Interbike 2014: Specialized Stumpjumper Expert Evo Carbon Bike Review (150mm rear travel)

In many ways, riding this bike was my main event for today's bike demo event.  In terms of specs, it is almost a direct match to the Turner Burner (140mm rear travel) bikes in my demo fleet.  Also, with the number of Specialized dealers in the Seattle area, the is going to be the bike most commonly compared to the Turner Burner.

As this is what I see as the main competition to my demo bikes, I'm sure you won't be surprised to hear that I really didn't like the Stumpjumper Evo at all, but hear me out.  These are the specifics on what I didn't like about this bike.  Also, when reading my comments on climbing, keep in mind that I rode this bike after my legs were warmed up, but still fresh.

Climbing - 1 stars

I can really say why, but climbing on this bike felt super sluggish like it had a loaded diaper.  Other bikes with similar rear suspension designs (Transition Patrol, Rocky Mountain Altitude) felt so much better climbing that I have to attribute the Specialized's poor climbing performance to something other than suspension design.  Shock selection/tuning, frame geometry, bottom bracket height may all play a part.   For 2014, I do know they repurposed a 29er front triangle for their 27.5" wheel bike.  I am not sure if this is why this bike still does not feel good.

Descending - 1 stars

As dull as the Specialized felt climbing, it was the complete opposite when descending and not in a good way.  I never got comfortable on this bike and was generally unsure of how it would react in different situations.

Cornering - 1 stars

Although the Specialized felt nervous going downhill, it also felt big going around corners.  I thought this might be due to its 800mm wide handlebars, but other bikes that I rode later in the day had similarly wide bars and still felt agile in their handling.  Handling was not at all intuitive and required a lot of focus to make sure the bike went in the desired and intended direction.

Summary: What was real odd to me about the Stumpjumper Evo was that this bike had conflicting ride and handling characteristics that were completely wrong for each aspect of its performance.  I was fighting this bike for the entire 20 minutes that I rode it.

Rating Guide

5 stars - Absolutely outstanding

4 stars

3 stars - Solid performance, meets expectations

2 stars

1 star - Misses expectations by a wide margin

Specialized still uses a fairly traditional implementation of the Horst Link which relies on shock damping to control rear suspension movement.

Interbike 2014: Rocky Mountain Altitude Carbon 27.5 Bike Review (150mm rear travel)

This was a good first bike to ride for the day as it was a solid bike all around. I would be really happy to have the Altitude as my personal ride.  The Altitude uses a modified Horst Link design (pivot in front of the rear wheel axle on the chainstay) with the axle dropped below the chainstay pivot to reduce the amount of bobbing when pedaling.

A key feature of the Altitude is the Ride-9 feature which allows adjustment of the bike’s geometry and shock rate. By moving the position of the rear shock, the head angle can vary from 66.6 degrees to 68.3 degrees and the seat angle between 73.6 degrees and 75.3 degrees. The bottom bracket also raises or lowers by 10 degrees. These adjustments can also vary the amount of leverage on the rear shock to better adapt to lighter and heavier riders.

 Climbing - 3 stars

The Altitude pedaled well, but didn't feel super snappy when laying down the power. 

Descending - 3 stars

Descending was solid and predictable.  The only thing the Altitude really lacked was a bit of immediacy in its steering and liveliness in its feel that the best bikes have. 

Cornering - 3 stars

Not exceptional in how it felt cornering, but completely predictable in feel. 

Rating Guide

5 stars - Absolutely outstanding

4 stars

3 stars - Solid performance, meets expectations

2 stars

1 star - Misses expectations by a wide margin

Rocky Mountain Altitude (150 mm rear suspension travel)

Ride-9 rear suspension adjustment

Rear axle is dropped below chainstay pivot for better climbing performance.

Interbike 2014: Some background on my preferences for bike tests

When I test bikes, I look for not only what a bike can do, but also how it feels doing it.  For the category of bikes in I'm most interested (suspension bikes with 120-150mm of travel), the best bikes in the category now feel good when climbing, descending, and cornering. That's the bar that I set when I'm test riding a bike.  The days of 35 pound, big hit, freeride bikes that couldn't climb are now over.  Good braking performance with no pedal feedback and no brake jack is now a given.  The era of no-compromise, do-it-all suspension bikes is here.

Our first Cleary demo bike!

We have the first Cleary Bike in Washington.  It's the 12" Starfish balance bike in Very Orange.  We will shortly be receiving our other demo bikes (12", 16" and 20" singlespeed bikes).  Contact us at jeff@dirtmerchantbikes.com or at 425-429-0865 to try out the bike!