Product News / First Ride: After the presentation of the new Stumpjumper Evo Last week, the Americans followed up with a bang - the Specialized Stumpjumper 2021 now comes in a completely new guise and is said to be even more versatile than before. We were there at the press event in Saalbach and were able to get our first impressions of the brand new trail weapon.
Like the EVO, the Specialized Stumpjumper was presented in Saalbach Hinterglemm in 2021. As in Test of the new Stumpi EVO indicated, the weather didn't really cooperate with the launch of the trail bike either. Wet and cold weather with some snow describes the test period best. Possibly not the perfect conditions for a test event and to assess a previously unknown bike - on the other hand, these days in Saalbach Hinterglemm should stay in our heads for a long time thanks to the bad weather. At this point, a big thank you again to the guys from Specialized, who looked after us fantastically and provided us with a top-class chalet.
But now to the essentials: Trails without end, an aggressive trail bike with 140/130mm suspension travel and a super motivated crew - that's exactly what the days in Pinzgau were all about. We were able to collect first, meaningful impressions there and present them to you in the following article.
The most important facts of the Specialized Stumpjumper 2021 summarized in a compact way
- Application: trail bike
- wheel size: 29 inch
- Travel front: 140 mm
- Rear travel: 130 mm
- Frame sizes: S1-S6
- Frame material: carbon, aluminium
- Variants, prices and availability: The Specialized Stumpjumper 2021 is available now - all further information is available here.
Technical details of the Specialized Stumpjumper 2021
The Stumpjumper - a true perennial favorite at Specialized. A lot has changed for the 2021 model year compared to the previous model and now it should be in the starting blocks with even more all-round character. From the frame design to the kinematics to the geometry, something has changed in almost every nook and cranny of the bike. But to put it in simple terms, the bike remains a trail bike, but according to Specialized, the innovations would like to appeal to an even larger target group.
140mm spring travel at the front, 130mm at the rear and the 29-inch tires already roughly indicate the direction of travel. During development, the engineers and designers attached great importance to the exchange with the riders, a good stiffness-to-weight ratio and a complete bike design that was as flexible as possible, which is intended to offer a bike tailored to the individual needs of a maximum group of riders.
As of today, the Stumpjumper is available in five configurations, seven color variants and in the in-house sizes S1-S6. The product range includes two aluminum variants, which are priced at 2.199 euros and 2.999 euros and therefore represent a fairly inexpensive entry. Apart from a few small differences such as the Horst link, which is reserved for the aluminum models, the two alloy models should be in no way inferior to the carbon frames. Carbon on the Stumpjumper is available from 3.999 euros with the Comp equipment variant. The Expert version is already available for 5.299 euros and those who want the best of the best will find what they are looking for in the S-Works Stumpjumper for 9.999 euros.
Apart from the chassis of the cheapest model, Specialized relies entirely on Fox dampers and forks. Otherwise, there is a colorful mix of Sram, Shimano, DT Swiss and in-house attachments to choose from for the various models. Here you can go to the German homepage of Spezialized or your dealer of trust get a better picture yourself.
| frame | Specialized Stumpjumper S-Works |
| suspension fork | Fox Float 34 Grip2 |
| Suspension shocks | Fox Float DPS |
| Wheels | DT Swiss 240 15x110mm; 12x148mm |
| Tire VR | Butcher GRID 29x2,3" |
| Tire HR | Purgatory GRID 29x2,3" |
| derailleur | Sram XX1 Eagle AXS |
| Gear levers | Sram XX1 Eagle AXS |
| Crank | Sram XX1 Eagle DUB S1:165mm; S2-S5:170mm; S6:175mm |
| Front derailleur | |
| Brake | Sram G2 Ultimate |
| Brake discs | SRAM 200/180mm |
| Seat post | RockShox Reverb AXS |
| Saddle | Specialized Bridge 155/143mm |
| Stem | Deity Copperhead 35mm |
| Links | Specialized Trail 780mm, 35mm, 27mm rise |
Supported single pivot instead of Horst link
In order to increase the stiffness of the chassis, to be able to better coordinate the suspension kinematics and to reduce the maintenance effort, the carbon versions of the Specialized Stumpjumper 2021 do not have the Horst link at the rear end of the chainstays. As a result, the developers were able to generate an enormous increase in torsional and lateral rigidity. A flex zone along the seatstay above the brake mount allows for 130mm of rear travel without an additional pivot point, but without making the rear end feel spongy.
Geometry of the Specialized Stumpjumper 2021
The geometry of the new Stumpjumper focuses on control and efficiency. The low bottom bracket, the slack steering angle and the reduced offset should ensure stability in rough terrain and at the same time offer the opportunity to let it rip in corners. In addition, the short chainstays should ensure a playful, agile bike. A steeper seat tube should ensure improved performance compared to its predecessor and put the rider in an efficient position.
In addition, the bottom bracket height can be changed by 7mm, which also influences some other parameters (you can see these in detail in the following table). Even before the practical impression, we can tell you that the concept worked for us in terms of geometry.
| S1 high/low | S2 high/low | S3 high/low | S4 high/low | S5 high/low | S6 high/low | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steering angle in° | 65,5/65 | 65,5/65 | 65,5/65 | 65,5/65 | 65,5/65 | 65,5/65 |
| Head tube length in mm | 95 | 100/100 | 110/110 | 120/120 | 130/130 | 140/140 |
| Horizontal top tube length in mm | 563/563 | 583/583 | 605/605 | 632/632 | 660/660 | 692/692 |
| Standover height in mm | 730/730 | 734/734 | 744/744 | 749/749 | 757/757 | 757/757 |
| Bottom bracket height in mm | 335/328 | 340/333 | 340/333 | 340/333 | 340/333 | 340/333 |
| Wheelbase in mm | 1152/1152 | 1175/1175 | 1200/1200 | 1228/1228 | 1268/1268 | 1302/1302 |
| Seat tube length in mm | 385/385 | 385/385 | 405/405 | 425/425 | 445/445 | 465/465 |
| Seat tube angle in ° | 76,5/76 | 76,5/76 | 76,5/76 | 76,5/76 | 76,5/76 | 76,5/76 |
| Chainstay length in mm | 432/432 | 432/432 | 432/432 | 432/432 | 442/442 | 442/442 |
| Stacks in mm | 610/614 | 609/613 | 618/622 | 627/632 | 636/641 | 646/650 |
| reach in mm | 415/410 | 435/430 | 455/450 | 480/475 | 505/500 | 535/530 |
First impressions on the trails with the Specialized Stumpjumper 2021
Since the Stumpjumper was not only designed for gravity use, after a short warm-up lap on the BlueLine, we went uphill on a forest road in the direction of the Hacklberg Trail. The Fox Float shock could have been locked on this climb, but this wasn't necessary in any situation, as I could hardly feel the rear triangle rocking and the Stumpi climbed extremely efficiently and powerfully. Of course, I also tried out the locking functions and tested every possible setting. In the closed position, the propulsion was slightly more, but this was logically at the expense of the comfort and grip of the tires.
In my personal opinion, the new trail bike from the Americans is a real mountain goat and, as a mountain biker with a rather downhill focus, also put a smile on my face on steep climbs!
Of course, I was particularly looking forward to the lift-supported downhill action in Saalbach Hinterglemm. The diverse trails offered countless opportunities to explore your own limits and those of your bike. On laid courses with a lot of flow, the Stumpjumper showed an enormously playful character and it could be thrown from left to right on the tracks with ease. In the air, it conveyed a lot of security and showed that even bikes with less suspension travel can have a lot of reserves when landing on a flat surface or similar. The low weight was particularly noticeable here, as it could be moved almost like a 29-inch slopestyle bike on steroids.
The Specialized Stumpjumper surprised me on rougher terrain, because despite its playfulness it was able to convince with a lot of smoothness and directional stability. The 29-inch wheels, in combination with the balanced geometry, ensure super rollover behavior - even in steep sections. During the event, the X-Line in Saalbach served as a test track, which has often been used as a venue for downhill races. From tight, blocked curves, over deep steps and rough stone fields, everything was on offer here. However, I could hardly push the trail bullet to its limits, as the chassis held up incredibly well, especially in the lower third, and the bike showed no signs of nervousness.
