe earlier in this thread of the E9 thread, a couple people put deposits/orders in before they were released, and coach Johnathan mentioned that he’s going for S-Works E8 to E9, but that’s really all I can think of off the top of my head.
The Giant hit the reviews with such positivity (like Dave Roam on Escape Collective etc), that I thought we really had a challenger to the Epic 8’s dominance … then crickets. Pretty wild that they released it Nov 2025 and then US availability is 10 months later, after another whole “season”.
I will check out pink bike, I’d not looked too deep there.
I’m in a rather unique situation. Due to my eBay habit, and cracking my hardtail back at the start of the year, I have a heap of high end parts (certainly higher end than would come on any complete bike I can justify buying). Ideally I want a frame only, or a lower spec bike to strip and upgrade. If they had the Chisel FS Comp’s still available on sale, I’d probably go that route to keep the bike affordable, or the Chisel FS frame only. And otherwise, I’m really after the Epic 9 comp of entry level Giant Anthem. I toy with the idea of S-works E9, and accept that as it includes FA fork/shock, it’s not a bad deal, but still adds up to a fair old chunk of change.
From a U.S. perspective, there’s still a lot of uncertainty right now, and it feels like the western market is getting a bit fatigued with the constant “buy and sell” product churn.
We also haven’t seen how the 32" situation is going to shake out. I’ve thought about picking up a new gravel bike, but I don’t really need one—and I definitely wouldn’t move on anything until the 32" debate settles. After that, I’d probably lean more toward something aero (when its released) anyway.
Just my two cents.
I podiumed this past weekend overall in my respective MTB XCM class - the bike is not the reason I didnt go 1st overall and instead went 3rd. It was simply me (still on a EE7 with now old Fox suspension (FIT4 etc).
Objectively, it was/is a really good bike that hit the sweet spot of “down country” merging into XC and also timed well with the proliferation of flight attendant and specialized ditching their brain thing.
I guess I’m seeing it different. It was never going to sell like the 8 when it was initiatelly released, there just isn’t much new or exciting about the 9. I’m kind of amazed with the numbers who seem to be upgrading from an Epic 8 to a 9. From what I can see on reddit, facebook, etc., a lot of people are doing just that. Other than wanting to have the latest/greatest, is the slight weight drop really worth upgrading from an Epic 8 that just came out 2 years ago? I know a few folks who get industry discounts and basically buy a new s-works every year and then sell it for close to what they paid when it’s time to get a new one. But beyond those people who flip bikes every year, I just don’t see what’s better on the 9 driving the sales. And again, we don’t know the sales numbers, so maybe I’m reading too much into what we an see.
I also feel like a lot of this is “Embargo Jump”
Let me explain…each year, a “new, even better than the last” bike comes out. The embargo drops and all the reviews hit.
People get excited and start trying to buy, only to see that the bikes aren’t available or maybe not in all areas.
This happened to me on the Transition Smuggler, went to my local shop and told them I wanted to get a frameset….we waited and waited and then I got tired of waiting.
The demand couldn’t match the hype of the embargo drop
As far as the Epics, let’s face it, most of us would be fine sticking with the E7.
Agreed. Backcountry had Medium Epic Evo 7 frames (as of a few weeks ago) for under $2k, but no large.
I think options today are sporadic Epic 8 / Epic 8 Evo models in stores in limited sizes. Some chisel FS models in some sizes. Then a huge jump to $7500 E9 Expert or $7 for s-works. So many of the E8 buyers I remember seeing were buying at the $4800 comp level … what do they do now?
I’ll keep looking, hopefully Chisel FS frame only comes out with a new 2027 color and availability, or E9 comp’s drop, or perhaps I find that unicorn of a shop clearing out an E8 or EE8.
I’d like to get on Flight Attendant, but to upgrade the ASR I have would be pretty substantial.
I spoke again with them a day later about placing an order for an Anthem and they said since the embargo “Withhold Release Order (WRO)” is still in effect, they won’t take any oders until that is resolved. So, who knows at this point.
The Epic 8 Pro is 20% off here in the UK - but sadly only in S - I need an M
The new Scott Spark looks slick, would love to ride one
I rode a spark RC for many years and I’m generally a fan of Scott, but I’d want to see some track history on that new pivot/shock/frame design before pulling the trigger on one. Having the suspension pivot around the BB is an interesting concept and may turn out great, but that area is often subject in mud/muck/rocks and I wonder what the durability and maintenance implications are. And the downtube looks really weird with so little material, but I’m sure they made it strong enough to take the abuse. It’s certainly an innovative design (as was their last model with the internal shock), TBD how well this new thing works long term.
