2019-05-01_Mountain_Bike_Rider

£3,400

Sidearmbracejoinsthe

topandseattubeonthe

rightsideoftheframe,

adding extra stiffness

X-FusionManiac150mm

dropperhasincrediblylow

stackheight,allowingfora

super-low saddle position

Verdict

TheStumpyEvodefinitely

encouragesyoutoridehardand

fast,buttheproblemis thiswillput

a lotofstressontheframe,parts

andwheelsandwereckonthissort

ofhooliganismis goingtoreallytest

thelimitsofeverysinglepartofthis

bike.Eventhetyresarenotuptothe

task,andwewouldn’trecommend

leavingtheshopwiththemfitted.

SotheStumpyEvocould be a

visionofthefuture,

butrightnowthis

particularmodel

is tryingtowrite

chequesthe

buildkitsimply

can’t cash.

Specialized Stumpjumper

eVO cOmp allOy 29

SpecificatiOn
FrameM5aluminium,
140mmtravel
ShockFoxFloatDPX2
PerformanceEVOL
ForkFox 36 Rhythm
Grip,150mmtravel
WheelsSpecialized
sealedhubs,Roval
Traverse 29 rims,
SpecializedButcher
Grid29x2.6intyres
DrivetrainSRAMNX
Eagle30tchainset,
NXr-mechandshifter
BrakesSRAMCode
R,200/200mm
Components
Specialized800mm
bar,SpecializedTrail
45mmstem,X-Fusion
Maniac150mm
post,BGPhenom
Compsaddle
Sizes: S2,S3
Weight14.71kg
(32 .43lb)
Contactspecialized.
com

GeOmetry
SizetestedS3(low)
Headangle63.9°
Seatangle69.5°
BBheight333mm
Chainstay445mm
Frontcentre813mm
Wheelbase
1,260mm
Downtube750mm
Toptube635mm
Reach 475mm

t

heStumpyEvois likea regular

Stumpjumperwithbiggerballs,

butimaginethoseballshanging

longandlowbetweenyourlegs.

If thatimagemakesyousitup

andtakenoticethenthat’sOKbecause

thisbikeis supposedtodoexactlythat.

Beforewecrackonwiththistest,

there’ssomethingweneedtomake

clear...thisis nota regularStumpjumper

thathassomeEvoparts,likea longer-

travelforkorbeefiertyres,whichis

whatSpecializedhasdoneinthepast.

Thisbikeis a totallydifferentbeast.

Firstoff,it’sonlyavailableintwo

framesizes,whicharecalledS2andS3.

Ourtestbikeis thisS3optionandit fits

ridersaroundaverageheight,butthere’s

nothingaverageabouttherestofthe

measurements.ThisStumpyEvohasthe

longestwheelbaseontest,thelowest

bottombracketheightandtheslackest

headangle.It haslongchainstays,a

800mm-widehandlebar,stubbystem

anda forkwitha 44mmoffset.

It alsohasadjustablegeometry,

comes in versions for both wheel sizes

andthereis nobrandingonthedown

tube.It’sjustsilver;nologos,noBS.You

couldsayit’stheleastSpecializedbike

we’veevertested,andyou’d be right.

SuSpenSiOn

SincetheStumpjumperEvoComp

Alloy 29 is soldthroughSpecialized

dealers,andbuilttoa pricepoint,the

partsonthebikearea stepbelow

thoseontheCommençal,YTandVitus.

Thisis immediatelynoticeableinthe

suspension.The150mm-travelFox

36 Rhythmis stiff,butthebasicGrip

damperdoesn’tofferthesamelevel

ofsupportastheGrip2ontheFactory

levelkit.

TheStumpyalsodidn’tpedalthat

wellwiththeshockintheopensetting

andwalloweditswayupmostofthe

climbs.Soyoudefinitelyneedtoclimb

withtheProPedalengagedatbothends

if you’regoingtospendanysignificant

timeclimbingonthisbike.

cOmpOnentS

Thelimitedbudgetreallystartstobite

whenyoulookatthecomponents.The

stem is OK and the bar is finally the right

widthbutit hasa goofyshape,andthe

frontendfeelslowevenwiththestem

raised.TheNXEaglegearingis alsoa

bitofa letdownatthispricepoint,and

whiletheSRAMCodeR brakesareon

parwiththeotherbikes,Specialized

couldhavesaveda bitofcashhere(the

GuideREis almostasgood)andputthe

savingsbackintothedrivetrain.

Oneofthebiggestcomponentsis

alsotheworst—thewheelset.First

timewetookthisbikeouttherewas

a tonofnoisecomingfrombackend

—it waspartlythechainslappingthe

chainstaybutalsotheamountoffree

movementinthecassettebodywhen

freewheeling.Thegapbetweenthe

smallersprocketsandchainstaypivot

is alsotiny.Somethinghadtogiveand

it did—firstrunatForest of Dean we

rippedthemechoff.

perfOrmance

Withgravityatyourbackyoucanreally

benefitfromthestretchedgeometry.

Thebikehasgreatstandoverclearance

anda dropperwiththeloweststack

height,sowiththesaddlefullyoutofthe

wayyoucanhunkerrightdownwhen

corneringorstraight-liningdescents.

However,withthefrontwheelsofar

awayanda lackofsupportintheFox

36 Rhythmfork,wedidstrugglea bit

gettingadequateweightonthefront

wheelonflatterflowtrails.

Yes,theStumpychangesdirection

quickly,butthefrontandrearwheels

canfeela bitdisconnected,likethey’re

doingthingsindividually.Maybeit’lljust

taketimetogetusedtosuchradically

slackgeometry.Theheadangleseemsa

bittooslackfora bikewithonly140mm

travel,butwhoknows?Ina fewyears’

time, it may seem totally normal.

29in trail bikeS

68 mbr M ay 2 019

in association with