Building a Dropbar Specialized Epic World Cup 

Lael Wilcox has been riding the tour divide for years on a drop-bar Specialized Epic hardtail. She inspired me to build a Felt Doctrine hard tail MTB frame I had laying around into a drop bar gravel crusher. It’s been my favorite “fast dirt” bike I own. More and more all I use rigid gravel bikes for is just the smoothest gravel roads. The new World Cup is the perfect platform for this, love it!

I said this a year after the TREK Super Caliber came out. All the ppl that I knew that bought that bike said it really had no suspension but griped well on Rooty, rocky climbs. I wanted to do this but my budget was not taking the risk. But I am so stoked to see you on your ride review! Yes and I agree in 3-5 years we will be sold on this concept.

I’ve done exactly this to my supercaliber. With GRX. Absolutely best thing I’ve ever done. With dual lock out too.

Your videos keep getting better & better. Unique. Awesome build!!!

I changed from gravel to mtb. It was hard getting used to 760mm wide bars coming from 440mm drop bars. My wrists would hurt a bit. Solution break out the hacksaw and cut the bars down to 550mm wide. That worked great especially just riding paths, road and minimal gravel.

I just bought an Epic Evo Comp (Got a 35% discount.) and installed 700x47 Pathfinder Pro Gravel tires. I'm not a dropbar person but I did cut the flatbar very narrow. Wide bars just didn't feel right on a gravel bike. This is my dedicated pavement, gravel, and easy singletrack bike. I'm loving it! So smooth and comfortable. I wanted an Epic World Cup but it was out of my price range.

This bike is Absolutely amazing man !!!!

This has inspired me to convert my trek roscoe to drop bars. I'm not racing or anything, just a guy looking to have fun. Thank you so much for the inspiration!

Luv it. Looking forward to riding reports.

Planning on doing the same thing with my Cannondale F-Si Hi Mod - thing is crazy light already at 9.4kg in an XL. Will definitely be a head turner with a drop bar lefty MTB 😆

I did this with a 2011 Trek Hifi Pro (full suspension) back in 2018. I did a few gravel races with it. It turned an otherwise great riding cross country mtb into a completely different animal and was much more comfortable to ride over long distances. It was too heavy to be competitive under anyone. I have an Epic WC myself now and have been considering doing the same.

Awesome!

No one understands how funny the tri-flow lube bit was

Cool bike. Dropper seat?

This is totally the way to go, been thinking about exactly this build myself. But... Geo is quite awkward (really low/small frame to get correct drop bar reach and bar drop); then even the Epic BB is quite high with low sag; finally, chainring size is limited. A shame, 'cos it's a better solution than the dodgy Diverge. But yes, this will be sold to us in 5 years as the way to go, but its just too expensive for an imperfect home-build.

I also experimented with 460mm and 520mm drop bars for gravel and with a wide flare, with 520mm it looks much nicer and more aggressive

6'5" 300# on an XL Salsa Fargo, I went with Richey Venturemax XL 52cm bars and a thudbuster seatpost rides like a ☁️ bars are wide enough for me but might be technically too big for sanctioned races, I think the limit is 46 but that might be road/CX

I think it’s cool that your dad lets you borrow his shop to put road bicycle handlebars on the mountain bicycles

I love it

I think this is what Lauren’s Ten Dam is using this for Tour Divide this year

So what is the best way to go with the brake calipers if you go with AXS brifters?. i have level ultimates on my epic now. Do you have to switch to road calipers?

I can't wait for my own drop-bar WC. Do you guys think one could just size down to avoid the stem issue?

I have a 2000 Rocky Mountain Element T.O, do they make like 700mm drops?

Solid guys. Maybe get a trek supercaliper and do the same dropbar thing and then do a comparison

What brakes did you use?

I have a 2016 epic World Cup I’m ab to do this to. I’m using the stock bar from my tarmac. No one down here has one so I’m gonna do it.

I put pathfinder’s on my World Cup Epic and my Roubiax Sl8 is a lot better in my opinion both bikes kick ass though. By the way, I have the World Cup in that color way as well and a matching SL7.

The natural evolution of every form of cycling slowly morphing in to mountain biking is almost complete…couple more years and you guys will discover narrow flat bars, then wider riser bars, lol

Go Tomac !

Swap the tyres for contis race king protection. At least theoretically they have lower rolling resistance than any gravel tyre.

That build is something else. Would benefit from a dropper post and wider handlebar.

What size is the frame and how tall is Trey?

Uhh... Downhill Gravel... time that another Comet hits Earth.

You must be a world class gravel racer running Tour de France 'road' saddle to bar drop on a mountain bike. Will look for you at Leadville on that thing. PS. saddle to bar drop on the flat bar bike shown is more traditional

You will need much wider bars. Like at least 46.

Running the front brake line through the steerer tube is a really great idea. Um, don't do that.

Bars are too narrow, otherwise super cool!

Like the bike,but 38cm off road? Prob better with a 42-44 on the drops….40 on the hoods. But let’s face it,nothing new in cycling! When racing MTB’s in 1980’s I remember John Tomac on his Drop bar downhill bike and a certain Charlie Cunningham drop bar build of Jacquie Phelan ,met with much interest on the U.K. race circuit ( one race in Southern England a friend of mine got a ride on her bike- then was accused of messing with her gears😬)

or hey, there’s the Diverge STR.

Done all wrong. Need higher stack and wider bars with short stem

Um... seems obvious that a 12k FS race bike geometrically designed to win world cup xc races is not an ideal everyday or as you put it, utilitarian mtb. I don't see it as a negative just a bike that fits a niche.

Be a man and put the flat bar back on😂

you not inventing anything did this 20 years ago ninier has one

$12,000 bike and adds triflow to lube the chain. whack.