I’ve always had a thing for Specialized; it’s a brand that hasn’t been afraid to innovate. The revolutionary Stumpjumper was first introduced in 1981 and single-handedly transformed the bicycle retail industry, enabling cyclists to get of the pavement and into the dirt. The S-Works Epic Ultimate was the crown in the Specialized model line up of all-terrain bikes for 1992, consisting of carbon fiber tubes connected by Merlin-made titanium lugs.
This Epic Ultimate is from 1993-1994, and has been sympathetically restored by Retrobike author ameybrook. It sports a Shimano XTR groupset, a Syncros titanium bottom bracket and seat post. A Specialized Team Titanium stem holds the Titec bars and the brakes are Avid Tri-Align. Topline cranks and Speedplay pedals power the drive train. Those natty skewers are titanium too, by Nuke Proof.
For more old-school MTB eye candy, check out ameybrook’s blog on MTBR.
