Interbike 2009: Ride Report- Specialized Epic Marathon 29″er

One of the most eagerly awaited models for 2010, the Specialized Epic Marathon 29″er was high on our list of “must ride” bikes at the Demo this year. Here is Grannygear’s and my take on the dual suspension rig.

First up, Grannygear with his thoughts……

All day on the first Demo Day, Guitar Ted and I tried to check out one of these bikes and they were never to be seen. They were always being ridden. Good for those riding them, bad for us. So we got out bright and early the next day and headed straight to Specialized central and ordered two Epics, big wheels, hold the mayo. It makes for a good morning when the first bike that you take out sets a high standard of expectations for all others to come. That was the Epic 29er.

I had ridden a Brain equipped bike when the first Stumpjumper FSR 29ers came out and I was intrigued. I again rode a preproduction Epic Marathon at Sea Otter, but only briefly. I was really ready to be impressed. I was. The Brain shock had issues in the early years of the development of the shock. Seal issues, failures, etc (although Specialized was very supportive to warranty issues with them). The bugs seem to have been worked out from more recent reports and that is a good thing as it transforms the aging FSR suspension into a design that competes nicely with the new offerings that use a Virtual Pivot type design like the Niner CVA, DW link and VPP. I could hardly feel the Brain turning on and off and I could barely hear it too as it gives off a soft but audible ‘clack’. The platform result is just fabulous and the Epic was very, very close in performance to the Tall Boy, my benchmark for the weekend in the 3-4” travel range. I think the extra stiffness of the Tall Boy made the difference there, but honestly, both bikes are super.

There was one odd thing I noticed on the Epic that kept it a rung down in my personal ranking. I felt it both at Sea Otter and at Bootleg and it is a difficult to describe front end effect that would manifest itself on some sharper corners when the front wheel was loaded a bit. It just felt like it wanted to fall over into the turn. I really noticed it in the first few corners and by the end of the ride I hardly noticed it at all. Not sure about that, maybe the semi- radial laced wheel flexing? Dunno. Oddly, it was not always there, just once and awhile and Guitar Ted never felt it. Not a deal breaker, but odd. One other niggling thing, both GT and I hit our heels on the chainstays every so often.

The Marathon 29er joins the ranks of a bike I could just disappear into the horizon on, train on, weekend ride on, endurance race, etc. It climbs well in or out of the saddle, feels like a middle weight trail bike when it needs to and then just gets down to not getting in the way and lets the rider cover some ground. The Epic Marathon 29er is gonna’ make some friends, I tell ya.

Guitar Ted’s Impressions:

I had an early FSR suspension bike, an S-Works back in 1995, and I always liked that bike for its active suspension and bump eating abilities. Of course, it climbed only if you were in the saddle, and if I was getting 2.5″ of travel it was a good day. Fast forward to the Demo. I now was aboard the new Epic Marathon 29″er, and to be honest, other than knowing it was a 15 year evolution of the bike I had once, I had no preconceived notions regarding this rig.

We had expert service at the Specialized tent, since they had plenty of time to take with us because of our pre-Demo hours ride. The suspension was set up for me spot on. I will say that it was extremely well balanced feeling, and I was comfortable with the balance between stiffness and suppleness that was dialed into the Brain. Out of the saddle climbs were really decent. Very little bob at all. In the saddle I felt I could motor over anything I had legs to get over.

Descending I felt only a touch of wallowing in the end stroke of the suspensions travel. Maybe fiddling with rebound would have helped here, but obviously, we had no time for fine tuning. It wasn’t a big deal, but something I noted. The Brain had an audible clack at times which vibrated the frame a bit. Nothing to be concerned with, and I probably wouldn’t even notice it if the bike were my regular ride. It was very different to me though. Trail irregularities were pretty much erased throughout the ride, and this was a very close ride to the Tall Boy in my mind. The Brain being the big difference maker here. Without that, I doubt the Epic would have felt quite as nice and solid when pedaling.

I didn’t get that the Epic was a XC race machine, especially in the steering department. It had a definite stable feel to my mind. I didn’t know the head angle until later, (70.5 degrees) and then it made sense. The chain stays are about the same length as the new Rumblefish’s are, and I did feel as though the Epic got around the tighter stuff at least as well as the Fisher.

If it hadn’t had been for an occasional heel strike on the right chain stay, the Epic may have been at least as good as the more expensive Tall Boy if not as good looking. As it is, I feel it is a great choice for all day rides, occasional racing, and would be a great endurance/24hr bike to my mind. Specialized has a great trail bike on its hands here that is well worth taking a closer look at.