It was all looking so straightforward. GOAT racer, Nino Schurter, was dominating the World Cup and World Championships on his radically trail-bike-shaped, 2.4in tire, 120mm travel Scott Spark and every other brand started following suit. “Brilliant” the media and mere mortal riders cried. Bikes that are still superlight and efficient for smashing the climbs but can be ridden hard on real trails as well as the increasingly technical, ‘Enduro grade’ XCO courses. And while most testers like me saw the short travel, zero sag Specialized S-Works World Cup bike and the Trek Supercaliber as limited-use exceptions, the recent launch of the long, slack 120mm Specialized Epic 8 reassured us. It also re-affirmed why Specialized’s own racers, such as Viktor Koretsky, had been racing and winning on modified versions of the previous Epic Evo, rather than the steeper, shorter travel Epic. Yes, I know this is getting Epically complicated already, but hang in there as recent race bike launches like Yeti’s ASR confirmed that control was the new key to unlocking extra speed for most riders.
Today's launch of the Pinarello Dogma XC (already ridden to success by Tom Pidcock) and last weekend’s results – including a second place for Koretsky on the S-Works Epic World Cup rather than the new Epic 8 (which placed fifth), potentially prove that myself and the rest of the media don’t know what we’re talking about.
