Need to decide Epic or Nerve - help!

bmxboy10
bmxboy10 Posts: 1,958
edited August 2012 in MTB buying advice
Ok so I was about to buy a Specialized Epic in the sales as I want a FS MTB (never had one before) but liked the idea of the specialized brain as I will need to ride a few miles on road to get to the rough stuff. Having had a few hardtials which tended to be converted to road use I want a full on mtb now as I have a decent road bike for the tarmac.

Anyway I suddneldy came accross the nerve XC 7 which has 120mm travel and now i think, according to reveiews, that this is the best all round option for a FS bike. I love the canyon and i would be happy to buy direct. Thing is what i need to know is which of these two is best and does the anti squat and pro pedal on the canyon allow the bike to be ridgid on the smooth stuff in the same way that the brain does on an Epic?

Also has anyone seen the Nerve in black forest green in the flesh? if so whats it like?

Thanks in advance for your help!
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/spe ... e-ec024949
http://www.canyon.com/_en/mountainbikes ... tml?b=2556

Comments

  • njee20
    njee20 Posts: 9,613
    They're different bikes, the Epic is designed as a race bike, whilst the Nerve is a bit more relaxed, slightly more travel, and slightly more forgiving.

    There is no one 'best' bike, otherwise we'd all have them. Canyons are good value for sure, but that Spesh is good at £800 off list. Bear in mind that all newer Epics are 29ers, so if that goes you're looking at a different bike!
  • rockmonkeysc
    rockmonkeysc Posts: 14,774
    The brain won't make the specialized ride like a hardtail. Giant's meastro system is the best rear suspension I have rode for not bobbing while pedalling. Even my old Reign X with 170mm travel & a coil shock with no pro-pedal pedalled extremely well with very little bob.
    Have a look at the Giant Anthem, it's a good allround xc bike but also very popular with racers. Just make sure you don't pay full price, you should get a good discount this time of year.
    Transition Patrol - viewtopic.php?f=10017&t=13070235
  • njee20
    njee20 Posts: 9,613
    The Brain certainly does firm the back end up a lot, and on the Epic can be made to have a high blow-off threshold. I'd not say it's the same as a hardtail, but they do work very well when set up properly, if that's your thing. If you're one for fiddling with lockouts and what not then it probably won't be to your taste.
  • victoriac
    victoriac Posts: 56
    I've got an Era which is the female version of the Epic and I've found it fantastic. I've started doing a bit of racing so it's spot on for me - it's a great climber which is where the brain works brilliantly.
    Once I got the suspension set to where I wanted it I've hardly touched it at all but if I'm going down a really rough bit it's great that I can just ramp it up a touch if I need to.
    I did a 50k road ride (for training) on it this morning with no problems (apart from me trying to keep up with the boys :D).
    Specialized Era
  • bmxboy10
    bmxboy10 Posts: 1,958
    Thanks all

    I want the bike to be my winter bike as I ride the roads in the summer months. I

    I dont intend doing serious off roading of DH just maybe some local trails but want the confidence in the bike to handle all terrains incase I ever go off expoloring. The Epic seems more race orientated with less travel whereas the Nerve seems a more do it all bike if I am correct? The spec looks comparable when you look at the bike as a whole and weights are similar but the forks and rear shock on the Nerve appear better and I do prefer shimano to SRAM. Still not sure what to do! Still feel that 120mm travel is best for what I intend to use the bike for and I know canyons are good value but how can canyon sell the Nerve for £1280 whereas the Epic now retails for £2600 as this suggests the EPIC is the superior machine?

    Head=epic Heart= Nerve :roll:
  • chrisw333
    chrisw333 Posts: 695
    If your heart says Nerve, go for it. You'll find loads of happy Canyon riders on this forum and by all accounts its a great bike
  • chez_m356
    chez_m356 Posts: 1,893
    solboy10 wrote:
    but how can canyon sell the Nerve for £1280 whereas the Epic now retails for £2600 as this suggests the EPIC is the superior machine?
    £2600 sugests that the distributors and shops have to take there cut, obviously canyon being direct sales, no middle men, big savings, you can't have researched the canyon too closely to miss that one
    Specialized Hardrock Sport Disc 10- CANYON Nerve AM 6 2011
  • mrmonkfinger
    mrmonkfinger Posts: 1,452
    Epic price for that specialised.

    I'd get the nerve, it has a decent spec and no gimmicky marketing crap on the suspension.
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  • zerokool
    zerokool Posts: 10
    I've got the nerve xc7 in green, it's an excellent bike. it has coped with everything I've thrown at it, including the peak district (where i live and ride every week), Llandegla & coed y brenin.

    The only thing is, it's not as green as it looks online. Until it catches the sunlight.
  • bmxboy10
    bmxboy10 Posts: 1,958
    ZeroKool wrote:
    I've got the nerve xc7 in green, it's an excellent bike. it has coped with everything I've thrown at it, including the peak district (where i live and ride every week), Llandegla & coed y brenin.

    The only thing is, it's not as green as it looks online. Until it catches the sunlight.
    Ok that's good so it's like green black pearl effect?
  • zerokool
    zerokool Posts: 10
    yeah sort of. the green paint must be reflective and the black not.

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