In the early 1990s, I worked at a ski and bike shop and waitressed in Avon, Colorado. I spent the rest of my waking hours in the mountains, occasionally聽dreaming up stupid human tricks, like the time four gear-shop buddies and I drove to the top of Loveland Pass and launched what we liked to think of as 鈥渂ig air鈥 from a backcountry ski jump under a full moon. Winter turned to summer and, since I worked at a gear store, that meant time for new toys:聽I upgraded my circa-1988聽Specialized Rock Hopper to a 1992 Stumpjumper Comp. With Shimano XT derailleurs, shifters, brakes, and聽hubs聽and 26-inch wheels sheathed in nubby 1.95-inch Ground Control tires,聽there was nothing this 28-pound聽rigid steel behemoth couldn鈥檛 handle. The frame was deep metallic red,聽but it looked more like hot-berry pink,聽a funny irony considering today鈥檚 contempt for the shrinking and pinking聽of women鈥檚 gear. Back then, there was no women鈥檚 gear, and I didn鈥檛 care. I just loved the way the bike embodied the freedom I felt that summer.
Twenty-six years later, Specialized鈥檚 new ($4,200;聽alloy starts at $1,850) elicits the same joy, albeit with 150 millimeters聽of travel in the front Fox Float Rhythm 34 fork. The blazing headline about the 2018 Stumpjumper, which comes in聽either short or聽long travel as well as 27.5- and 29-inch wheel sizes, is that Specialized overhauled it with an asymmetric frame. The redesign聽makes聽it 20 percent stiffer聽while reducing the weight by 110 to 550 grams, depending on the model,聽making聽the bike faster and less like a pogo stick, a criticism that bikes with this much travel tend to earn. It鈥檚 also longer as well as slacker in the front, which translates to a flowing, precision ride on downhills. And聽to throw in another evolutionary curveball, the bike has , which allows for varying-width tires, and聽on the 29er version聽riders can swap in 27.5-inch wheels with the assistance of聽a 鈥渇lip chip鈥澛燿esigned into the rear suspension linkage that raises the bottom bracket six millimeters. This essentially gives the rider two bikes in one because the size of the wheel changes the dynamics of the ride鈥攆rom cornering to obstacle clearance to downhill speed. (Note that the 27.5 version, however, cannot run 29er wheels.)
Specialized also improved the internal cable routing,聽added a threaded bottom bracket,聽and made it all compatible with any metric shock, changes that make the bike easier to repair and upgrade with non-proprietary parts. And finally, to quiet the ride, it added a chainstay protector that looks like a modernist, molded wave sculpture. In short, it鈥檚 a substantial overhaul.
As is the case with most Specialized mountain bikes, the frame size is unisex鈥攁 five-foot-nine guy would ride the same size-medium frame as a five-foot-nine woman鈥攂ut the offers features聽like optional shorter cranks,聽narrower handlebars,聽a women鈥檚 saddle that adds comfort and聽strength聽and reduces pressure points,聽and rear suspension attuned to women鈥檚 weight ranges and riding styles. The bike is also gorgeous: sleek black with聽an orange and hot-pink 鈥淪pecialized鈥 blazing along the underside of the down tube.
Until I tested the new Stumpjumper, I had never ridden a women鈥檚聽mountain bike. I鈥檓 not opposed to them, but at five foot ten聽I felt too tall to fit a women鈥檚 frame, which has historically been smaller than a men鈥檚 frame. Currently I ride the men鈥檚 version of the , the Cadillac of mountain bikes, which elegantly steamrolls singletrack聽from the sharp red rocks of Sedona, Arizona, to the technical, rolling berms, roots, and rocks of Duluth, Minnesota, where I live.
If the Camber 29er is like a turbocharged Cadillac Coupe, the 27.5 Stumpjumper Comp is like a Porsche 911 Carrera: playful, aggressive, and power-packed. It鈥檚 impossible not to have a blast on this bike, especially going downhill. What struck me the most is how fast and smooth it is on tight聽curves. The Stumpjumper鈥檚 slacker front wheel angle and the faster acceleration of 27.5-inch wheels聽make going downhill less a physics project to master and more brainless fun.
Despite the Stumpy鈥檚 ease on the downhills, the bike and I still have a few kinks to work out. On the uphills it felt slightly heavier and less efficient than聽my Camber, an issue that might be overcome by buying carbon rims or riding tires less aggressive than the 2.6-inch front Butcher and back Purgatory models that come with the bike. The other bummer: on the most technical uphill trail sections, I struck my pedals on rocks and roots more often than I did on the same sections while riding the Camber. That鈥檚 likely a result of the Stumpjumper鈥檚 having roughly 25 millimeters more travel in the rear Fox DPS Performance shock than I鈥檓 used to. However, it could also be user error, a function of聽having to learn聽how to properly ratchet while riding 27.5-inch wheels.
After nearly a month of riding variable trails daily on the new Stumpjumper, it renewed my passion for Specialized鈥檚 legacy bike, one that has been in its lineup since 1981. It also made me appreciate the company鈥檚 dedication to the evolution of mountain biking. Without its innovation, my life, for one, would be a lot less fun.