Test/product news: The new Specialized Stumpjumper is already the fifteenth version of the Californian mountain bike that was first introduced in 1981. With a new, patented damper technology with a specially developed Fox Genie damper, significantly more traction is possible. In addition, the development focused specifically on the frame and at the same time said goodbye to the well-known asymmetrical design of the Stumpjumper. We tested what the bike can really do and how it rides at the official launch in Canada.
Specialized Stumpjumper 15 Genie – tried out in Vancouver!
The Stumpjumper Evo is dead - long live the Stumpjumper! With the new Stumpy, Specialized has reduced the range of two model variants - Evo and Classic - to just THE STUMPJUMPER. Oh noooo!!! What's that about?!?!?! Stop! You're right... but more on that later... I, Christoph, am not going to write a classic test report. But a launch overseas is always an experience, especially when... oh, read for yourself!
Specialized invited me to the press camp on Vancouver Island. When you get to take part in an event like this, you always want everything to be perfect. That's why I packed very meticulously and conscientiously. Everything was double-checked and ticked off with a checklist so that nothing was forgotten. But Murphy's Law is everywhere and so it happened that of the two pairs of shoes I have, I had packed the right shoe twice. I only noticed this shortly before the first ride. The girls and guys from Specialized were kind enough to help me out with shoes, but unfortunately they only had flat pedals. I haven't ridden on flat pedals for more than five years. Nothing helped, I changed pedals, put on shoes and off I went. Because of all the hustle and bustle with the shoes, I couldn't really concentrate on the bike. I was just delighted that it somehow worked and quickly got on the bike because the rest of the group was already waiting. On the uphill I quickly missed the click pedals because I was just used to being able to pull. All of this was getting a bit depressing and I was annoyed with myself. I was also thinking about the trails and that I would have problems there when things got serious... When I got to the top, I took a breather and talked nonsense with the whole group. The mood of the whole group was so relaxed and easy-going.
Then off to the first downhill and I was amazed at every meter of trail how little trouble I had with the flat pedals. The FSR rear triangle worked perfectly and felt much more powerful than the 140 mm suspension travel. The geometry was typical Specialized - sit on it and feel good. But it's no secret that Specialized has perfected this. You quickly started playing with the bike and exploring the limits. Somehow you didn't even think about the technology, you just had a really good day on the bike with cool people on almost perfect trails.
In the evening we were invited to the product launch and it became much clearer why I had no problems despite using flat pedals. The development of Specialized, so-called Specialized Ride Dynamics, deals extensively with the topics of frame, kinematics, geometry and chassis. When you deal with the topics so extensively and ignore everything that is currently on the market, you sometimes come up with new ideas. Other bicycle companies tend to take off-the-shelf components and design the bike around them. Specialized often goes its own way here and this is also the case with the new Stumpjumper. They were tempted to equip the rear triangle with new concepts, but after measurements they always came back with the tried and tested FSR rear triangle. So the focus grew on the suspension element. The concepts of the suspension elements currently on the market are often very different. Sometimes as simple as possible, sometimes with what feels like 30 adjustment parameters with huge adjustment ranges. Since mountain biking, especially the trail bike segment, is becoming more and more of a mass sport, I think the regression is too simple and effective. Not everyone can or wants to spend hours on their setup. That's what Specialized thought when developing it. That's why they took a closer look at the suspension element itself and came to the conclusion that it would make sense to have a relatively flat progression curve in the middle range, like on long-travel enduro bikes, and a more progressive characteristic curve in the initial and final travel. This was achieved by a two-stage pressure chamber in the shock absorber that was given no less a name than Genies.
An external and an internal pressure chamber, which can be adjusted separately using spacers. Spacers in the external air chamber in particular have a very direct influence on the damper behavior. So it is very convenient that these can be changed almost without tools. All you need is a damper pump and a small screwdriver. Air is released, the snap ring is loosened, the damper sleeve is pushed back and you can get to the two-part spacers. More spacers and the damper works tighter in the middle spring range and provides more support - fewer spacers and the damper sits snugly and quickly releases a lot of suspension travel when necessary. This means you can adapt the bike to rider preferences and trail. But if you don't want to constantly tinker with the chassis, you will quickly find your setup and have fun on every trail. The inner air chamber can also be adjusted using spacers, but it no longer has a great influence and rather defines the damper behavior towards the end of the suspension travel.
This ingenious system means that low speed compression can be recommended in its entirety and high speed compression has been reduced to three levels. The rebound is therefore also simple and is responsible for both high and low speed. There is also a large, easily accessible lockout lever and that's it. This makes life a lot easier when it comes to finding the right setup. You only have to be very meticulous with the sag setting so that the shock absorber can deliver perfect service. But this can be explained by the characteristic curve.
As if that wasn't enough innovation, Specialized is also bringing the next generation of carbon rims to market with their in-house rim manufacturer Roval. The Roval Traverse i9 1/1 Wheels, which are designed to make flats a rarity thanks to their special rim bed. Of course, you don't notice a big difference when riding with rims, but the fact is that after 2 days of riding with around 30 people, not a single flat tire was reported, which speaks for itself. Furthermore, the rim with a screwed-in valve is uncompromisingly made for tubeless.
The Stumpjumper 15's geometry can be adjusted in many ways. The bottom bracket height can be adjusted in two positions. It is also possible to ride a mullet. Sizes S1 and S2 are even delivered in mullet from the factory. The steering angle can be adjusted in three positions between 63° and 65,5°. Which brings me to my sentence at the beginning: The Evo is dead - long live the Stumpjumper! Due to the performance of the genius shock absorber and the many options for geometry adjustment, it makes no sense to keep both model variants. Everyone will find their trail bike with the Stumpjumper 15.
The Specialized Stumpjumper 15 Pro was ridden. The equipment was very solid with 36 Fox XXXXXX, XO Eagle gear group and the new Marvn brake from Sram, wheelset with the aforementioned Roval rims, tires from Specialized and Yokebike seat post. The package was very harmonious and just fit. The fork and rear triangle in particular harmonized well.
Back on the trails. After some initial difficulties when switching from clicks to flats, I quickly got used to it and was very surprised at how well the bike went uphill. Every uphill was mastered quickly and efficiently. It's fun to ride uphill on the bike, even when things got a bit more technical, you don't have any problems. And the fun didn't stop downhill. In technical and rougher sections it almost felt like an enduro, even when it got really fast, and if you wanted to pull away on a lip or root, it immediately mutated into a trail bike. In berms, the bike was neutral and could take a lot. If you filled the outer damper chamber with spacers, the difference was most noticeable in a short time. Here, similar to a closed low-speed compression stage, you could notice how the damper stayed high in the travel but delivered a better response than a closed compression stage.
It was also possible to convert the bike to Mullet. This makes it even more playful and you only want to approach corners on the inside, much to the chagrin of the tires, but I was unable to pull the tire off the Roval Traverse i9. Even though I admittedly did provoke it a lot. Going uphill, however, you could actually see a small deficit in the Mullet version. So if you rarely go to the park and pedal a lot yourself, you should definitely stick with 29 inches.
