We expected the Epic to be fast—it's the same full-carbon bike that Swiss Christoph Sauser rode to the 2008 XC world championship—but not this fast. The Shimano XTR components and carbon cranks certainly help, but really it's all about the gray matter. The front and rear shocks feature Specialized's Brain technology, which essentially knows the difference between pedaling forces and trail forces and continuously adjusts to resist the former and absorb the latter. The result is a full-suspension bike that keeps the wheels on the ground for better control yet pedals as well as a hardtail while weighing less than a lot of them. “Normally, money can't buy you speed,” said one tester. “That's not the case here.” 21.6 lbs, medium;
