Specialized Stumpjumper 2019 Review – St Comp Carbon 29

0
13764

One of the most anticipated releases of the 2018 summer, the all new Specialized Stumpjumper. Dating back to 1985, this bike has a long heritage and is often at the forefront of the MTB world. It’ll come as no surprise that we were super excited to get one out on the trails for a spin.

If you missed our video of the bike it’s available on our YouTube channel and can be seen below. We really enjoyed getting out on the Stumpjumper ST Comp Carbon 29er and testing it alongside a couple of Transition bikes. Lifted straight from the Specialized website the company claim “The new Stumpjumper is the ultimate trail bike. Seriously, the damn thing rides like it’s on rails. It’s the most versatile trail bike we’ve ever made. And yeah, we’re stoked about that, but we’re even more excited about how well it’s tuned to you. We’ve said goodbye to proprietary bulls&@t, focused on your needs, and made, what we feel, is the new benchmark in trail bikes.”

— SPECIALIZED CAMBER CARBON, OLD VS NEW —

What’s new?

Some of the major changes include the all-new sidearm frame. To make the frame lighter and stiffer the side-arm has moved to the side and directly connects all three mounting points of the rear-end and shock to the frame. This gives a real performance boost to the bike when taking on bumps.

Claiming the new shape is 20% more efficient than the previous iteration, it’s no surprise that Specialized can say it’s one of the lightest trail frames on the market. With all the engineering departments working in harmony, the stump jumper relies more on the frame kinematics and less on the shock damper for a high quality ride.

With a new chainstay protector the drive train is virtually silent. Chain slap can be a thing of the past too. This disruption of the slap reduces the overall movement and sound of the chain, making for an all round smoother drive phase.

— SPECIALIZED COMP DEFLECT WIND JACKET REVIEW —

A redesign to the SWAT hole is probably the last of the major changes list. An easily clip on/off bottle holder gives way to a storage area inside the carbon tube. This will hold any tools or spares that you may want to carry out on the ride.

The Ride:

The bike certainly felt the part straight from the get go. We had a lot of fun knocking the bike both up & down the trails. The bike felt like it had a lot more travel than it actually did considering we were riding the ST version of the bike. It was incredible responsive through the turns as you’d expect from Specialized’s top end bike.

— ELECTRIC BIKES, ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW —

Despite being responsive the bike didn’t feel overly twitchy. We’d put this down to the super stiff carbon back end keeping the bike firm through the corners. The geometry was great to ride, not feeling uncomfortable or hard to handle. The carbon frame also helped the climbs keeping the bike light and strong – all round the bike was well balanced and the weight is excellently distributed.

The bike allows you to feel much more confident at speed than with the previous version. The seat tube isn’t as tall as it used to be and the angles are much slacker. The cockpit feels generous & roomy and the new shorter seat tubes mean you can size it up. It’s lower and looser making it an all round better companion for the trails.

— VIEW FULL STUMPJUMPER RANGE —

The Verdict:

Specialized have made all the right changes to the new Stumpjumper. With Specialized focussing in on the smaller details such as the SWAT compartment & chainstay protecter, they’ve re-engineered every element successfully. To go with that the new model is lighter, stiffer, stronger. The updated geometry & handling really shows and this new stumpjumper really can keep up with the best on the market. There isn’t one single feature that stands out as excellent, but the combination of the parts working together makes a great all round package.

  • 84%
    Value - 84%
  • 87%
    Performance - 87%
  • 81%
    Durability - 81%
84%