MTB test in a gravel race: Specialized Epic HT at Bighorn Gravel

[@MW-ud8zp]

here in poland most "gravel" races are better ridden on xc bikes and long distance road races are better ridden on gravel bikes

[@SzabolcsVaradi]

The channel is quickly becoming one of my favorite! Great honest coverage from all of the events. Love the little funny things happening, skate park, jets, little showcase of the surroundings and THE beer! :)

[@TheRidewithBenDelaney]

Cheers, Szabolcs. Figure I can't control the world around me, so might as well roll with it!

[@RobertDominguez-ql2xg]

Thanks for another super job, Ben! Your videos are a perfect blend of technical information, race coverage, and just good ole fun in the dirt/mud.

[@TheRidewithBenDelaney]

Thank you, Robert. I don't know how technical "oh crap - I screwed up my brakes" is, but I appreciate the feedback. :-) More to come!

[@jonoharper4729]

That is the perfect gravel bike for me....50+ social class, comfort and enjoyment overrides speed every time

[@PhilAndersonOutside]

Same here, entirely.

[@Peregrino.51]

Ben, I went from criticizing your video title months ago, to becoming a big fan!! You cover the content that viewers are hungry for. At times it feels you are catering to exactly what i'm interested in, whether the events, the tech, or the down to earth coverage. Thank you for the great stuff!

[@TheRidewithBenDelaney]

Cheers, K Dog.

[@lewis4175]

Looks like a super fun and challenging race. Thanks for the coverage!

[@ianwilson4004]

Love the videos Ben

[@billyblanco8106]

Back in the day, for me, Vail was all about the "Vail Ultra 100" a very ,mostly mtb course of, yes, 100 miles...and now I see it's baaaack to the future, and has been reimagined...LOL...check it...

[@chasepalpatine170]

The Epic HT is a rocket ship! Often my choice for chunky gravel/single track.

[@elenaalarcon2271]

I thought my brakes were rubbing on my pre-ride of the gravel curious course the day before. They were singing nearly the entire ride and driving me crazy. Luckily I got them checked out because I needed new front brake pads which the race mechanic installed at 5pm on Saturday. I definitely needed those brakes on that 2 mi downhill singletrack. I rode on 35mm Pirelli Gravel Ms which were not quite big enough but still got the job done.

[@TheRidewithBenDelaney]

Glad you got it sorted. That is one big benefit of/reason for the shakedown ride, right? That DH section actually reset my pads because I was on the brakes pretty much the whole way down. Good on you for getting out there and getting it done!

[@cycleish]

Great video! I love seeing videos of my general area! Western Slope!

[@TheRidewithBenDelaney]

West Side's the Best Side, eh?

[@hobbs2005]

I bought a used 2019 sworks Epic hardtail. It's 19 lbs. I love it so very much. Rode it at the Rock Cobbler. Was the right choice for sure. Love your videos, man. thank you.

[@JesseStarrPhoto]

Wish I knew you were there! I rode the Little Bighorn!

[@marciomvp9458]

Nice video as always!

[@thecappy]

I have the AL version (chisel) I built up from a frame. Sucks about the brake issue.

[@svensshed1564]

First time watcher, awesome edit, thanks for that

[@TheRidewithBenDelaney]

Thanks for the sub!

[@universe-juice]

Looks so fun. Making me question some of my life choices!

[@johnhunt3076]

I have that same bike. Truly the gravel bike of mountain bikes. I often use it for courses that have a high % of offroad and/or stuff that scares me. I have mine down under 19 lb. and it has a dropper on it!

[@oldguyandabike]

Nice....yeah...the brake block deal. I just learned a lesson about checking your pump to make sure it still works after carrying it into the great horizon...sigh. Never too old to learn...but old enough to forget what I learned.

[@TheRidewithBenDelaney]

Indeed...

[@williamfryar2864]

Hey Ben! I just did a gravel race on saturday using my epic built up with a ridgid carbon fork and 2.2 tires (18.5lbs) for the first 25 miles of chunky gravel then switched to my gravel bike with 38 panaracers at the aid station for the last 8 miles of flat and fast gravel. It was a killer combo!

[@TheRidewithBenDelaney]

Bike change! That is a first for me.

[@mariaossowska6363]

can you fit 40 ring?

[@24badabing]

I hate when that happens!!! Nearly wrecked a trip to Sedona because of the brake block thing. Enjoying your content.

[@TheRidewithBenDelaney]

Right? Mostly because it's so preventable. I have to say, I put gravel bikes in the back of my vehicle all the time without a brake block (shhh), and haven't had any issues, so that probably encouraged my lazy behavior here.

[@TheRidewithBenDelaney]

The new Giro helmet I'm wearing here is the Aries in the Canyon-SRAM design. I thought it would come with WorldTour watts, but alas... alnk.to/clVhweM

[@titejano]

I have an Epic HT set up with drop bars. Looks like it might have been a good choice for Bighorn.

[@TheRidewithBenDelaney]

I believe it would!

[@seanmccuen6970]

Long live the hardtail. especially ones like that.

[@davidcarino6500]

I've tried both I'll take a mountain bike!!!!! For a gravel race use smaller tires with higher pressure " done ".

[@ichallengemydog]

Throw a pair of clip on aero bars and that thing will beat most gravel bikes🎉

[@jamtoz]

I feel your pain here. I took my chain off the day before a race to clean it. Got it super clean, waxed it and reinstalled everything. Next day did a warmup ride and found that i was not moving for the power i was doing but blamed it on the 9 hours of travelling sitting in my car. After about 1 hour in the race my bike was makong this horrible noise... after 4 hours of pushing power like i never have in my life my left crank came loose... fixed the bike within a couple minutes and finished the race. The day after i cleaned and lubbed my chain and when i touched it it had all those really sharp edges, like i could cut my fingers on it... Well i had passed my chain ON the derailleur guard the day before the race 😅🥴

[@TheRidewithBenDelaney]

Doh!!

[@mikedee6316]

"I smell bacon" should be on all your business cards.

[@TheRidewithBenDelaney]

Some riders have a nose for the finish line. I have, um, other objectives.

[@PhilAndersonOutside]

Curious what psi you were running your tires? There would have to be a strategy to this that could save you minutes I would think. It looks like you were running a Brain front shock, but I would think in a gravel race a bit more pressure (and/or volume reducer) and running in lock-out mode fairly often could be key. I'd also think running more narrow bars, maybe "old-school" 720 might not only keep the bike more nimble on the fire roads and true gravel, but something your fellow competitors would appreciate.

[@swimbikerunwithmike]

You caught me and dusted me! If that was me...

[@lazlo2511]

Man these noisy disc brakes makes one yearn for those great days when bikes were silient with great rim brakes, today you gotta stop, with rim you could adjust on the fly! How the game has changed. Seeing you stop was…. Like this disc thing is a pain in the ass sort of a thing.

[@ananyamore8746]

After about 3 years the last Keurig stopped working kzbin.infoUgkxBrV-RbF5Nk0Rlt9i15aao-YMzqzTG8Vf initially was able to unblock, however eventually we couldn't fix. That one was a replacement unit sent by the manufacturer after we had problems with our very first Keurig. This works fine (lol, at least for now) however I didn't realize the water reservoir was so much smaller than our prior unit. With 2 people having one or two cups of coffee each morning, it seems like I'm refilling it daily. Otherwise just happy to have the convenience of pod coffee vs. making a morning pot.

[@AntoineThisdale]

6:48 wait... was that Maker's mark?

[@TheRidewithBenDelaney]

Correct. I had some Jack last year: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jZ_UcpeEic5_gac

[@AntoineThisdale]

@@TheRidewithBenDelaney ahahah epic

[@CM-ft9ep]

SRAM brakes for the win

[@rule3036]

Mountain bike .....good for riding in ......mountains👍

[@markreams3192]

Nice bike. It’s not available online from Specialized or in stock at any store. Unless you can find it used, you’re out of luck!

[@robbchastain3036]

O man, I am feeling that brake pain, Ben, and what about removing the front disc and running just a rear? Dragging brakes is one of my I can't go for that, no can do. 😀

[@TheRidewithBenDelaney]

You could have done that, yeah. Not super safe, but doable. Or I could have borrowed a screwdriver and smashed the pads back. But it was not my bike and I didn't want to be a jerk and potentially damage the pads going that route.

[@chuckfrizzell8668]

Thanks Ben - speaking of tires; what tires were on the specialized Epic? Many thanks for your videos from Colorado Springs.

[@TheRidewithBenDelaney]

Renegade Control 2.3. Thanks for watching. I'm doing a ride from the Springs Saturday for my friend's birthday.

[@terrillford7784]

Great video Ben. Can you do an event riding on a flat bar gravel bike

[@TheRidewithBenDelaney]

Thanks, Terrill. If I come across one, yeah! That one has a pretty narrow use case, in my opinion, though. A lot of gravel races are in packs, at least for the first hour or two, so having drop bars is a definite plus to stay low and narrow. But I'm game to try anything.

[@jmscheel]

Ben, I have a Specialized Diverge Evo with flat bar for you. No excuses!😂

[@terrillford7784]

@@jmscheel 😆 🤣

[@TheRidewithBenDelaney]

@@jmscheel In a 56 or a 54? I'm a 56, but could make a 54 work. Let's do it!

[@jmscheel]

@@TheRidewithBenDelaney Tbey call it a Large.

[@ilanpi]

Hello! With that gearing and tire, you're doing about 110rpm at 32mph. That should be sustainable. Were there any faster sections requiring pedaling?

[@TheRidewithBenDelaney]

Spoken like a trackie. :-) There was a long downhill where I was kinda hosed, yeah. Not a big deal, but the 34x10 wasn't exactly optimized for it.

[@wadejacobson5126]

What model helmet were you wearing? Very sharp!

[@TheRidewithBenDelaney]

Thank you. Giro Aries in the Canyon/SRAM design: alnk.to/goYI4NQ

[@woolfel]

oh man I feel for you. brake rub is annoying

[@TheRidewithBenDelaney]

Self inflicted, 100%.

[@DavidVidaurri]

I did that race too❤❤❤❤

[@matthewbenger8355]

Ben, what giro helmet are you wearing?

[@SergioCristancho]

The thing about hidraulics 😅... *Reminder: always block! Always!

[@bpisan]

What tires did you run? Renegade? How are they on pavement?

[@TheRidewithBenDelaney]

Yep. Considering you've got 2.3 inches of rubber x 2, they're not bad. Specialized does tires well, I think.

[@lloydjarm]

So you think the mtb was faster or slower than a gb? give or take ...

[@TheRidewithBenDelaney]

Overall probably slower. Faster on singletrack (for me!), and faster on the hike-a-bike because I could ride it with the 34x50. But definitely slower when I couldn't pedal on the gentle downhills, and slower on the smooth dirt and pavement because of rolling resistance and a bolt-upright position. Engine of course is THE difference in any race.

[@jmscheel]

So did the brake rub the entire race?

[@TheRidewithBenDelaney]

There was a 2mi downhill singletrack bit after the first feed that kinda reset them. Was on the brakes hard through pretty much that whole portion. I mean, if I had a proper tool I could have reset them trailside earlier... but c'est la vie!

[@JuanMeneses36]

Me watching this after I realized I lost my break block: 😅

[@TheRidewithBenDelaney]

Hahahaha. Doh!

[@chrisdistefano198]

Come on, Ben, what do you know about being a "mere mortal"?!?

[@GuyKesTV]

Have you not heard? Specialized have killed the hardtail 😏

[@TheRidewithBenDelaney]

We're bringing it back, you and me.

[@GuyKesTV]

@@TheRidewithBenDelaney having ridden the new Epic World Cup a ton I’m totally with you on that 😏

[@TheRidewithBenDelaney]

@@GuyKesTV I so seldom ride mountain bikes these days that I'm blown away when I do. Plush suspension?! Carbon frames?! Disc brakes?! (For context, the last MTB I owned was an Epic... with V-brakes.... 😂)

[@Omnis2]

Another S-Doesn'tWorks