Blimey…. Time flies fast. Quite a while into ownership of the Stumpjumper Evo and it’s pretty unrecognisable from the initial build!! Over the last 18 months or so, it’s been a testbed for an evolving experiment to push the limits of what works for me, and what I like in a bike. I’m pretty certain I’ve more or less capped out on things now – it’s running fast, reliably, quietly and requiring only minimal TLC to keep things running sweet. I’m a massive advocate of low maintenance / high reliability in a bike. Nobody likes the MTB equivalent of a highly tuned Lancia Delta Integrale that’s incredible when it runs, but gates damp mornings…..

The original build, 27.5″ both ends, long shocked and 180mm fork

The bike’s now considerably different to the above photo! It’s now a mullet, running different forks/shock – in fact almost everything is different!

Current build

So what’s changed – pretty much everything! It’s probably just as easy to do a full “bike check” so here goes:-

Specialized Stumpjumper Evo S3 27.5 frame

Cascade SJLT linkage

Manitou Mezzer series 2 29er forks, 44mm offset, 160mm travel

MRP Hazzard Coil shock, 216×63 with 57mm stroke limiter and offset bushes.

EXT 117 superlight spring, 600lb

Nukeproof Horizon V2 wheels 29″ f, 27.5″ r

GX Eagle 170mm cranks

Uberbike stainless BB

GX Eagle mech and shifter w/Superstar jockey wheels

SLX 10-51 12 speed cassette

Nukeproof Horizon Sam Hill Enduro pedals

BikeYoke Revive 160 dropper

Tioga Undercover Stratum saddle

Nukeproof Horizon V2 carbon bars, 780mm/25mm

Nukeproof Horizon Sam Hill 35mm stem

Gusset S2 grips

SRAM Code R brakes, 220mm rotors F & R

WTB Verdict 29 x 2.5 (Tough High Grip) front tyre

WTB Trail Boss 27.5 x 2.6 (Tough Fast) rear tyre

Nukeproof ARD insert in rear tyre.

Those massive brakes!

In the next post, I’ll go into much more detail about all the different key parts of the bike – let me know what you’d like to know about first!

Stay safe

Andy