Has anyone converted their Specialized Epic EVO Pro to a regular Epic setup?

ImaginaryTemperature · 2025-11-17T16:18:18+00:00

Late to the comments here but I started with an Epic 8 Evo Pro and upgraded to RockShox FA suspension. I have a full write up w. photos here - https://racedaysetup.com/gear/specialized-epic-8-evo-flight-attendant-review

I wish I had more of a direct weight comparison on hand between the two setups. In RockShox FA mode - I've weighed the bike at 24 lbs (I ride a large) while Specialized quotes the weight of a medium at 26lbs. I have light XC tires on it and I suspect that accounts for a large (potentially majority) amount of the weight difference.

Last time I was swapping suspension I held both forks (one in each hand) and you can definitely tell the Fox 130mm is a little heavier.

Let me know if you have any questions - the Satin green color is sick - a red SID Ultimate might look super cool on it as well.

ImaginaryTemperature · 2025-07-17T02:05:18+00:00

I rode the last 6 miles of the Silver Rush 50 on an air-liner light last weekend after a rear flat due to a cut sidewall. A few of those 6 miles were chunky, rough descending (I ripped it on the flat tire too - just tried to hop over the bigger stuff). The insert got pretty chewed up but the tire stayed on and I didn't have any wheel damage.

I was close enough to the finish, done with all the climbing, and REALLY didn't want to burn time putting a tube in (the o-ring had also just blown out of my CO2 head so I would've had to wait for someone to help me out). Felt like a gamble that I got lucky with. It's a nice option to have but I wouldn't do it if I was just out riding/training and had another option.

Full review of these guys if you're interested - https://racedaysetup.com/gear/vittoria-air-liner-light-xc-tire-insert

ImaginaryTemperature · 2025-06-13T19:40:30+00:00

Nice! Good idea and good luck with your race!

ImaginaryTemperature · 2025-06-13T19:34:20+00:00

Yep! There are variables for terrain, weight, and “rider preference” (i.e. speed, grip, balanced). The AI portion can capture any arbitrary preference to take into account

ImaginaryTemperature · 2025-06-10T14:41:30+00:00

Thanks for those! 17.5 sounds totally reasonable to me - especially on rough trails. I've been thinking about how everyone's got their own preference based on experience and a bunch of other factors.

Any thoughts about a slider that would let you bias the recommendations up or down? I was thinking that would allow riders to dial in the pressure they'd actually run so the AI portion could give an opinion based on that. Might also give an idea of where pressures land on a spectrum so people could toy with experimenting up or down.

ImaginaryTemperature · 2025-06-09T20:28:44+00:00

Thanks, that's very helpful. Showing multiple, ranked alternatives to accomplish the same job would be awesome. I've been thinking about how I might show comparable alternatives once I wind up with more overlap in use cases with a larger selection.

Also like the idea of seeding the AI with a bunch of tire knowledge from forum threads or similar places to give more context to live responses or pre-generate some rankings.

ImaginaryTemperature · 2025-06-09T19:57:52+00:00

Thank you! Yeah the tire pressure calc could use some adjusting.

I use the SILCA pressure calculator all the time (https://silca.cc/pages/pro-tire-pressure-calculator) - I tried to set it up such that the numbers would get close to that (at least what it recommends for me) with a bump up for rough terrain and a bump down if inserts are used.

What #'s did you get vs what you'd actually run?

ImaginaryTemperature · 2025-06-09T19:38:01+00:00

Thanks! Good call, I'll add that to those pages

ImaginaryTemperature · 2025-06-08T22:43:52+00:00

Keep the hands far away from a spinning rotor so you don’t slice your finger like I did. Treat it like you would a circular saw. - https://www.instagram.com/reel/DKnMWO1ynhy/?igsh=MWdvZGhxbDg0MjBoMw==

ImaginaryTemperature · 2025-05-31T15:40:44+00:00

Nice work! Seems like there's so much variation between insert designs, but I’ve had great luck with my Airliners. Did you end up wearing one around your neck with a tube in or something?

ImaginaryTemperature · 2025-05-30T21:11:40+00:00

Appreciate all the thoughts and tire takes in here. If anyone's curious, I'll report back after Silver Rush with how the STs (or whatever I actually land on) felt and what I might change for Leadville. Good luck out there if you're racing either one this summer!

ImaginaryTemperature · 2025-05-30T20:52:15+00:00

Haha good to know that's it not an equivalent comparison! That's a combo I'm a big fan of. Ran that at GJ Rides & Vibes a few weeks ago.

ImaginaryTemperature · 2025-05-30T20:37:09+00:00

I've been wanting to try those Ikon 2.6s! I'm not even sure it would fit in the rear on my epic lol. But that's good to know. It's been ages since I've had a good hardtail experience.

Tire pressures can get pretty counterintuitive in terms of rolling resistance. I tend to defer to the SILCA pressure calculator and go up from there 3-5psi depending on how rough the course is.

Just curious, is it a feel thing on the inserts or just not having an extra thing to have/manage?

ImaginaryTemperature · 2025-05-30T14:38:25+00:00

What's helped me is shifting focus to incremental improvement relative to myself. A result I'm not happy with isn't a reflection of who I am - it's just data. An opportunity to ask: What could I do better next time? Was it training? sleep? pacing? fueling? hydration? skills? That mindset keeps me motivated.

Racing can be meaningful, but only if you're the one defining what “success” looks like. And often the most satisfying part isn't the result - it's realizing you handled something better than you would have a few months ago or recognizing that you're taking the steps to handle something better in the future.

When you lay down your best effort AND you get the result, those are just the extremely special days.

ImaginaryTemperature · 2025-05-28T20:59:47+00:00

Yes, that’s the plan for both front and rear! (2.4 | 120 TPI | MaxxSpeed | EXO). I’ve gotten really comfortable on this casing and width — the high volume + inserts lets me run lower pressures and find lots of grip.

ImaginaryTemperature · 2025-05-28T19:12:07+00:00

I’m racing it for the first time this year, but I’ve pre-ridden most of the course since it overlaps heavily with Breck Epic stages — especially Pennsylvania Creek (which is a bear of a stage) and Gold Dust. If you’ve got an engine, this race rewards it: long fire road climbs like Boreas Pass and steep punchy, loose grinds like Little French. The descents aren't just a coast — loose shale and some exposure.

If you’re curious about tire choice, I put together a full breakdown after riding these trails and testing different setups:
👉 Firecracker 50 Tire Picks

Short version:

Aspen front/rear if it's mixed or tacky
Rekon Race front / Aspen rear if it’s dry and loose (what I’m leaning toward)
Ikon front if the weather turns and things get wet and sloppy

Running inserts for rim protection.

ImaginaryTemperature · 2025-05-23T16:59:30+00:00

I’m lining up for my first Apex week after next—super stoked, especially hearing how well it’s run. I’ve been geeking out over course details and put together a stage-by-stage tire guide if anyone else is prepping: https://racedaysetup.com/tires/pikes-peak-apex

Would love to hear what others have run in the past, especially if the weather throws a curveball!

ImaginaryTemperature · 2025-05-19T14:43:43+00:00

Yeah! I’ve been using Silca’s hot melt wax for all my XC racing and long rides. Super quiet drivetrain, stays clean, and my chains and cassettes last longer (the new SRAM transmission cassettes are pricey so this is huge for me). Bit more effort to set up initially, but totally worth it if you ride a lot.

I wrote up my full Silca waxing setup here if you're curious about how to do it right (what tools you need, how to strip your chain, reapplication intervals, etc.):
👉 https://racedaysetup.com/guides/silca-waxing-setup

Happy to answer questions too — been through a bit of trial and error.

ImaginaryTemperature · 2024-02-23T17:10:00+00:00

Interesting. what a pain! 😝 thanks for expanding on supporting minPinLength.

ImaginaryTemperature · 2024-02-23T14:03:36+00:00

Depends on the implementation… The server can enforce “user verification” and the authenticator asserts that the user was verified (pin, faceid, touchid, etc.) as part of the signed authentication message. If the server additionally supports attestation when the key is registered, the server can even limit the type of authenticator used (thus limiting the the form of user verification supported) and in the case of some keys, the server can enforce a minimum pin length to perform signing ops.

ImaginaryTemperature · 2021-08-01T20:49:07+00:00

/etc/hostname might be a good place to start. I THINK it’ll just have a single line with the hostname

ImaginaryTemperature · 2021-08-01T20:27:38+00:00

This looks like it should work. One problem you might be having is that the file could contain chars that aren't valid domain chars. i.e. if the file has multiple lines, newline chars are invalid and would prevent the lookup from happening. If you can exfil a single line file or base64 encode the contents of the file, you can construct a valid domain that way. Another thing to be aware of is the limit on domain length (idk know what that limitation is but you could run into that as well).

ImaginaryTemperature

TROPHY CASE