2022 Special StumpJumper Comp Analysis
StumpJumper is one of the most exclusive mountain bike families, whose name dates back to the early years of the brand.
StumpJumper mountain bike
The Special StumpJumper Comp, shortlisted in the Trail Bike category of our 2022 Bike Awards of the Year, is the cheapest carbon stump in the range. There are two alloy versions available for Chunkless Cash.
Currently, it is a specialised 130mm trail bike, with the EVO version giving it more travel and more aggressive shape.
Special StumpJumper Comp Frame and Suspension
This generation of Stump Jumper sticks to the front triangle drive side with a special signature asymmetric reinforcement.
Although the layout’s special patent is now out of date, it is not surprising that the 130mm travel is controlled by the Hearst-Link 4-bar suspension system, whereby the pivot sits in the chainstay in front of the rear axle.
The rear wheel arch under compression is designed to help with special control and how it relates to pedalling inputs.
The frame is made of the brand’s FACT 11m carbon, only the S-Works frameset get high-grade materials.
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The frame gets down-tube and chainstay rubberized protection.
The Down Tube features SWAT Door Storage, which opens through the plate lock clip under the bottle cage and reveals the storage door inside the Down Tube, which has a neat SWAT bag if you want to use it.
The included bottle cage has a mini-tool holster bolted to its base, the mini-tool has all the usual Allen keys.
Other frame features include threaded bottom bracket, internal hose guide and sealed bearings in pivots.
Tire clearance during testing is proven to be sufficient, but pivot bolts are easily accessible. The internal cable routing head feeds neatly to the tube, reducing the cable rub.
Special StumpJumper Comp Geometry
The cables are shipped neatly to the head tube.
Omits the special S / M / L-style size, instead using ‘S’ numbers. These go from S1 to S6, with the general idea that you buy bike lengths rather than seat-tube lengths.
Smaller seat tubes mean that most riders will be able to choose from a range of sizes to dial the bike experience they like.
Exclusive additions to the geometry-adjustable flip chip include 0.5 degree adjustment for head and seat angles and 7mm BB height adjustment between high and low settings.
The stats are bang on trend, with Slack Head Angle and Long Reach (assuming you are roughly equal to the size of the S4).
The Finishing Kit is all exclusive on its own except the X-Fusion Manic Dropper Post.
At 182cm high, I tested the S4 bike with a super-short 425mm seat tube and reached a length of 475mm at its lowest setting – which at most settings extends to 480mm.
The stock, at a low setting, sits at 632mm, the head angle is 65.3 degrees (measuring, slightly more than 65 degrees) and the seat tube, at my climbing height, is steeper than 71cm BB. Claimed at an impressive 77.3 degrees.
Special StumpJumper Comp Specifications
Fox Rhythm comes with 34 front fork GRIP damper and 140mm travel.
The bike is dominated by Shimano, Fox and the specialist.
Shimano’s mid-range SLX drivetrain and brakes with the 10-51t cassette, 30t ring and snappy brakes providing tons of power are a solid choice.
Fox’s Rhythm 34 is ahead. It comes with a GRIP damper and 140mm travel. At the rear, there is a Float DPS Performance Shock with a special Custom RX Trail Tune Compression Tune.
The top of the fork has compression adjustment with an easy-to-access dial, but the shock has a three-position lever to toggle from the screen to the firm.
The specialty is a wide range of self-branded kit, from cockpit to wheels and tires. Its butcher and purgatory rubber is shown here in a slightly stiffer T7 compound and 29 ร 2.3in in GRID cover. Alloy wheels have 28 spikes each.
The only non-spec piece of the finishing kit is the X-Fusion Manic Dropper. The smaller S1 gets 100mm of travel from the bike post, while the (larger) S6 gets 190mm. My S4 bike has a 175mm drop, which makes sense – although it is 182cm tall, there is room for a 200mm drop if I want to.
Special StumpJumper Comp Ride Impressions
I have tested Stump Jumper in a variety of terrain.
This bike has been tested as part of our 2022 Trail Bike of the Year test. It competed against seven other bikes, travelled 120 to 140mm in the rear and was priced from ยฃ 3,299 to ยฃ 3,999.99.
Bikes have been tested across the UK, from the long, steep tracks in South Wales to our regular test loops in the Forest of Dean, the fastest rocky tracks in the Tweed Valley, and the fresh-cut loam and rocky outcrops at Cairngorm National Park.
The bikes were tested back and forth, with small repetitive loops making it easy to notice the differences. An extensive program of workshop weight, measurement and general piercing ensured that every little detail was explored.
Exclusive StumpJumper Comp Climbing Show
There is a little pedal bob in the stump jumper but, overall, it’s a perfectly capable climber.
Stumpjumper meets the need for a trail bike to climb technical trails easily.
The rear suspension is impeccably smooth, and the lightweight shock tune helps it pick up every grip on the bike’s purgatory rear tire, pulling it over rocky or rusty steps or while scrambling for damp grass.
The T7 compound on the rear cleanser is not soft, nor too aggressive on the tread, and the suspension really feels like it has massaged the tire’s capabilities here.
On smooth mounts, there is a slight pedal bob, obviously with a shrinkage in the area of โโ28 to 30 percent, if the suspension is set to be compliant and comfortable in descending. Here, I frequently reach for the lockout lever of the float DPS to quench the squish.
The T7 helps keep the rubber bike rolling on the tarmac and fire-road surfaces with great efficiency, so I rarely curse the hills.
Pop the tension there, and the rear end is even more stable under the force, although the stumpy loses the ground-hugging descending abilities it enjoys.
At its lowest setting, the seat angle on my bike measured 77.3 degrees, my preferred saddle height (S4 bike, 182cm height, 71cm saddle height). Itโs quite steep, definitely the trail bikeโs case of the year. Similarly, the saddle position was excellent on steep climbs.
Special Stump Jumper Comp Descending Performance
With a slower 65-degree head angle, longer (475mm, S4) reach and a lower bracket at 42mm below the axle at its lowest setting, the specialty sets the bar high on paper for the bike’s descending capabilities with 130mm travel. Rear.
Four-piston brakes, combined with this modern shape, work best for tires to maintain speed in slow-speed and techie descending.
The Fox 34 fork may not be enduro-ready, but it has its own here with smooth, supportive, and predictable performance.
Four-piston brakes are a welcome addition in this efficient descent.
When you actually start slamming it into the terrain or loading it into the berm, you can feel the chassis squirm and it becomes heavier.
However, the Grip Damper always impresses our testers, which are not as sophisticated as the GRIP2 found in the Performance Elite and Factory Fox forks, but I find it’s lightweight tune to be handy and 95 percent off time. Work.
On a grippy gritstone-like cliff in Logan, Scotland, the butcher T7 front tire stuck with confidence, meaning that the stone’s technical movement was easily dispatched.
However, on smooth rocks or damp roots, hard-composite rubber has struggled to match the performance of tires such as the Schwalbe and Maxxis.
The rear suspension is also mainly affected. It feels lightweight and responsive, flows well on high-frequency stuttering bumps and increases grip when I pull on anchors, quite active under braking loads.
The Stump Jumper is somewhat out of place in the more technical high-speed terrain compared to other bikes tested.
Even if I fall short in the jump or take a sympathetic line over the roots, I find it possible to slam the shock into the bottom bumper on the hard landing.
While any bike is resistant to running off the ground, there’s a bit of a thunk with this stump in bad terrain – the extra volume spacer should be mitigated against it.
Most of the time, when the rear suspension is needed to support changes in body weight, on the berm or jumping slope, the support is there to push back.
Overall, in fast, technical terrain, it’s an efficient machine, but it doesn’t have the full grip I found in the Newproof Reactor with its lyric fork and piggyback shock, but the shape and behaviour of the Canyon Spectral 125 makes it a steep track.
Push it up strongly, and the stumpy begins to feel instability in its balance, overtaking the rear suspension touch.
The stump jumper is reactive without being too nervous.
In more humid terrain, stumpy weaves a fine line between rocks and trees. It’s not taught like some bikes in my testing when it comes to pumping through rolls or pushing through pedals, but it’s far from sluggish or lazy.
It holds the tempo nicely and encourages you to push harder and expand your skills, making it one of the most comfortable and a fun bike to ride.
The bike’s natural home is a day ride on natural singletracks or quick bursts around the trail centre.
If you are looking for more gnarliest tracks at home, there are better bikes, and if you want to adjust the taste of blood and some PR, there are other machines that make it faster. However, if you simply want to get out on some trails, Stumpy will fit you well.
How does the Kona Process 134 DL compare to the Special StumpJumper Comp?
Both the Stumpjumper and the Process 134 are mid-travel trail bikes with long, slacker trail-bike geometry and a similar 140mm fork.
Stumpy is a classic trail bike. It does it all well – it at least climbs the fuss, covers the rolling terrain nicely, I turn the whole day happy on it, and by technical descent, has enough grunt to go down without throwing its toys. Outside the bush.
Although similar on paper, Process 134 feels like a more specialised machine. It is much slower on the ascents and sits along flat terrain than stumpy, so riders who like big miles can be mistaken for something special.
However, the Kona is a good bike with a fast, loose and rugged descent. The rear suspension is impeccably smooth and progressive, increases grip, speed and confidence and feels stumpy, not shaky on gnarly tracks.
This bike has been tested as part of our 2022 Trail Bike of the Year test. We’ve collected eight recent trial bikes, from down country rigs to mini-enduro shredders, and put them back-to-back to find the best.
Pros & Cons
The soft rear end and confident chassis leaves little to complain about on the trail
Pros: Good chassis, smooth suspension and tons of rear grip
Cons: Although the special tires aren’t great and full-carbon, it is an expensive bike
Brand Exclusive, Features (Specifications)
Weight 14.1kg (S4) – without pedal
Available sizes are S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6
Headset Cartridge
Tires Exclusive Butcher Grid T7 29×2.3 f, Exclusive Cleaning GRID T7 29×2.3
Trunk special alloy trail, 55mm
Shifter Shimano SLX
Seatpost Xfusion Manic
Saddle Special Bridge Comp
Rear Shocks Fox Float DPS Performance
Rear Derailleur Shimano SLX
Handlebar special alloy, 780mm
Bottom bracket Shimano SLX
Grips / tape special
Frame FACT 11m carbon, 130mm travel
Fork Fox 34 Rhythm, 140mm Travel
Cranks Shimano SLX, 30t
Chain Shimano SLX
Cassette Shimano SLX, 10-51t
Brakes Shimano SLX, 200 / 180mm rotors
Wheels Shimano hubs, 29 special alloy rims
Special StumpJumper Comp conclusion:
Built a remarkably efficient trail bike in a specialist stumpy – as you would expect.
It has good geometry, ensures confident handling in most conditions, and some well-chosen spec details.
This is a really easy bike to jump and ride, there are no funny quirks to catch you, or anything basic to it that at first feels awkward. Similarly, when it is impossible to measure objectively, it is a really fun bike to ride, tilt and rotate and pop over trail obstacles.
It is a classic trail bike for mid-bell-curve trails and riders. It may not hold our imagination like the Trek Top Fuel or the Canyon Spectral 125, but Stumpy quietly sits in a special range, offering plenty of riding and a bike that is perfect for a whole ton of riders.
sources : StumpJumper
