The hyperlight Roval carbon wheels make the bike fast - but are they durable? based on previous roval testing, they could be the chink in the epic’s armor Nils Nilsen/ based on previous roval testing, they could be the chink in the epic’s armor: specialized’s carbon roval wheels are crazy (tktk) light. Specialized’s carbon roval wheels are crazy (tktk) light. (“That’s why ‘prototype’,” he said.) We had no such problems with our wheels, which stayed true throughout.

At Leadville, Specialized rider Ben Bostrom damaged his front Roval after hitting a rock and had to grab a new one, and a Specialized employee DNF’ed after the spokes on a prototype Roval failed. Roval has had issues with durability in the past, though, so this may prove to be the chink in the Epic’s armor. The super light (1,350g) carbon Roval Control SL 29 142+ wheels provide the efficiency of the big wheels without much of the weight penalty associated with the size. But if you want to focus on hammering away, whatever the terrain, and not worry about fiddling with your suspension, then the Epic delivers what you need almost all the time. If you want a bike that you can lock out for a long climb, then run it wide open for a bomber descent – this is not your bike.

While you can dial in your preferences for rebound and compression on the fork and shock, there is no lock-out option for the suspension. The 2014 Specialized S-Works Epic is designed specifically for endurance racing The 2014 specialized s-works epic could be the perfect bike for endurance xc racing: the 2014 specialized s-works epic could be the perfect bike for endurance xc racing James Huang/Future Publishing

Specialized epic 2013 carbon