Review: Specialized Stumpjumper Comp 29

For the past 10 years I have ridden full suspension 26″ bikes as my main mountain bike. I have had other bikes during that time, SS CX bikes, 26″ rigid, SS rigid 29er and a snow bike. I sold the 29er rigid SS when moving across the country. But the ride was calling me… I have been feeling like my Turner Flux had seen its day in the sun and it was time to move on. The old 29er really worked well, it constantly amazed me how it handled technical trails. I decided to try a geared 29er hardtail as my new main mountain bike.

I chose a Specialized Stumpjumper Comp 29 for a few reasons: it was the best fit, best parts for the price, great ride and frankly I always wanted a Stumpjumper. It is an absolutely great bike.

I picked the bike up at 10am and we were on the road to Moab to escape the snow for its inaugural ride. This bike climbed like a champ and descended with confidence. The bigger tires really do roll over bumps and drops better than my old 26″ bike. Now that the snow has melted I am hitting the same trails I rode the FS bike on, I prefer this bike. It just rides so well.

Up front there is a Rock Shox Reba with 90mm of travel, lockout and an oversided quick release axle.

The quick release/axle is made by DT Swiss and adds to the already stiff front end, Its a ratcheting mechanism, which I prefer to the cam of most QRs.

The brakes are Magura MTS and shifters are SRAM X7. Stopping power is great and shifting is quick and easy. I was previously running XTR and XT on the Turner and this slightly lower spec SRAM X7 feels better to me.

The Stumpjumper Comp 29 is a 2×10 with a traditional QR in the rear. The rear derailleur is a SRAM X9.

The front derailleur is X7. You can see how duck footed I am from the crank arm rub after only having this bike for 2 months.

The tires come with tubes installed, but the rims and tires are tubeless ready and it includes rim strips for tubeless conversion.  I set them up tubeless and they have been working great. The tires have a very low profile, the knobs are as big as those on a Michelin Mud CX tire. This initially scared me, I guessed it was just so the bike would feel lighter in the show room. But I was wrong, they have been hooking up to all the roots and rocks I can throw at them.

I was a bit leery of how a hardtail would feel after a decade of FS bike riding. It is great, it rides like a rocket ship, it carves corners and it climbs like a mountain goat. The bike is so much nicer to ride then my old FS bike in that it climbs so well and descends like a champ.

So if you are looking for a hardtail 29er, this Specialized Stumpjumper Comp 29 is your answer. The build is great, the ride is great. I usually buy a bike and spend hundreds changing things, on this bike all I did was swap in my trusty old Flite saddle.

Specialized Says: http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bikes/mountain/sjht/stumpjumpercomp29
The aluminum Stumpjumper HT Comp 29 features an M5 manipulated alloy frame with an 80mm-travel RockShox Reba RL fork and custom SRAM 2×10 crankset for pro-level performance at a privateer price.