Only electronics in the fork? In detail, Blevins' S-Works Epic WC to win the XCO World Cup in Mairipora

Mountain bike 15/04/24 07:08 Migue A.

The American Chris Blevins has taken the first victory of the season in the Mairiopora XCO World Cup and unlike the rest of his teammates, who chose to compete with the new 120mm S-Works Epic 8, Blevins did it on the S-Works Epic WC with a very special setup that we had not seen before.

Blevins' S-Works Epic WC to win in Mairipora. It is the first time we see the Flight Attendant electronic suspension system only working on the fork

Blevins wins the Mairipora XCO World Cup on this S-Works Epic World Cup

The XCO race in Mairiopora was anything but boring. The humidity and being the first of the year meant that some of the favorites did not appear at the front of the race, but there were no shortage of candidates for victory and the course of the race led to more than 10 bikers fighting for the win in the last lap. A situation that Blevins managed better than anyone else along with one of the most unique bikes in the race. This is Blevins' S-Works Epic with which he won.

Blevins' Specialized Epic WC mounted a 110mm RockShox SID Fligth Attendant fork. In this size, he could have also chosen the lighter SL version, but for some reason (perhaps stiffness?) he opted for the normal model

The RockShox Flight Attendant electronic suspension system for XCO was presented just a few weeks ago along with the new 120mm Specialized Epic 8, but Blevins decided that for the Mairipora circuit, the particular S-Works Epic was the better option. And he did it with an even more special configuration that we had not seen in competition before and that we didn't even know could work.

At its presentation, RockShox explained that for their Flight Attendant system to work, it had to consist of a Flight Attendant shock and fork plus the pedal sensor, but it was never specified that the system could work only with the fork, as it does in this S-Works Epic WC. Remember that the shock of this model is a RockShox SID WCID 75mm that does not have remote control (it is designed to work autonomously prioritizing lightness and reactivity) and as can be seen in the images, it has not been modified for electronic use either. So, in this combination, it leaves the door open to also work on rigid mountain bikes.