The Specialized Epic Ultimate was the brainchild of Jim Merz, a former frame builder in the Portland, Oregon, area who eventually landed a role as a designer at Specialized in the early 1980s. For its time, the Epic Ultimate was truly revolutionary with titanium lugs TIG welded and externally machined by Merlin Metalworks, and carbon fiber tubes that were then bonded in right at Specialized's headquarters in Morgan Hill, California. Claimed weight for the frame was just 1.2kg (2.6lb).
Specialized did 5 Generations of s-works ultimate from 1991 until 1995, with a total production number of 1500 units. The bikes, depending on Size and setup came in as light as 8.9Kg. A mind blowing number, still today. In the Last year (1995), they brought the limited “Ned Overend” as a final edition. The bike that is for sale, here, is Number 21/60.
The limited S-Works Ultimate is one of the few MTB’s with “investment grade”, besides the Yeti C-26, The Weissach Bike Spyder, some early Manitous from Doug Bradbury or prototypes. This bike has brand new, NOS Specialized ground control tires, rolling on hubs made of carbon fiber. The overall condition is very good, almost unridden. It shows a few signs of storage. The bike was bought in Zürich Switzerland and always stayed there. It now is on display at Cycle Store Zurich. A must visit, when you are there.