The centerpiece of the new Stumpjumper is the Genie suspension strut, which was developed in close collaboration with Fox. It is designed to combine the performance of a steel spring with the adjustment options and bottom-out protection of air suspension. Specialized backs up the performance of the new shock absorber with lots of tables and statistics, but let's stick to the "fixed" values for now. The rear offers 145 millimeters of travel and the front 160 millimeters, the bike can be ridden as a twentyniner or in a mullet setup. Thanks to the flip-chip and adjustable steering angle, six different geometry settings are possible. As usual with Specialized, there is also an S-Works version as a complete bike or as a frameset in addition to various equipment models.

The second cheapest version, the Expert model, was tested. As the standard geometry setting was a perfect fit, it was not changed during testing.

The bike in action

Swing your leg over the Stumpjumper and off you go - with plenty of propulsion. The slightly upright riding position is perfect and it is very easy to pedal both on the flat and uphill. It quickly becomes clear that this bike is made for long days in the saddle. Despite the very soft response of the Genie suspension, the rear end hardly bobs at all. It is also astonishing that the bike can be moved forward so "efficiently", even though it is no lightweight at 15 kilograms. The Speci only loses some momentum when going off-road over hill and dale and requires more power and sometimes a forward weight shift.

On flat trails, the bike masters the fine line between high directional stability and maneuverability. It excites you to accelerate out of every bend and shoot into the next one. On the descent, you quickly forget to concentrate on the bike's riding characteristics. The Stumpi proves that it is a master of all classes on any terrain. Your full attention is focused on the trail, which is ridden at an unusually high speed. Every now and then, a "Wuuhaa" or "Sh**" escapes you when difficult sections are ridden faster than usual. The bike also scores points on alpine single trails with tight hairpin bends. Turning the rear wheel is child's play, and if you need to maneuver over ledges or through narrow passages, the well-balanced geometry makes this a breeze. It took a few rides to coax something out of the bike that it wasn't 100 percent capable of. There was only one situation in which the new Genie suspension strut struggled a little. When riding over a long and high root field with medium and very fast successive bumps, the rear passes them through. Not in such a way that you have to absorb the bumps with your body, but in such a way that you can feel them. But that is almost "wanted". Because honestly, there is hardly any suspension that masters any terrain perfectly without changing the setup.

Conclusion

In short, the new Stumpjumper is a blast and positions itself as a reference object for other all-mountain bikes. What's really amazing is how light-footed it rides compared to other 15-kilogram MTBs.