Review | We Test The Carbon Specialized Stumpjumper EVO Pro 27.5

In case you hadn’t heard already, Specialized has just announced the Carbon Specialized Stumpjumper EVO Pro 27.5. You can get all the details of the bike right here, though read on for our first ride review from local Calder Valley tester, Nick Cummins. Over to Nick for the review.

---

If like me, you’re a mountain bike nerd, the release of a new Stumpjumper is always something to look forward to. While some complain that it is the Ford Mondeo of the mountain bike world, there always seems to be an interesting model tucked away – an RS fire breathing monster with the daft whale tail.

This time we were in for a real surprise.

Released in aluminum only, the Stumpjumper EVO leapt out from the lineup; low slung, stretched out and looking very proto, it caught everyone’s attention. I remember Wil testing it on a press outing in Spain and finding it “vaguely terrifying”. All very unlike Specialized.

There have been previous iterations of the EVO name attached to various Specialized bikes in the past, and there’s an Epic EVO available to buy now, but none have ever been as extreme as this bike. After some very favourable reviews of the metal version, here then, offered for test is the bike that no one will be surprised has been released: The carbon version of the Stumpy EVO.

The Bike

Where the original was all brushed bare metal “proto/race” looking test rig, this semi satin finished carbon version looks the opposite; much more the finished article. All black component choices making it look stealthy. Very much Batman’s Mountain bike.

It can be a tough look to pull off well, all black bikes sometimes can look, let’s be honest, a bit cheap, but Specialized has managed it. The silhouette of the bike helps to give the whole thing a purposeful stance.

A closer look at the component choices shout rather than hint at the bike’s intended purpose. There’s a 150mm travel Fox 36 Performance Elite fork out front, which gear snobs may point out hasn’t the benefit of Kashima coated stanchions. But once pressurised and set up, it performed faultlessly in test, only being slightly outshone by the Fox DHX2 coil shock out the back.

Code RSC brakes with 200mm rotors all round, made for brutally efficient braking with all the adjustment you could possibly need. Even on my steep trails, in the dry I found I could happily control my speed with the just the rear brake, almost bringing the bike to a complete stop on one occasion in order to regain my balance to make a particularly sharp stepped turn. Top stoppers then. Be warned though when the weather turns wet they do like to sing…

The drivetrain is exclusively GX and although from the more moderately priced end of SRAM’s Eagle family still offers wide range, snappy changes. Climbing feels almost like cheating in the big 50t rear.

The seat post is Specialized’s new Command dropper, which in car park tests rises with wince-inducing haste. In use, however, its light action means that it’s easy to control with your legs and body weight, so I’m happy to report, no soft parts were harmed during the testing of the EVO.

Specialized’s own Butcher GRID 2.6in trail tyres around Roval carbon rims made for an interesting combo. Boost hubs, on 27.5in carbon rims with a stiff fork, meant that the front of this bike will go exactly where it’s pointed – something that the Butcher Grid tyre on the front at least sometimes found difficult to cooperate with. The end result was often a bit “Tight, but loose” as our surfing cousins would say. Especially in the wet, it wasn’t particularly confidence inspiring.

The frame has internal cable routing, with the SWAT box and bottle cage all present and correct. These I’ve found will happily swallow everything from spare inner tubes and pumps to food, and even a gilet on one occasion. Combined with the SWAT tool hidden in the stem (and released by a very smoothly swinging top cap and pleasing pop up action) which includes a chain tool and spare chain link holder, means that you can easily have an evening’s blast unencumbered by a backpack if you so chose.

Specialized’s own brand saddle and grips round off what I thought were well-chosen components. All this combined with a super slack 63.5° head angle, 450mm reach in this – the S2 size – and low bottom bracket height tick all the right “on point marketing segment” boxes.

So, has Specialized managed then, to put together a bike that actually rides as well as the specs sheet suggests? I was eager to find out.

The Ride

At my end of the Singletrackworld Valley, it’s all much more pointy. The trails cling vertiginously to the sides of the steep hills, and make for an unforgiving test arena for under designed suspension kinematics.

On its first test outing, riding straight from my door I have a techy trail that is steep in a “shorts, have you met rear tyre?” blind date kinda way. It’s root infested, rocky and with a couple of off camber switchbacks, it can be hard to clean in anything other than the driest of conditions.

Unsurprisingly then with benefit of the recent unseasonably dry February the EVO dived straight into this with barely a raised metaphorical eyebrow.

The rear suspension of this bike is a revelation. It’s the EVO’s secret weapon; very solid, very planted, almost perhaps a hint too soft, which could easily be remedied if needed with choice of spring, but still reassuring. With the increasingly popular-again coil shock option on this bike is all very confidence inspiring. There a no spikes, no harshness, just very efficient grip.

And it’s quiet. The cleverly designed chainstay rubber wrap has raised soft bumps placed at just the right places on the top surface where the chain is likely to strike, and as a result has eliminated almost all the chain noise, adding to the stealthy feel of the EVO. Be prepared to buy a bell if you live somewhere popular with walkers. This is a very quiet bike.

The S2 version I tested, I should say now, was a touch too small for me. At 178cm I think I’d be happier on the longer S3 version, and I often found myself too far over the rear of the bike, giving the the front a vague wandery feel. Combined with the underperforming Butcher, it was sometimes all very exciting.

Careful sizing is a must with these sorts of slacker angled bikes. They demand to be ridden, like long travel hardtails, on the front tyre. Cockpit sizing (and tyre choice) is crucial.

On steeper trails is where the slacker head angle works in its favour, combined with wide 800mm bars and short stem (which unsurprisingly I thought, could do with being perhaps 50mm rather than the 35mm fitted) make for a reassuringly progressive ride.

I’m happy with 800mm wide bars, I find them comfortable and its where my hands naturally fall. But these Specialized bars have only a narrow range of roll adjustment, and you may find like me if you want to increase the cockpit size, that they have a limited range before they start to feel uncomfortable. As such, it’s maybe a component choice that you may want to look to change to something you’re more familiar with if you’re picky about cockpit set-up.

Heading upwards on wide open trails the bike is perfectly happy. Internet presumptions about the climbing prowess (or otherwise) of slacker angled bikes like these are often overstated. Don’t get me wrong, at anything less than walking speed the steering is floppy and heavy, but once you’re up and going properly that feeling goes away, and it rides like a regular bike again.

On more techy climbs it does need a bit of grunt to get the front up and over obstacles, but I only had a couple of pedal strikes over the test period, and one of those was more to do with the tester not paying attention rather than the fault of the design of the bike.

The bike does have the FSR bob though. It can be controlled via compression adjustment on the Fox shock if it really bothers you, or you have a long smooth climb ahead of you. But honestly, every Specialised FSR design I’ve ever ridden does it to a greater or lesser extent and it’s a small price to pay for the very controlled feel on the way back down again.

One of the few complaints I have are the Butcher Grid Tyres, on the face of it, they look to be just the job for this bike with their aggressive looking tread and 2.6in width, but in reality, they’re a curate’s egg of a tyre. In the dry, more or less adequate. But as a front tyre, the shallow tread is quickly overwhelmed in deeper loam and wet conditions, and not at all confidence inspiring.

In my experience, the weak and thin sidewalls (a weight saving measure presumably) means if run tubeless, are too unstable. With tubes, they add some welcome structure, but then add back the weight. They’re also very picky about pressure having a very narrow 3-5 psi range of Goldilocks-alike just-so-ness, I’d ditch at least the front for something more reliable.

So then, who is this bike for? I’d say: ‘Mountain bikers’ actually. It’s a bike for riders who want to to have fun downhill, and after all, who doesn’t want that? It’s solid and dependable (with the right tyres on it) and it will flatter. It’s also one of the better bikes I’ve ridden in a long time if you have a section of trail that has defeated you in the past or you enjoy sessioning, since it’ll allow you to hang it out a bit before you get to the end of its capabilities, and it’s a bike that would take a very good rider indeed before it gets there.

One of my riding friends (let’s call him Chipps) often remarks that one of the problems with these sorts of bikes is that because they are so capable downhill, so monster truck-like, and allow mere mortals like us to feel much better riders than we perhaps are, that when problems do happen, they tend to happen at higher speeds than previous bikes would allow. The Stumpy EVO is in part the answer to that issue, because it’s very capable for sure, but it’s also limited by 150mm trail bike realities. It will allow you to ride your local trails very very well, and I’d very much enjoy this on a day at Antur Stiniog or Bike Park Wales, but it’s still not a DH ‘rig’ in that sense, and won’t let you get away with that sort of riding.

Overall

A progressive, forward-thinking aggro trail bike that delivers fun in spades. The frame is gorgeous, and the coil-assisted FSR suspension is a delight.

If you have in your neck of the woods a trail that you only attempt if you’ve got your big boy shorts on, a trail that you excuse yourself from attempting because it’s too steep, or it’s too hard, then this is the bike that is going to take some at least, of those excuses away. If you don’t try it with this bike, then it’s definitely you. Don’t buy it if you’re worried that your health insurance is out of date though.

2019 Carbon Specialized Stumpjumper EVO Pro 27.5 Specs

• Frame // FACT 11m Full Carbon Frame, 150mm Travel
• Fork // Fox 36 Float, Performance Elite, GRIP2, 37mm Offset, 150mm Travel
• Shock // Fox DHX2, Performance Elite, 2-Position Lever, 210×52.5mm
• Hubs // Specialized 110x15mm Front & DT Swiss 350 148x12mm Rear, 36pt Star Ratchet
• Rims // Roval Traverse Carbon, 28h Front & Rear, 30mm Internal Rim Width
• Tyres // Specialized Butcher GRID 2.6in Front & Rear
• Chainset // SRAM GX Eagle, 30t Chainring
• Rear Mech // SRAM GX Eagle, 12-Speed
• Shifter // SRAM GX Eagle, 12-Speed
• Cassette // SRAM GX Eagle, 10-50t, 12-Speed
• Brakes // SRAM Code RSC, 200mm Rotors Front & Rear
• Bar // Specialized, 7050 Alloy, 27mm Rise, 800mm Wide
• Stem // Specialized Trail, 35mm Long
• Grips // Deity Knuckleduster
• Seatpost // Specialized Command Post IRcc, 34.9mm, 160mm Travel
• Saddle // Specialized Phenom Expert, Hollow Ti Rails, 143mm
• Size Tested // S2
• Sizes available // S2, S3
• Confirmed Weight // TBC
• RRP // £TBC / $9,000 AUD