Our own Specialized test

[Black5]

Off out on a ride tonight.

Bit of a Specialized test.

3 of us have got different bikes to check out:
FSR XC Comp - mine bought 4 weeks ago
FSR XC - Shop test bike
Stumpjumper FSR Expert - Shop test bike

I'm kinda hoping I made the right decision . . . .

Stumpy looks really nice with great suspesion travel.

[mat205125]

...... and the results / conclusion?

[Black5]

Andy did not turn up on the FSR XC, but I had ridden one before.

There didn't seem as much in it (as I thought there would be) between the XC Comp and Stumpy.

Weight was negligable, with Stumpy slightly lighter. XC felt lighter at the font (strange as Fox forks are air shocks). This was not noticable when riding.
The X-0 shifters on the Stumpy were very hard to get used to, much prefer 'rapid fire'.
The brain shock on the rear of the Stumpy is very clever. I don't really notice 'bounce' on my XC Comp yet the Stumpy felt like a hardtail on the flat and it soaked up the bumpy stuff without issue.
140mm travel on the front is not needed on XC stuff, so the front shock on the Stumpy stayed at 100mm 90% of the time. In these circumstances the Fox performed similarly to the Rockshox on the XC Comp.
Brakes again better on the Stumpy, but marginal and not as big a difference as between the Juicy 3 and Hope Sole as fitted to the XC Comp & XC.

Frame geometry looked and felt the same. The Stumpy frame astetically looks much nicer. The curves on the down tube and neat welds on the top tube ooze quality.

The only things we spotted that were not an upgrade between the 2 bikes were hand grips, seat & seat post.

The only things preferred on the XC Comp over the Stumpy were the shifters and the tyres. For some reason the Stumpy tyres lacked grip over the XC Comp's.

DH - Stumpy better, long travel soaking the bumps better.
UH - XC better. Poss tyres, but XC tracked & gripped better.
XC - Little difference, probably XC better, just because of the shifters.
Tech stuff - Similar. I liked the XC as I felt I could lift the front easier, however mate liked the Stumpy.

Stumpy is a better bike, but is it worth nearly twice that of the FSR XC Comp - No.

That said, I think my mate will be getting the Stumpy!

[CooperS]

Those Stumpy's do look sexy thou, but i hear your concerns of whether another 700 quid is well spent to go up and model over the XC.

really would like one myself, my Marin is starting to age quickly (needs a huge service )

[Fourmotion]

As a Stumpy owner I'm disappointed to hear it didn't win at everything! Nice to read a side by side comparison none the less.

Edited for crap spelling.

Edited by Fourmotion on Wednesday 20th June 17:41

[anonymous-user]

Blimey Fourmotion, we both have golf v6 4motions and stumpys- are you my long lost twin brother?

[Fourmotion]

Polynesian said:

Blimey Fourmotion, we both have golf v6 4motions and stumpys- are you my long lost twin brother?

I'm a little worried now. You clearly enjoy canoeing, and I'm thinking of entering this. You don't run as well do you?

[Black5]

Fourmotion said:

As a Stumpy owner I'm disappointed to hear it didn't win at everything! Nice to read a side by side comparison none the less.

Edited for crap spelling.

This is just my opinion.

The Stumpy is better. Tyres(?) and Shifters were the only issues.

[BOR]

I also tried a Stumpy/FSR/Expert, a couple of weeks ago. Brain seems to work well, but I echo the points about the SRAM shifters. I suspect it's just a case of getting used to them.

I've been using a std bike for the last few days, where I was dropping the seat down quite often, and now I'm worried that the Stumpjumper interrupted seat tube won't allow me to drop the seat much.

Still currently my default choice as next bike, but that's because I haven't had the chance to try anything else.

[DanH]

BOR said:

I also tried a Stumpy/FSR/Expert, a couple of weeks ago. Brain seems to work well, but I echo the points about the SRAM shifters. I suspect it's just a case of getting used to them.

I've been using a std bike for the last few days, where I was dropping the seat down quite often, and now I'm worried that the Stumpjumper interrupted seat tube won't allow me to drop the seat much.

Still currently my default choice as next bike, but that's because I haven't had the chance to try anything else.

What height are you and what height stumpy were you looking at? I thought seat height might mean sawing down the seat post, but its turned out to be a non issue on a medium frame at 5"10'.

[BOR]

Thanks. I'm 6ft2ins, and I had tried an "L". I rarely even think about dropping the seat, but when I do, my scrotum is begging me to lower it as much as possible !

I doubt that Specialized would have made a mistake but I'll take another look when I go back to the shop.

[DanH]

BOR said:

Thanks. I'm 6ft2ins, and I had tried an "L". I rarely even think about dropping the seat, but when I do, my scrotum is begging me to lower it as much as possible !

I doubt that Specialized would have made a mistake but I'll take another look when I go back to the shop.

You may well find you need to saw it. It has been touched upon on a couple of reviews I've read. I'm new to this cycling lark though, so my initial grasp of a correct seat height was wildly off the mark, thus no longer an issue for me. Also I'm right on the threshold between med/large so on the upper boundary for this med frame - it would have been surprising if I'd had to saw it in light of that.

Probably save some weight too. I actually got the weights of the stumpy range from Spesh. Makes interesting reading as the premium for carbon fibre is rather severe in light of the marginal weight saving!

Pro Carbon 26.3 lbs
Pro 26.6 lbs
Expert 28.1 lbs
Elite 27.5 lbs
Comp 27.8 lbs

So 2300 quid to save about 1.5 lbs. What value! Pretty sure a spare innertube weighs more than that!

[R.P.M]

DanH said:

BOR said:

Thanks. I'm 6ft2ins, and I had tried an "L". I rarely even think about dropping the seat, but when I do, my scrotum is begging me to lower it as much as possible !

I doubt that Specialized would have made a mistake but I'll take another look when I go back to the shop.

You may well find you need to saw it. It has been touched upon on a couple of reviews I've read. I'm new to this cycling lark though, so my initial grasp of a correct seat height was wildly off the mark, thus no longer an issue for me. Also I'm right on the threshold between med/large so on the upper boundary for this med frame - it would have been surprising if I'd had to saw it in light of that.

Probably save some weight too. I actually got the weights of the stumpy range from Spesh. Makes interesting reading as the premium for carbon fibre is rather severe in light of the marginal weight saving!

Pro Carbon 26.3 lbs
Pro 26.6 lbs
Expert 28.1 lbs
Elite 27.5 lbs
Comp 27.8 lbs

So 2300 quid to save about 1.5 lbs. What value! Pretty sure a spare innertube weighs more than that!

very interesting.

[Black5]

BOR said:

Probably save some weight too. I actually got the weights of the stumpy range from Spesh. Makes interesting reading as the premium for carbon fibre is rather severe in light of the marginal weight saving!

Pro Carbon 26.3 lbs
Pro 26.6 lbs
Expert 28.1 lbs
Elite 27.5 lbs
Comp 27.8 lbs

So 2300 quid to save about 1.5 lbs. What value! Pretty sure a spare innertube weighs more than that!

How does this compare to the weights for the XC.

I imagine we're talking 'L' frame size here.

Edited by Black5 on Thursday 28th June 16:55

[mat205125]

DanH said:

Pro Carbon 26.3 lbs
Pro 26.6 lbs
Expert 28.1 lbs
Elite 27.5 lbs
Comp 27.8 lbs

So 2300 quid to save about 1.5 lbs. What value! Pretty sure a spare innertube weighs more than that!

1.5lb is approximately 720g. Dunno what inner tubes you are using, but it's a little more than that.

If you are entering competitions, then 1.5lb may be worth the expenditure to save. If you are just a recreational rider, the saving will be minimal in normal riding, however not undetectable.

Bet that 80% of people riding carbon framed MTB's do so simply because they can afford one, and they look trick, rather than for a tangible advantage over a barely heavier Ali bike half the cost. Anything wrong with that? We all buy the best we can afford regardless of whether our use or talent lives up to the potential of the machine.

[DanH]

Black5 said:

DanH said:

Probably save some weight too. I actually got the weights of the stumpy range from Spesh. Makes interesting reading as the premium for carbon fibre is rather severe in light of the marginal weight saving!

Pro Carbon 26.3 lbs
Pro 26.6 lbs
Expert 28.1 lbs
Elite 27.5 lbs
Comp 27.8 lbs

So 2300 quid to save about 1.5 lbs. What value! Pretty sure a spare innertube weighs more than that!

How does this compare to the weights for the XC.

I imagine we're talking 'L' frame size here.

No medium and I would assume without pedals.

As to it being detectable, I'm guessing probably not. There is a MTB mag out at the moment where they test adding weight to carious bits of the bike. They found even 2kg on the frame wasn't really noticeable. Nevermind 0.7 kg!

Still, I was swung to the cheapest stumpy because it has the best paintwork, so clearly it is about looks. Oh and the fact that the 'brain' requires expensive rebuilds which I can't be doing with.

Edited by DanH on Thursday 28th June 12:37

[neil_bolton]

mat205125 said:

DanH said:

Pro Carbon 26.3 lbs
Pro 26.6 lbs
Expert 28.1 lbs
Elite 27.5 lbs
Comp 27.8 lbs

So 2300 quid to save about 1.5 lbs. What value! Pretty sure a spare innertube weighs more than that!

Bet that 80% of people riding carbon framed MTB's do so simply because they can afford one, and they look trick, rather than for a tangible advantage over a barely heavier Ali bike half the cost. Anything wrong with that? We all buy the best we can afford regardless of whether our use or talent lives up to the potential of the machine.

I wouldn't know what your talking about

[pdV6]

neil_bolton said:

mat205125 said:

Bet that 80% of people riding carbon framed MTB's do so simply because they can afford one, and they look trick, rather than for a tangible advantage over a barely heavier Ali bike half the cost.

I wouldn't know what your talking about

Edited to sort out multi-quote ballsup

Edited by pdV6 on Thursday 28th June 13:04

[Black5]

Thought I would update this as I have now more experience of the Stumpy.

My FSR XC is in for it's first service, so I have the same Stumpy I played with previously for a few days.

After 2 10 mile+ rides in the last 2 days, I can say I got used to the SRAM shifters a lot easier than I did previously and quikly too. Without swopping bikes every 10 mins it was quite easy.

The brain shock comtinues to amaze me on how good it feels on the road. I have to say, I can't notice it off road, but it is obviously working as I don't get bounced out of the saddle as I do on a hardtail.

The front forks are still overkill for me, but I prefer XC work where to 100mm travel is normally fine.