Staff Bikes: Specialized Stumpjumper HT
Friday, 01 April 2011
Steve's review of his Specialzied Stumpjumper Carbon Hardtail:
"This is my new Stumpjumper hardtail which I built up a few months ago as a lighter, faster bike to compliment my full suspension S-Works Stumpjumper FSR. The FSR was the perfect do it all bike having done everything from XC races to uplift days on it but I wanted something a bit lighter and faster up the climbs for the races, an easy way to get faster without training! Plus it's always nice to ride a hardtail for a change over the full suss bike.
It started life with a Sram X7/X9 specification at 24lbs in weight but as usual couldn't resist changing a few bits around and it now sports a 10spd XTR drivechain and a new lightweight DT Swiss wheelset (expertly built by our mechanic Denes) and weighs 22lbs.
As you'd expect from a carbon hardtail it climbs like a mountain goat. Where it impresses is on the downhills. I expected it to handle like a typical XC race bike, great on the ups but a bit sketchy on the downs (something I could cope with for the extra speed up the hills). However the bike is really sure footed downhill, floats over rocky sections and isn't far off my full suspension bike. I expect this is partly down to the tapered headtube and 15mm fork giving a really direct and stiff feeling. Along with the oversized backend it does make for a very stiff bike but not rigid enough to make me feel beaten up after a ride so far. It's had two race outings so far resulting in a 2nd and 3rd place so it's done well for me so far.
Overall I've been really impressed with the bike. The new 2011 10spd XTR shifts super smoothly with the new closer ratio triple (even more so than the 9spd XTR on my other bike), the wheels Denes built me are super light and so far seem bomb proof (despite some dodgy riding) and the frame handles brilliantly. The 15mm front wheel axle is something I'd definitely recommend too, it might be a little overkill on this bike but I can definitely see the benifit on longer travel bikes. A great XC race bike but also a much more capable all rounder than expected, something I wouldn't hesitate to take to a Welsh trail centre for example."
