After years of road riding and triathlon riding along the green pastures between the hiils is starting to get old. I am yearning to go and see whats up in them thar hills for myself with a trusty two wheeler. I have norrowed the choice down to the giant NRS, or the specialized epic comp,
which would be better if cost is no issue for overall riding?
One of the bike shop’s I go hates Specialized. All the mechanics say they are built like shit. They like Giant. Good group of guys. Take that for what it is worth.
Why those bikes? If I may suggest another, the Ellsworth bikes (either Moment, Id, or Truth depending on how much rear travel you desire) are very nice. I don’t know anyone who owns an Ellsworth that has anything bad to say… Anodized finish, sealed bearing pivots, machined aluminum swingarm… Very nice.
Just my $0.02. Haven’t ridden either. Just offering what I’ve heard on the street (or trails as it may be).
Second that on the Ellsworth great bikes. Are you going to do downhill or x-crountry? If x-country might I sugest a Hardtail or perhaps look at KHS for their line of softails very light. And even look into Moots.
Depends on your riding and which NRS you are considering…
The Epic Comp is a really nice bike, but not for everybody.
I have an NRS I built up from a frame set. It weighs 23 lbs (size large) almost as light as my old tri bike. It is a great bike that never ceases to amaze me on its capabilities. I wish I was as proficient.
From the LBS, I heard that the Specialized Epic Comp has automatic release over the Giant NRS which doesnt. Also has better components then the Giant. We are looking to spend in the ballpark of 2-3,000 for these bikes. Any more suggestions?
the nrs giant is long in the tooth, and already being replaced with their newer design, a variation on the “virtual” pivot multi-link. essentially a rip-off of the ellsworth, it never really gained steam.
the epic is OK as a FS race-bike, if you like that sorta thing, but as a trail bike less so.
if cost is trully not an issue as you say, i would definitely expand my search. titus, turner, or VPP blur ( santa cruz) or spyder ( intense) would be where i started looking for FS.
A great mountain bike review website… www.mtbr.com I have a speacilzed stumpjumper fsr comp… Wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Just got my Gary Fisher Sugar 293. Plush ride. It has 29in wheels and is heavier than 26s, but the ride is awesome.
Coming from a dirt background myself here is my take:
The NRS system is designed to lock out under pedaling torque while the epic uses an inertia valve to make the rear stiff until a large enough bump hits to displace the inertia valve - depending on the terrain one may work better than the other - i.e. if you’re in the technical (rocky, rooty stuff) from your two choices, you might as well get the NRS - if the trails are mostly smooth then the epic will be enough to take the bite out but climb well…one of the problems with the NRS system is that when braking you can cycle the suspension which takes some getting used to but that said - a friend races on an NRS composite and swears by it…
I just sold my mtb but If I were to get a new one it would most likely be a Titus RacerX or Motolite (www.titusti.com) or a Turner Flux or 5spot (www.turnerbikes.com) - these both use a true horst link rear suspension and are among the best pedalling bikes around. The design is similar to the ellsworth however you wont run into as much problems dealing with Titus or Turner as people have been having with ellsworth. (you can read about their problems in the www.mtbr.com forums)…
I am still considering the NRS composite but , its a composite bike, great for road riding but I think as yet the companies may be selling more than they are working on the composite stuff and the frames could be weaker than a metallic frame. I tried out the specialized stupjumper FSR 100 expert yesterday, as well as the epic. Both were great bikes for the price with the epic sort of a hard tail, strange feeling. The FSR stumpjumper was a really nice bike and not as heavy as I would have thought too, any thoughts on this bike
More info!
Good or bad…the world of MTB design is VERY specialized these days.
XC racer (NORBAish)?
Freeride (jumps/no racing)?
Singletrack (nimble/perhaps a bit harsher ride)?
Downhill (crazy son of bitches)?
One trick pony?
Tell us a little about how (and where!) you intend on using the bike and you’re general bike handling skills.
There’s yet to be a “perfect” FS design for all uses…
We are looking to spend in the ballpark of 2-3,000 for these bikes. Any more suggestions?
Heck for that much you can get into a Titus Racer X. A great hand built company with years of great reviews. Yes I am a Titus Dealer and partial to their design…but check out mtbr.com forums and you won’t find any bad reviews of their bikes. Look in the classified sections and all you’ll find many Specialzed, Giant, and Trek for a reason…if these bikes and designs are so great why is everyone pawning them??
Food for thought. Not sure where you are located but check out http://www.titusti.com for more details nad local dealers.
I had a 2002 Giant NRS 2 that I just got rid of. I bought that after riding it and the Specialized FSR Disc, as well as a few other things. The suspension made things cushy, but the geometry was such that descending fast was sketchy(too steep for my taste) and for the technical trails I ride, the suspension didn’t seem to convey trail data to me the way my old bike had.
In the Boston area, everybody deals Specialized and I had to go searching to find a Giant dealer. And the Giant dealers weren’t all that excited to sell the bikes when I went in ready to buy.
Anyway, I just bought a Bianchi SASS, and am looking for a hardtail…again(steel, thank you very much). The SASS is pretty nice, though definitely not for everyone, and I was back to cleaning some moderately hairy singletrack again, and didn’t go over the handlebars.
To my mind, there is a spiritual pleasure to be gained when mountain biking that you just don’t get on the road. It comes when the rider doesn’t have to think about the bike, but is riding in a way that causes all thought of anything other than riding to fade away. All that is there is the trail, and a creature of flesh and steel working its way along that trail, sometimes flowing like water, sometimes thrashing like a beast, but always moving, always rolling, in a timeless dance of pure joy.
Find a bike that allows you to feel that way, and you’ll never regret it.
iron horse, human
flow together on the trail
joy, a life renewed
oh christ this is worse that deciding if i should go tubular or clicher!
thanks for the help here by the way, I am very clueless to what style of riding I want as its been about 8 years since I took a bike offroad, apart from a small sojourn to the side when I missed a turn. I am pretty much just starting back into the mountain biking and there is soo much trail riding round santa clarita it seems crazy not to go and take advantage. I guess the set up will be cruize to the top of a hill and single track it down , hopefully without girling it out and braking too many times. The specialized seems a good deal and to be truthfull any mountain bike under me would be a good bike for now as I know no different.
I guess the specialized will get the dollars, in the end, get the LBS some cash and its all good, unless anoyone can tell me they snap in two like twigs ?
oh yeah what kind of pedals are worth trying, are the egg beaters any better than the SPD’s???
Well, now that you mention tubular or clincher… make sure you either get Tubeless tires or run Stan’s Tubeless conversion system. I found it to be a life saver, and no flats since converting my rims to run tubeless tires or standard tires converted to tubeless.
I have the very first year model of the Specialized Epic Disk. The bike is simply awesome. I don’t think I will ever get another mt bike than another Epic.