Busted the wheels on my Kona and need some means of getting to and from work so off to the LBS I go, beg Andy for a test bike to use and voila!
Specialized Stumpjumper Elite 2009, Test Bike.
Love the black and green!
Riding it….
Well once I got the shock still enough for my taste and the right pressure it felt great, at first it felt heavy and slow, but I am used to a whippet like hard tail so I had to reassess how I was riding it.
It’s an all mountain singletrack machine so when I was hitting regular bumps and roots it came alive! It felt like a completely different beast to when I was plodding along the road, the forks flickered lightly over stone and root the taking the brunt but letting me know they are working,
The rear bubbles and bumps as it should over the larger rocks but then it hovers like a humming bird over pebbles and loose stone, I almost forget it is there, it works that well!
The brakes are confidence inspiring and comfortable on the hands,
The SLX shifters and XT cages are snappy and to the point not missed a trick yet, even when covered in mud!
Fox Triad shock is an improvement on the Specialized own brand I found to be a bit spongy.
Yup I like this bike, it’s definitely improved on last years, and last years was good
UPDATE:
The ride home from work was so much better than before, i’d cracked how I wanted the suspension to work so i didn’t have to fiddle for either the ups or the downs, just a flick of lock on or lock off and away we went,
I took to the longer off road rough track home and managed to clean the hill that’s had me off and walking everytime until today, all due praises to the rear suspension being planted at all time! the Fox shock is really great once I’d worked out the compression adjust and rebound setting to my liking we were away and loving it!
Yes this is an expensive bike and yes there will probably be loads of guys out there with it, but that is because it is very good!
UPDATE:
This is an excellent bike and if you ever have the chance to ride one do!
Filed under: Blogging | Tagged: bike test, biking, cool!, gear review |
Highwaymunky Blog 
So with ‘test bike’ am I to read ‘suck… I’ll have to give it back’? Hahaha, you’re going to get spoiled man! A friend of mine races and has told me that you really value the rear suspension once you’ve had it. Can’t wait to hear more about it!
Oh, and the color… dead sexy.
PS: Passed your blog url to http://vaccumac.blogspot.com/ . Hes out in Warrington, Cheshire, United Kingdom. Is planning a ride across UK. Maybe you can get some miles on the Specialized. 😉
do u wanna sell your stumpjumper now?
I would buy it!