That's awesome! Congrats on the new bike!

Reserve fillmore valves

See if you can find somewhere to demo them! You might have to travel a bit, but it's definitely worth it before dropping all that money on a bike! Good luck!

@@HandlebarVentures thanks! I have test ride on both bikes but I still can’t decide.

Let us know which one you decide on!

So the decision was sort of made for me by Specialized. I ran into a situation where I wanted to cancel my order at one shop and buy a bike closer to home but shop said they would have to charge me a 15% restocking fee. So I called customer service to find out if such a thing was true and I wind up having a great 45 minute conversation with them about bikes and races and life in general and the next day I called the shop to tell him yes cancel order I don’t care I want to buy it closer to home and he said well Specialized is offering you 30% off sale price so I had no choice, picked up the WC for $4899

Wow that's awesome and one heck of a deal! Enjoy the new ride!

Longer frame and the SWAT storage add some weight. Still a light frame considering, but the epic evo gen 7 was about as light as it gets!

@@HandlebarVentures I'll hang-on to my gen 7 for another season; just a bit over 23lb with pedals, Garmin, bottle cage, and tubeless flat repair kit (in the bars)

I believe so. Likely will be in August like last year

@@HandlebarVentures thanks

An Epic Evo 7 would be an awesome first mountain bike! Glad we could help! Welcome to the dark side once you start mountain biking you might never want to ride the road again lol

I think it comes down to preference if you are on the border of the two sizes. I am keeping my Epic Evo 7 at this time, so I can't comment on the sizes of the new epic 8.

@@HandlebarVenturesthank you

@@HandlebarVentures thank you. Could you tell me pls how tall are you and what size Evo7 are you riding now?

5'8" size Med

Glad we could help Jake! Sounds like a sweet build. How do you like the wicked wills?

This is 6 Bells off of the Jupiter lift

Indicator off Jupiter chair

Hell yeah I know the blue you're talking about that's such a great color! I'm torn between flight attendant and the twistloc. Really don't want to add more cables to the bike and give up my ergon grips. Don't want to add batteries to the bike either. Decisions...

I'm in the same position as you, I have an Sworks Epic Evo 7, and the one massive improvement I would like to do is the Flight Attendant. Would we be able to fit the Flight Attendant rear shock on our frames, or will it only be the forks that are backwards compatible? Our frames have 110mm rear travel, whereas the new 8 has 120mm rear travel, so wasn't sure about compatibility. Any thoughts or ideas? Thank you in advance 👍🙏

@@jonoharper4729 our frame (Epic Evo 7) is the only bike not currently in production that will have a SID Flight Attendant shock available. Probably because it was a test bed for Rockshox. My bike shop said his SRAM rep said it’ll be available for order sometime in April. I’m first in line! 🤞Good news too is we don’t have to buy the whole fork, just a replacement damper.

​​@@samuelharris344 That's fantastic news, you're ahead of the game. Really appreciate the update. I'll get on to my LBS this week and pre order the parts. Thanks Sam, go well, enjoy your rides mate 🙏👊

I also have the navy sworks epic evo 7 and love it. Will be adding flight attendant when it becomes available. Looks like I can get front shock and power meter but not the rear shock yet.

Check the full video out

​@@HandlebarVenturesno I don't think I will

Ok 👍

@@bperk3253 right

I'd recommend following the easy loop! It's well marked with green circles and arrows indicating which direction to go.

I think the Evo version will appeal to a lot of people as a lightweight trail bike.

Glad you agree 🤝 Epic Evo 7 was and is such a great bike it's hard to top it.

QST 106s are incredible. Hold an edge well, very easy to slide the tails and make smear turns with, very well damped which encourages you to ski fast through crud, float well for a 106 too. Very easy ski to get along with, the previous gen Kore 93s I had before were not.

I was looking at those same ones and am thinking about getting them, thanks for the info!@@HandlebarVentures

Not yet! It's on the list though. How is Beaver Creek?

Steep terrain and great snow!!

Glad you enjoyed it! We owe it all to you for being such a great Dad and getting us started skiing when we were young!

It really was! Thank you

It was a good one! Bummed you missed this year's trip, but hoping for some more pow days next year!

Thanks! It all depends on your terrain, weight, and riding style. The lighter wheels will flex more when pushed hard on the descents vs the sturdier options. I have WR1 Unions on my Enduro and love them they have held up really well and perform great. I think you'll find a bigger benefit for your purpose by choosing a sturdy wheel and a fast rolling tire setup.

It's definitely one of our favorites!

Welcome to the channel! Good luck with your goal! Keep us updated on how it's going!

Thank you!

That's awesome! Is there an event you're training for? Thank you and thanks for the suggestion. I'll include nutrition in the next video!

Bzzzzzz 🐝 🐝 🐝

That's impressive! I hope these hold up as well as your wheelset. Thanks for sharing your experience!

Setting my sights high! Let's get after it this summer!

@@HandlebarVentures might be time to throw a lockout on the evo

I've been debating a lockout. The sram twistlock system vs If/when they release the flight attendant xc setup. I'm sure it will be expensive, but it would be great to avoid adding two extra cables and not have to keep track of shock settings while riding.

Thank you! Will do!

The new rovals are almost the exact same width as the NOBL TR35 but the previous generation that came on my Epic Evo were 25mm inner width. Read the fine print of Specialized's "lifetime warranty" and you'll see they only cover ride damage through the first two years, ultimately that's why I went with the NOBL's vs a crash replacement of my roval wheelset.

Thank you!! I hope this helps with your decision.

Thanks for your reply, I almost bought the rovals, initially I thought rovals were lifetime crash replacements too. After watching your review I changed my mind and went with NOBL. Once again thanks a lot for your review!!!

You're welcome! Enjoy the new bike when it arrives!

That's what I'm talking about! LET'S GO!

Thank you! That's one LONG climb! Impressive ride! I've read a little bit about rouvy when researching apps and training plans. It sounds like it was perfect for your event!

@HandlebarVentures It was perfect for that event. Trainer Road has great plans. I believe in finding what fits your needs and then just being consistent with it. Good luck!

Thanks Tony!

That's a great goal! Hope to see you out on the trails. I definitely want to get out to Michaux this year. I usually end up going to The Shed instead, but I always enjoy riding some new trails!

Thank you and welcome to the channel! Any idea on what your cycling goals for 2024 are?

@@HandlebarVentures I prefer urban downhill however I am doing the c.o.m.b.o funduro series this year, rumors have it we might have a downhill race this year. Note I’m 52 and only been riding for 18 months. Still learning A LOT between riding and film/edit. I do post on my channel very open to advise.

Nice! I just checked out the event you mentioned. Looks like a great time! Never done any urban DH but I've seen plenty of redbull videos of it lol. It's wild stuff!

Hell yeah! Are you doing any structured training for it? Thank you and good luck on your goal as well. I'm sure I'll see ya out there!

@@HandlebarVentures nothing official. I'm over 50 and overweight. I do a lot of Zone 2 at the gym, both running and the elliptical, for stamina. I was riding every other day at LGP until the rains came. My longest ride without stopping is 12 miles.

Gotcha! Keep at it you got this!

Thanks. Now if we can only get the trails dried out and back in shape. @@HandlebarVentures

They'll freeze up this week! Wouldn't expect them to be thawed and dried for a while unless we get another warm spell.

Thank you! Glad it was helpful

The extra width and resulting increase in tire volume has the largest impact on perceived compliance. That said I think the Rovals felt a bit stiffer the Rovals tend to pinball more through technical sections NOBL TR32s and 35s have a more damped and calmer feel. I have the 35s and my brother has 32s I prefer the extra width of the 35s paired with a ~2.4" xc tire.

Thank you, glad you liked it!

Thank you! It's all relative. Compared to a hardtail or true xc race bike it is more comfortable, compared to a trail or Enduro bike it is not nearly as comfortable. I can sit and spin on technical climbs with my Enduro on the epic evo I tend to stand and attack more.

That is the point.

@@HandlebarVentures Like how to fix a shitty girlfriend. Answer: dump her and get another.

Hahahaha! 🤣😂

@@HandlebarVentures 😆

​@thekunj7 good point I need remplace my girl 😂

Would not be my first choice, but I think you'd be fine on a gravel bike with some good bike handling skills.

@@HandlebarVentures I appreciate the info ..

@HandlebarVentures I'm going there Sunday and I'm gonna take it slow to get a feel for it before I get silly

You're welcome! Have a great ride!

That's good to hear! Thanks for sharing feedback on your wheels.

Thanks Tony!

Thanks! Cover was pretty thin in spots when we were there as well but we had some snow pretty much every day to help refresh the mountain. Nice that's awesome, sounds like you had a great trip!