Epic Brain..

Giant did not install the cups properly. so they were not parrallel. they actually didn't remove any
paint from the bottom face of the front tube. Giant claims that this is the first time this has
happen (BS). i guess Giant will be getting a nice bill from my lbs.

sorry about the late reply...computer troubles! hehe

Chris.

"Chris T" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi there, my first post!

I recently purchased a 2003 Giant NRS 2. Although I have noticed, that

it's

Quoted message said:

alignment or something is screwy. The bike seems to always want to pull to the left while riding
on the road.... but is not as noticable in the bush. There is only a little bit of a weight
difference because of the rotor/caliper on that side of the wheel. I also opted for a large frame
(compared to a medium like my last bike), which may just be that the bike is going to be less
stable since I'm not overtop the front wheel as much. Or, my last thoughts are that the frame
might have been warped in the process of welding it... or something else has gone funky with
it... is

this

Quoted message said:

possible. any thoughts on this?

Chris.

I did not buy an Epic, but I did ride one for an entire weekend. After that, I gave the rental
testbike (Epic Comp) back to the LBS and bought a FSR.

Why?

The Epic is fast. I am not sure if it is actually faster than the stumpy, but it feels faster. Drop
offs and bunny hops are ok. It is also pretty cool take off on a hardtail and land on a fully. It
can also take stairs pretty well. The brain works well in certain conditions. It takes a good hard
hit to open the valve and once the valve is open, it works nicely.

Where it absolutely sucks is on washboard surfaces, gravel, etc. Stuff too small to trigger the
shock in absolute terms. It can't seem to make up it's mind on these surfaces, open or closed. I
would take a stretch of gravelly or washboard fire road and be surprised afterwards that the o-ring
moved. This on again, off again business makes for a VERY twitch backend. You are never sure if it
is gripping or not.

The side mounted shock gives it an asymmetric feel on fast turns on hard surfaces.

Did I mention that it does not suck up the small stuff very well? One of the great things about FS
is that you can ride for so much longer without getting tired. Not on the Epic.

If you are a racer, buy it. If you have several bikes and money to burn, buy it. If you never ride
for more than an hour, buy it. If it is going to be your main ride and you plan to take epic rides,
get something else.

-Dave

After my own test ride on an Epic I came away with much the same conclusions. It really makes me
wonder what the marketing guys were thinking when they decided to call it an Epic, the bike is great
for alot of things, but epic rides is not one of them

Wyldkat

"Dave Stocker" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I did not buy an Epic, but I did ride one for an entire weekend. After that, I gave the rental
testbike (Epic Comp) back to the LBS and bought a FSR.

Why?

The Epic is fast. I am not sure if it is actually faster than the stumpy, but it feels faster.
Drop offs and bunny hops are ok. It is also pretty cool take off on a hardtail and land on a
fully. It can also take stairs pretty well. The brain works well in certain conditions. It takes a
good hard hit to open the valve and once the valve is open, it works nicely.

Where it absolutely sucks is on washboard surfaces, gravel, etc. Stuff

too

Quoted message said:

small to trigger the shock in absolute terms. It can't seem to make up

it's

Quoted message said:

mind on these surfaces, open or closed. I would take a stretch of

gravelly

Quoted message said:

or washboard fire road and be surprised afterwards that the o-ring moved. This on again, off again
business makes for a VERY twitch backend. You

are

Quoted message said:

never sure if it is gripping or not.

The side mounted shock gives it an asymmetric feel on fast turns on hard surfaces.

Did I mention that it does not suck up the small stuff very well? One of the great things about FS
is that you can ride for so much longer without getting tired. Not on the Epic.

If you are a racer, buy it. If you have several bikes and money to burn, buy it. If you never ride
for more than an hour, buy it. If it is going

to

Quoted message said:

be your main ride and you plan to take epic rides, get something else.

-Dave

Hello, a friend of mine got so excited about the brain that he immediately bought one. Before he was
on a Giant NRS Team. Now it's all regrets .... The brain feels like a semi rigid on a lot of
surfaces where the normal full suspendeds work already. It's really for the hardcore racers...
Regards Robert Schinner

Dave Stocker a écrit:

Quoted message said:

I did not buy an Epic, but I did ride one for an entire weekend. After that, I gave the rental
testbike (Epic Comp) back to the LBS and bought a FSR.

Why?

The Epic is fast. I am not sure if it is actually faster than the stumpy, but it feels faster.
Drop offs and bunny hops are ok. It is also pretty cool take off on a hardtail and land on a
fully. It can also take stairs pretty well. The brain works well in certain conditions. It takes a
good hard hit to open the valve and once the valve is open, it works nicely.

Where it absolutely sucks is on washboard surfaces, gravel, etc. Stuff too small to trigger the
shock in absolute terms. It can't seem to make up it's mind on these surfaces, open or closed. I
would take a stretch of gravelly or washboard fire road and be surprised afterwards that the
o-ring moved. This on again, off again business makes for a VERY twitch backend. You are never
sure if it is gripping or not.

The side mounted shock gives it an asymmetric feel on fast turns on hard surfaces.

Did I mention that it does not suck up the small stuff very well? One of the great things about FS
is that you can ride for so much longer without getting tired. Not on the Epic.

If you are a racer, buy it. If you have several bikes and money to burn, buy it. If you never ride
for more than an hour, buy it. If it is going to be your main ride and you plan to take epic
rides, get something else.

-Dave

In article <[email hidden]>, "B a r r y B u r k e J r ." <"keep it in the newsgroup

@thankyou.com said:

Calz said:

delay before it kicks in or very trick works a treat would buy another?

Huh? <G>

Barry

No, actually I'm wondering the same thing. We've got MBAction claiming it's the death of the
hardtail (well, as soon as it loses 5 lbs.), and then I see another report that suggests the brain
isn't so smart on babyheads, and personally I note that it would have to be an awfully fast-acting
valve to kick in during the bump that activates the brain.

The concept is intriguing, but practice is everything. Fortunately, I have so little money that I
can smugly wait a few years for Specialized to get everything right 🙂.

--
Ryan Cousineau, [email hidden] sfu.ca~rcousineOpen ↗ President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club

Calz <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Anyone got a Specilized Epic, does the rear 'brain' perform as described? delay before it kicks in
or very trick works a treat would buy another?

cheers Steve

I work at a shop and was in the market for a new mountain bike a few months ago, when I started to
consider the Epic FSR Comp. I'm a small rider and a hardtail was my first interest as I really
wanted something much lighter for the singletrack riding that I typically do. The Epic did intrigue
me though, and after a bit of pondering I ended up getting one.

I was out of cycling for a few years before this purchase, so the Brain system was totally a new
thing to me, as was a lot of the newer FS bikes(Liquid's, Fuel's, Scalpel's, etc). Since the Epic is
supposed to act like a hardtail in smooth riding conditions, and fully suspended in the rough stuff,
I figured it would be ideal for myself. FS was attractive anyway since I'm getting a bit older🙂

What do I think of the Brain system? I can honestly say that I think it works very well. It
basically does exactly what it's supposed to
do. When the terrain is smooth, it feels like a hardtail. When the trail starts to get rough, it
softens up, and definitely smooths out the ride. I do notice a bit of harshness when the bike
hits the first big bump, but after that first hit, the rear of the bike is pretty active, and
smooths out the ride nicely. I love steep, technical climbs, and this bike definitely holds
it's own in that arena. The bike definitely sticks on climbs, smooth or rough!

After the first couple of rides with tight singletrack, I went back and looked at the geometry of
the bike as well. The Epics seem to have slightly steeper HT and ST angles, compared to other FS
rigs. To me that made a difference as well. In tight stuff, the bike seems to really respond
nicely, takes sharp turns, switchbacks, very well. Again, for myself, and most East coast
riding(and riders), this is a big plus.

I have no regrets at all with the Epic. I discontinued my search for a lighter hardtail as well, as
I've just been having a blast on this bike. I'll try to shed a bit of weight on the bike, but that's
really not a huge priority right now.

I noticed some people mention that the bike is more of a "racers" bike, and that may be true to some
extent. I am no longer a racer, just simply a MTB'er out to have a good time. The geometry of the
bike though, does have some advantages for more experienced riders, who really like tight,
technical, singletrack.

Anyway, just thought I would share my experience with the Epic.

Thanks, Steve Beheler Spokes, Etc.