Epic Hardtail Gloss Lagoon / Chameleon Eyris

You’ve seen the look. The, are-they-really-about-to-ride-that-on-a-hardtail look. Well, get ready to get it a lot more aboard the Epic Hardtail. Fast and light meets confident and capable in a bike that’s been bred to redefine what’s possible on a cross-country speed demon. Working towards the lightest bike possible has long been the race within the race, but at what cost? The battle of the grams certainly hasn’t been without its casualties, with hardtail XC race bikes coming to stand for a harsh, twitchy ride at the expense of capability and versatility. But who said fatigue from fighting against your own bike makes you any faster? Instead, recognizing that the fastest bike is more than simply the lightest bike, we said out with the jarred-to-death tail, the measure-your-posterior’s-sorrows-by-the-yard tail and in with the avant-garde tail. The ridiculously capable, mystifyingly comfortable, head-shakingly light and all-around fast, Epic Hardtail.