Specialized Stumpjumper Expert Mountain Bike Review with SkiEssentials.com

[@dimitriypm]

Jeff, if your MTB videos are going to be anything like your ski reviews, they’re going to be a huge hit. Love that you’re doing this!

[@SkiEssentials]

Thanks! I'm excited we're doing them. I've been super into mountain bikes for quite some time now, always swapping around parts, fiddling with suspension, and I've done a few complete builds from frame up. I'll be the first to admit that I don't feel nearly as confident on a bike as I do on skis, but I still think we can make something useful here.

[@mrrims]

As a mountain biker myself, this was fun to watch you guys riding instead of skiing! I have the 2019 carbon stumpy and its a beast. Eats singletrack for lunch. Look forward for the next riding video.

[@SkiEssentials]

I was very impressed. I'm going to take the Stumpy Pro for a spin this week as it has some cool upgrades over the Expert. We also have an S3 for me to try, which will be interesting compared to the S4.

[@BikeandSkiGeoff]

Love it... you guys look like you really had fun with this. Looking forward to more.

[@SkiEssentials]

Thanks Geoff!

[@johnnymcmanus3]

Just bought this exact bike in S3 last week. Have over 2k miles on the SJ Evo, saw that this x01 bike was on sale so pulled the trigger. This thing's a friggin whip! As good as my Evo was, this thing runs circles around it, very surprised. After the 1st ride bone stock, took the Nobl carbon wheelset and ProTaper carbon bar off the Evo and put em on this, those alone made this bike feel 5lbs lighter, huge difference. A few more rides in, I felt the 30t front chaining was too low for a bike in this category....it's fine on the Evo but a bike this light and fast, the 30t made 52 granny in the rear almost useless. Put on a 32t and it's about right, the bikes screaming fast, stoked on it. Had to do a little fiddling. The bike sat in a box for over a year, the fork had air build up in the lh side, the zip tie trick fixed that, and the rear shocks dual air chambers weren't equalized. All dialed now! Highly recommend the 32t chainring. Thanks for the video! Happy trails

[@SkiEssentials]

Thanks so much for sharing your experience so far! I think switching to a carbon wheelset it a nice upgrade to this bike. So nice to focus on those rotational and sprung weights. Carbon bars feel like a must to me. The rest of the bike is so great, the stock bars just feel out of place to me. Also agree with the 32t. I thought about that a little bit when riding it. Never once needed an easier gear while climbing, but could've used it on a couple descents and flats. Have a great season and thanks again for sharing!

[@phrides]

Living the life, gents. Gonna have to study-up to keep it up. I'm expecting Jeff to be the Bob of bike construction for the next video (or at least, you should be sure you know your models - Stumpy EVO vs. Specialized Epic.) One thing that would be an added offering is to take a bike for a couple days (similar to your ski reviews), one day to figure-out how you might customize the fit and tuning and one to see how it works when dialed for you. Obviously, there are limits on what you can do, since the bike demo fleet is limited, but it you could head-out with a spare front wheel with a 2.5 or 2.6 mounted, so you could swap-out and see how it behaves relative to the roughness of the ride. Those are certainly the sort of things that I'll be doing when I'm back in the market myself.

[@SkiEssentials]

All great ideas here! Appreciate the feedback and recommendations, Patrick!!

[@htpm325]

Interesting review. I have a carbon 29 stumpjumper, 2012 model. 130ml front and back, just had the forks rebuilt and the shock was replaced, worn out. Love this bike. I am 6'4" and Specialized is one of the few manufacturers building frames for people my size. First bike I ever had where I feel like I am in the bike and not simply on it, I think the 29" wheels have something to do with this as well. Also running a carbon handlebar though that had more to do with adjusting the cockpit, same for my carbon seatpost which gave me 5ml more to move the saddle back. The only downside is that the 2x10sp does not exist anymore. Even though I don't often use the smaller sprocket it is definitely handy to have all those lower gears. Too bad that SRAM and Shimano have not kept their XO and XT lines in some kind of limited production including 3x9sp. Not sure that only having 1x12sp is progress. Great bike nonetheless. Fun review! Peace.

[@SkiEssentials]

Thanks for sharing, Mark! You should throw your leg over a newer Stumpy sometime if you get the chance. Bike geometry has progressed a lot in the last ten years (not just for Specialized). Interesting you bring up 2x10. I've seen more people asking about and looking for 2x10 in the last couple years than I feel like I did in the previous... 6? Personally, 1x12 works great for me, but I've always been a 1x type of guy. I used to run a 1x9 on my 2009 Giant Reign! I do think enough people would be interested for some limited product 2x or 3x stuff, but I would also a venture a guess they've run the numbers and it's not cost effective for them to product it anymore.

[@philipgardiner2003]

Awesome guys! Great to see this. Makes total sense. I just bought a new Trek Marin 7 for just under $1,000. I’m nowhere near my level on a Mtn bike that I am on skis, so after jonesing after a stump jumper or trek remedy or yeti full suspension, the Marin 7 popped up.

[@SkiEssentials]

Sounds great!

[@jahcro36]

Cool that you started doing this. Review the RipmoV2...

[@SkiEssentials]

Would love to! We're not currently an Ibis dealer, but there is one in town and I venture a guess we could get our hands on a bike without major issues.

[@norcalchrismeister]

Great review! I ride an Epic Evo and love that bike but have been thinking of getting a Stumpy Expert for trails where a little more travel would be nice.

[@SkiEssentials]

We loved our time on the Expert and the Pro. And the Turbo Levo E-Bike. The new ones feature the Sram Transmission, so maybe that's worth waiting for?

[@richardcole4776]

I enjoyed this! Ignore the so called "experts" that say to stick to ski reviews. This is just what I need to get me through the summer - even though I have a feeling this is going to end up costing me money on a new bike, lol. BTW - "expert" reviews are very often irrelevant for the masses.

[@SkiEssentials]

Thanks Richard! Appreciate the feedback and we're looking forward to doing more!

[@ehvoslef]

I'm 5'10" on an S4 too, and found that the High geo setting bumped me forward into a more comfortable seated position, and for sure led to fewer pedal strikes with the BB raised. Didn't feel any stability lost on the descents.

[@SkiEssentials]

Interesting! We're looking forward to playing with the nuances of these aspects in future reviews, so thanks for sharing your experience! SE

[@jrkybreath7714]

I wish I could be as comfortable / aggressive airing on my bike as my skis. I feel horrible in the air on my bike. Yet I love flinging myself off cornices and crossing the edge of control in the bumps.

[@SkiEssentials]

You and me both my friend! I've come a long way jumping a bike over the last, say, decade. The big thing for me was switching to flat pedals, which I still ride. It really emphasized using my upper body correctly. Then as much time as you can spend on a flowy jump trail, the better. I used to just lap Black Magic at Killington in an attempt to feel more comfortable. I still don't feel anywhere near how I do on skis, but I at least feel comfortable and confident hitting reasonably big jumps, at least big enough for me.

[@philipgardiner2003]

Rocky Mountain is a great choice.

[@BlackRail33]

Great stuff! More please?

[@SkiEssentials]

More to come!

[@darinsmith2458]

weird seeing you guys not on snow... i am still spending all my $$$ on skis but i have been doing some research on bikes.. i think i want a fat tire full suspension mid drive ebike.. do you guys sell ebikes at all?

[@SkiEssentials]

Yup! You can expect some ebike reviews too!

[@darinsmith2458]

@@SkiEssentials sweet

[@kentao4]

Nice. I was torn between this and the Evo. I went Evo for more stability even though I pedal more than anything. I want to go to parks here and there and I’m also a bigger guy at 225 and 6’2” Over winter I bought Roval control carbon wheels and put ground controls front and back to speed her up a bit. Excited to see how much of a difference that makes. I will say it didn’t feel sluggish vs the regular stumpy when I was trying them out so figured I’d go with a bit more travel. I went from a 2019 stumpy long travel to an epic Evo for 2021 because the stumpy was terrible for me climbing and just pedaling. The fact I went from an epic Evo to the stumpy Evo says a lot!

[@SkiEssentials]

Nice! I think that makes sense given that you're putting some park riding into the mix. Have fun! SE

[@norcalchrismeister]

I'm the same height and weight as you and ride an Epic Evo in xl. Def my fav mtn bike that I've ever ridden. I also want to get either the new Stumpy expert (with Sram trans) or a Ripley. The Stumpy evo is a sic bike but I don't think I need that much travel for the trails I ride.

[@kentao4]

@@norcalchrismeister I still feel like the regular Stu pay and the epic evo are too close. If you’re keeping the epic, I’d go stumpy evo for sure. If you’re selling then reg stumpy is the move. The stumpy evo is very good for all around. I’ve also put the SRAM transmission on it. It’s amazing.

[@RandyGrueb]

I ride in the Midwest, where it's mostly tight, technical singletrack with punchy climbs. I am a rider over 50, how do you think this bike would be on these types of trails?

[@SkiEssentials]

I bet pretty sweet. There's no real need to go with the longer travel, and if you're not doing longer descents, even 130 might be a bit much? The responsiveness is amazing, though, making this bike an awesome climber and a versatile downhiller.

[@svenodsvik569]

Please continue with skis. Don´t review bikes , It´s not your arena .Do only what you´re good at. I´ll beat you any day downhill on a 26" 1.9 wide tire hardtail. From a former elit road biker. Performed along with George Hincapie. How to have a clue when the pace is picnic tempo.

[@mattlee6991]

You're one of those gatekeeping nerds huh?

[@SkiEssentials]

Hi Sven! I always appreciate feedback, whether positive or negative, so thank you. That said... deal. I would be blown away if you could do that, it would be an insanely entertaining video to make, and I think everyone here would like to see if I can actually beat you. Good friend of mine is racing WC Elite DH in Leinzerheide this weekend. I know through riding with him how much faster Elite level riders are than me, but I think I could take him if he was on a hardtail 26" wheel with a 1.9" tire... Let's do it!

[@tonycarapetis7485]

Yes don't do anything you're not good at. Don't grow as a person and experience new things hahahha.