A Alan Hatherly (24) is one of South Africa’s fastest mountain bikers – and one of the best young XC riders in the world.
In 2018 he won the U23 Cross Country World Championship in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, and he proved his versatility a year later when he won the inaugural e-MTB cross-country race at the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Mont-Sainte Anne, Canada.
A rider of such pedigree deserves a speedy steed, and he’s got one in the new S-Works Epic. The bike has been reimagined almost from the ground up, to be as lightweight and nimble as possible.
The geometry has been updated, the Brain suspension system has been improved, and a new carbon lay-up actually shaves 100g off the frame weight of the previous model: the FACT 12m frame – including shock, hanger, axle and bolts – comes in at a stupendous 1 869g.
With a 67.5° head angle, shorter chainstays, a lower bottom bracket and a steeper seat tube, the new Epic can cope better with increasingly technical cross-country courses – it’s more stable on descents, and rolls better over obstacles. But it’s still a supremely competent climber, as an XC race bike should be, rocketing uphill without hesitation.
Continue reading your story on the app
Continue reading your story in the magazine
WHAT WE CARRY IS WHO WE ARE
A PHOTOGRAPHER DOCUMENTS LONG-DISTANCE BIKE RIDERS-AND ALL THE MEANING THINGS THEY TRAVEL
The Year That Wasn't But We Made It Happen Anyway
How did that happen? Will our grandchildren believe us? Filter out the almost overwhelming doom and gloom from the most miserable year in recent memory, and there’s actually quite a lot to be cheerful about – if you ride a bike.
One-Gear Wonder
David Knee’s stripped-down single speed Niner SIR9.
Build A Better Home Workshop
With bike ridership soaring, and shops backed up with repairs, now’s a great time to set up or improve your home workshop. Here’s some practical advice from Shannon Leigh, who teaches bike maintenance through her company, Radiant Wrench, and also breaks down common repairs regularly on Bicycling US’s YouTube channel.
I'm A Fat Cyclist – And I Don't Need To ‘Fix' My Body
My weight doesn’t need to change. But the bike world’s attitude towards me does.
What Happens When Two Strangers Trust The Rides Of Their Lives To The Magic Of The Universe?
Once upon a road in Kazakhstan, two men converge in the desert. Strangers born an ocean apart, riding bicycles burdened like camels, they emerge from either horizon, slowly approaching a common point. Day by day, hour after hour, they make their way through the land as flat and featureless as a page without words. Thousands of kilometers spool out behind them. Thousands more lie ahead.
14 Fun Tour De France Facts You Can Use To Impress Your Friends
How do riders pee on the bike? Why is there no women's tour? Why is the leader’s jersey yellow? We’ve got the answers.
Red Devil
Alan Hatherly’s 2021 Specialized S-Works Epic
The Way Home
Home was not a place I wanted to be. My dad had an unpredictable rage that often exploded at my older brother. Anytime he got hit, I felt it too. I was terrified, never knowing when the grenade might blow. I escaped by exploring the woods and creating imaginary worlds down by a slow-flowing stream. Inside, I felt treated differently as the only girl, made to clear supper dishes while my brothers played video games. Outside, I could be anything. Nature is a level playing field.
The Selection
The last time I got better on a bike was when I decided I would never get any better at riding anymore, that my best days as a cyclist were behind me.
