Specialized 29″ers On Test: Epic Marathon 29″er: Out Of The Box
November 29th, 2009 by Guitar TedWith this test/review, we have the unique opportunity to get the views of two different riders in two very different parts of the country. The Specialized Epic Marathon 29 is a direct evolution from Specialized’s earliest attempts at full suspension bikes. I owned and raced a 1995 S-Works FSR and some of the same features of that design carry forward to 2010. The air sprung shock, the “Horst Link” pivot, and Specialized’s commitment to refining performance to the cutting edge of mountain bike technology for the day. Let’s take a closer look at the 2010 Epic Marathon 29 to see what I mean…
The Epic Marathon 29 sits near the top of the food chain in Specialized’s Epic line up. Only the Carbon Epic 26″er and the s-Works models are above this particular bike. (A carbon fiber framed 29 inch wheeled Epic is rumored to be in the works, however) The features on this bike read like a Christmas wish list from almost any mountain biking fan. Here are the highlights:
•Roval Control EL XC wheelset with oversized 28mm end caps. (Ships with tubeless strips installed. Valve stems to convert come with bike)
•Specialized and Fox co-developed FlowControl Mini Brain shock with Brain Fade adjust inertia valve, air spring and adjustable rebound.
•Custom Specialized/RockShox Reba S29 fork with carbon crown and Reba Team damper features a titanium motion control damper, FloodGate adjust and lockout.
•29″ M5 alloy Competitive XC frame with 90mm travel. FSR suspension features 29″-specific geometry with short chainstays, low BB.
Other highlights include SRAM XX cranks with the 39/26T double ring set up, the XX shifters with carbon paddles, and the XX cassette featuring ten cogs and a 36T low gear. Avid Elixir CR Mag brakes with a 185mmF/160mm rear rotor size, and SRAM XX front and rear derailleurs. The suspension features a special Rock Shox Reba modified for Specialized with a one piece tapered carbon steer tube/crown, Team lowers, and a titanium Motion Control damper. The rear damper is a co-designed by Fox/Specialized unit with remote Mini-Brain, inertia valve, and a Brain Fade adjuster. The stem is a special adjustable rise affair, the seat post is a Thomson lay back model, and the handle bars are Specialized’s own brand.
Geometry looks like this for the large and X-Large sizes. (Grannygear has the XL and Guitar Ted has the large)
L XL
-Seat Tube………………………………………..19.02″ 20.98
-Effective Top Tube……………………………..24.21″ 25.2″
-Chain Stay Length………………………………17.64″ —
-Bottom Bracket Height………………………….12.87″ —
-Seat Tube Angle…………………………………74 degrees
-Head Angle……………………………………….70.5 degrees
-Standover*……………………………………… 29.5″ 30.0″
-Weight**…………………………………………26.15 lbs (25.13-no pedals)
-Available In Three Sizes……………………….. Medium Large X-Large
-MSRP…………………………………………….. $6100.00
*Note: Standover is my measurement at point on top tube where I am directly over the bike standing on the ground, straddling the top tube.
**Note: Weight with my pedals installed, ready to ride.
Grannygear had the following thoughts while first looking the Epic Marathon 29 over:
As I was turning the wrenches assembling this bike before the first ride, little glimpses kept peeking out of the wrapping as I removed cardboard and foam pieces. A carbon fiber crank arm. A ten speed, jewel like cassette. The Brain shock. Wow. Anticipation for sure. In short order, the Epic had emerged from its bubble wrap cocoon, was checked over, and seemed pretty ready to roll out of the garage.
It is a subtle looking bike in color, quite understated compared to many rolling billboards. The low slung look and the way the tubes flow together give a fast ‘look’ to it. The parts are pretty stellar. SRAM XX has gotten a lot of press, not only for its ‘bling’, but for it’s ‘ka-ching’ as the cost of the gruppo is very high. The Marathon has a full compliment of XX parts including a Black Box bottom bracket with ceramic bearings. As well, the fork is a carbon, tapered steerer Reba with a titanium motion control damper. Nice. The 10 speed cassette has an aluminum big cog on the 11/36, solid steel beauty and the 39/26 XX chainrings are thicker than normal and have an increased BCD of 120/80 on a carbon fiber crank arm. There is a lot of chi-chi going on here…carbon bits all over in the shifters and brakes. But, although time will tell how it holds up, I remember the old days of exclusive, lightweight stuff from the small manufacturers in the 90’s and a lot of that stuff was good to look at but not to use. None of this uber-gruppo looks very fragile, although I do wonder about that top cog on the cassette being able to hold up to power shifts without galling or folding over.
Guitar Ted had these thoughts about the bike:
The bike is certainly stealthy looking. You don’t get the impression that it is all that expensive or high tech just from the looks. That’s either a negative or a positive depending upon what you want out of your mountain bike. I like the “get down to business” look myself. The SRAM XX stuff tuned up great during the build. No issues with putting it together. Interesting cable attachment clips on the down tube. Full run housings for the most part here with the exception of the front derailluer. This cable has a stop right before it reaches the SRAM XX front derailluer which faces upwards. This may not play well in wetter areas where moisture can work its way into the cable by way of gravity and pool in the lower part of the cable housing run. We’ll see about that. Tires say “XC racer” but the bike has the feel and weight of a bike meant to do more. Weight…..yeah. I was a bit puzzled by the weight with these high end parts aboard. Must be a beefy frame. That is probably a good thing for regular trail riding or endurance pursuits.
After riding this rig out in Bootleg Canyon, I was eager to get some trail time on some terrain I was familiar with to see if the rear suspension and XX stuff would shine as brightly here as it did for me out there in Nevada.
That’s it for this Out Of The Box report, but we have already been riding these bikes a ton, and we have First Impressions aplenty being compiled and edited. Look for the follow up to this coming later in the week.
Note: These products are provided to Twenty Nine Inches at no charge for reviewing. We are not being paid or bribed for this review. We will give our honest opinion or thoughts through out.
What is RSS?
Get our articles in your inbox:
Sounds great! I’m looking to ditch my 3″ Leviathan and get a Large Epic. Curious to know how these handle in switchback/trail carving situations. With a 507mm A-C Lefty, my Lev has a 13.75″ BB height (unsagged) and a 45.25″ WB. I feel my center of gravity is pretty high and as a result, I don’t roll through switchbacks as fast as I would like. The Epic with its shorter chainstays, ~1″ lower BB, and ~.5″ shorter WB looks promising. Also, I hunger for brains… I mean The Brain.
Nice. It’s funny how Shimano went ahead and produced a cassette with a 36t to address the shortcomings of a 34t coupled with a 29er, only to have it used with a 26t small chainring. I guess everybody has to have a double up front now that it’s the new thing. Again.
@BiggerMig: Not sure how to read your comment. You do understand that the cassette on this Epic Marathon is a SRAM 10 speed cassette and wasn’t necessarily developed to address the needs of 29″er folk. Shimano’s 12-36T 9 speed cassette, (which appears on the other Specialized bike we’re reveiwing) was specifically developed for 29″er use, as you correctly state.
Regardless, you make a fair point in that on this particular bike, the 36T casette mated to the 26T low gear up front is not as low as a 22 X 36T combination that a mountain triple could yeild. Also correctly noted is that “2 X” drivetrains have been used before in mountain biking.
So, again….not sure what your point was other than the low gear on the Epic isn’t as low as most current 29″ers. We’re certainly going to be aware of this and we are already taking notes on our test rides as to whether or not we feel it will be an issue. Also of note, the Stumpjumper Expert Carbon 29 we are reveiwing has the 22 X 36T low and we are also evaluating the effectiveness of that combination. Look for further commentary on gearing in the future.
@nick
Just a sneak preview for ya, since I am a 3.0 Lev owner. The Epic is more agile than the Lev, although it is not night and day. And the Brain is very effective. I think you are on the right track with an Epic as a Lev 3.0 replacement, given your stated goals.
grannygear
@grannygear
Thanks for the info, that’s encouraging. Also, I think we both have XL Leviathans (24.5 ETT). So if you are saying that the XL (25.2 ETT) feels more agile even though its a “bigger” bike and I am looking at the L (24.2 ETT), then I have even more reason to look at the epic.
@nick
I do have an XL Lev with a 24.5″ TT. The fork I have on it is a classic Reba @100mm and that frame was designed around an 80mm fork. SO, I have slackened the HT and ST angles some (70/72) AND I have an offset of 38mm IIRC.
The Epic has a fork with more offset and a slightly steeper HT angle. It is also stiffer as far as steering input compared to the older Reba I have. I am not sure if .25″ of CS length is all that important, but there is that as well.
@nick
PS: I could have ridden a LG as well, but I have been trending towards longer TT lengths and shorter stems lately. I actually am between sizes on the Specialized scale of things. I probably would buy a 24.75-25″ TT if that was offered in a custom frameset.
So, I tend to go up in size if in doubt and I value stability over absolute maneuverability.
grannygear
Your sneak peek reviews have only reinforced what I was already thinking. I am now the proud owner of a Large Epic Marathon 29er. I just got done swapping my bars and ergon grips and will be going back out to the garage to throw on some Racing Ralphs (tubeless of course) after dinner. Many thanks to Conte’s of Arlington for setting me up. I think its difficult to get this bike in this size right now and of course they have it right when I need it.
@nick
Hey, good deal! Congrats!
grannygear
Not-so-great cell phone pic:
http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm297/NPendleton/091130_224240.jpg
What are the differences between Aluminium/Carbon Epic 29er and Carbon S-works (29ers in the future) models?
Shocker DC is asking to make a comparison of something that doesn’t exist yet.
The only concern I have is not having a thru-axle fork. They mention that the Reba is “Custom”, and one article mentioned that Specialized has the head tube lower bearings higher up than normal. Would I be able to retrofit a Fox F29 to the frame? I had Fox install 15qr lowers on my 08 F100 and it made a big difference in steering precision. I wonder if RS could install maxle lite lowers? Also, the motion control is missing from the catalog description of the Comp. Does the Reba SL on the Comp have motion control?
Thanks
GT- I’m going to be very interested on your take on this bike vs the Superfly 100. I’m thinking very hard about replacing my Xcal come spring with either a GF HiFi Deluxe 29er or a Epic Comp 29er. I demoed the SF100 and really liked it. Searching to see if there will be a Spec Demo anywhere near too.
@Bob: Specialized does offer different insets/bearings to accomodate other steer tubes. Either tapered 1 1/8th-1 1/2 or straight 1 1/8th. See your local Specialized dealer for parts. As far as I know, all Reba forks use Motion Control. Motion Control comes in different “types’, so you have the Motion Control used in standard Reba forks and “Black Box” Motion Control on the Team model. Just as an example. There are also variations using Pop-Loc, no Pop-Loc, and the rare SRAM XX Reba.
Thanks GT. Eagerly awaiting the test. I’m on an 08 Trance now but I’m 6′4″ and seriously considering going the 29″ route.