Testing...testing!

Today I had the opportunity to test a Specialized Stumpjumper FSR Comp 29. The brand new machine was delivered to my local Specialized dealer (Cycles Direct in Sunningdale) on Wednesday and I just happened to pop in to see if they have received the gloves that I have ordered. No Gloves, but they did have 3 brand new shiny machines that they will be using as Test Bikes. The Stumpjumper immediately caught my eye. I have been doing some comparisons on 29ers to see what spec is currently on offer from the main brands and have been looking predominately in the XC / Endurance segment as this is what I have always been riding. The Stumpjumper sports a Fox Float Evolution CTD 29 up front and a Fox Evolution CTD on the rear. Brakes are Avid Elixirs and the drive train is a combination of Shimano SLX and Shimano XT. Wheels are Roval 26mm with Specialized Hi-Lo hubs. The bike is also fitted with Specialized Purgatory and Specialized Ground Control Tyres on the front and back respectively. With Tubeless conversion and Shimano SPD pedals the bike weighs in at 13.3kg. Not bad for a 130mm travel trail bike with 29 inch wheels and an entry level spec. Higher specced bikes could go as low as 12kg. Setting up the bike was rediculously simple. I sent my Ergofit measurements to the Shop to set the seat post height and the reach from saddle to the handle bar. When I picked up the bike the shop fitted my pedals and set the rear suspension with the autosag function on the shock. The shock is pumped to 300psi and I simply sit on the bike while the excess pressure in the shock is removed by way of an outlet valve. This way the shock is set up perfectly for my weight first time. The scene of the crime would be Contermanskloof Blue route (with a bit of the black thrown in for good measure). I invited Werner along for the ride as he is an authority on all things with bigger travel. We cycled from my house to the trail start (about 15km of tar road). During the commute to the trail I managed to get a feel for the suspension and setup of the bike. It felt as if I was sitting more upright and higher off the ground than on my trusty Morewood Zula and I was also able to notice some pedal bob on the new frame. I set the rear shock from the Descend setting to the Trail setting and the difference in efficiency was noticable. I switched the setting from Trail to Climb setting and it felt very efficient here. On the short climb to the trail start I was also able to get a feel for the effect of an extra kilo and a bit of weight on the bike, but all this was forgiven when we entered the trail network. Contermanskloof trails have about 500m ascent on short twisty switchbacks mixed with short dirt road sections in-between. I climbed to the top of the trail with reasonable ease and with much more comfort than what I was expecting. The more upright posture and higher BB height meant that I felt more in control going up than before. At the top we got our breath back and with a flick of the front and rear suspension switches the bike was transformed from heavy-ish climb bike to rediculously fun trail bike. The riding posiiton was comfortable with enough room to get my centre of gravity lower on the more technical sections. I suspect that a dropper seat post would aid this as well, but it was not long before I was much more confident and was attacking the gnarly lines rather than simply trying to get over or around obsticles on the trail. The brakes were addequite and the standard wheels felt fine underneath me. The shifting was not as crisp as my SRAM XO Gripshifts and XX groupset, but at a third of the price of my own groupset I was not disappointed in the the ride quality of the groupset. The verdict: The Stumpjumper FSR is a solid trail machine with a definate stage race and XC potential for the rider that enjoys giving it a bit of air now and again. The weight and more relaxed geometry penalty fades from memory as soon as you hit the singletrack and have the bike in trail mode. It would be the perfect choice for BC Bike Race, but to be fair I would need to test the Specialized Epic 29er as well to get a fair comparisson between the two machines on geometry, weight and more importantly the difference in suspension philosophy by comparing the brain concept with the C(Climb)T(Trail)D(Descend) sysptems. Thanks to Cycles Direct for letting me test this very capable and versitile bike. I look forward to testing the Epic in the near future and will keep all of you in the loop on what my final verdict would be on the two. Keep the rubberside down until next time xGx