Specialized Stumpjumper Alloy Mountain Bike Expired

Do you really need FS for any of these trails?

Get a Marin..haha

This is my local bike shop in Louisville, KY, they are a pretty big Ibis dealer. They have Mojos on close out right now. Their new years sale is still live (not sure how much longer). If you use the code NEWYEAR20, it's 20% off anything.

https://shop.n1bikes.com

They're great, lots of people bought Ripleys and Ripmos from them online throughout 2020-2021 but they carry other brands as well.

Speak of the devil! Was just browsing this model last night after seeing this Youtube video:

Specialized Is Desperate To Get Rid Of 2022 Stock! [youtube.com]

Browse the Specialized MTB section, lots of markdowns not just this model.

I got the SLX spec $3199.20 after the discount (before tax of course). If you're in the market for an Ibis, Rocky Mountain, Yeti I highly recommend N+1

In 2023. With the recession and lay offs going on, 50% should be the minimum discount on bikes 🚴

The Ripley (AF or not) is indeed an excellent bike, playing up there with the "big boys". It was on my shortlist too and I was tempted to get one, but ended up getting a deal on a '22 Rocky Mountain Element C, to replace the Siskiu T8 I ended up with when ibis postponed deliveries for the Ripmo I had originally ordered And it is not a ding on the Siskiu, I love it still, I just realized that I rarely use the travel (mine is 140/150 with a 36 front) and I would rather have something more pedal friendly. The '22 Element is actually the same geo as the Siskiu T (65 HTA, 480 reach on a L, same stack, just with more pedal-friendly sus kinematics and shaves 6-7 lbs)

On the Stumpy...
The Stumpjumper is the benchmark for mid-travel trail bikes. It does everything above average to great. It is not as sophisticated a platform as the DW Link on Ibis and Pivots and Evils, but it is really nit-picking here. Anyone that insists that "it has to be this or that" and nothing else, is the same as someone saying that "oh, if you don't have an engine with twin overhead cam-shafts, you cannot have fun or you are not a driver" or BS like that.

Yes, the Stumpy build in this config on sale is meh, but it is not atypical.
The Achilles hill with all of these, IMHO, are the deals with Sram: a Shimano Deore build would simply be much better, both in shifting and especially in the brake department. But Shimano doesn't make suspension components, and shimano doesn't make a HG hub based 12s Drivetrain (which marketing demands), so I bet that between the "cheaper than Fox DPS + 34 Rhythm or Bomber Z2", and the package deals Sram can provide for getting an all Sram (Rockshox = Sram) build, Specialized and others opt for that. Remember that Specialized is not a boutique brand like Ibis who de-facto sells all their bikes for $3500+ or w/e is the baseline for the Ripley AF and the Ripmo AF, not orders their base bikes in the hundreds, rather THOUSANDS, so the combined savings are substantial.

Again, Sram is not bad, the contrary, and all of the components can serve well and are an upgrade to anything you could find on a big-box store (other perhaps the Sram 11s NX on that unicorn Nishiki Colorado Comp+ that was selling for $400 back in 2019 (?), and I will argue every time that the 11s NX was superior to the Eagle NX, especially for its time). The Fork and Shock on this are fine. The vast majority of their buyers will not need more. It is like a 3-series BMW...all the forum warriors will think "nothing less than 6-cyl turbo or M3 can cut it, but 99% of the 3-series sold are probably 4-cyl or older undertuned 6-cyl NA and are more than enough. Actually, just like this bike, these cars will have more to offer than what the avg. driver/owner will ever need.

Yes, this Stumpy is not light and I'd bet will be 32-35lbs ready to ride, but nothing much lighter in this price range, unless you go for a XC focused hardtail and gradually upgrade the heavier parts as it makes sense. Specialized Chisel, Marin Team & BMC Two Stroke are really nice platforms to build from. Plus as soon as you get the Stumpy and if you start forum/reddit-warrioring on what to upgrade, most will jump straight into DH focused tires, like Maxxis Assegai & Minions etc, that are pigs to pedal around and super heavy to boot, so...moot.

If you are thinking into getting in MTB, this is not a bad bike. It is not a great deal, but this is indeed a good "do it all" starter. Other options to keep in mind in the same class would be the Polygon Siskiu T7 (or T8 if you want to stretch the budget), the Giant Trance 29 3 or Trance X for a bit longer travel. The Trance 29 (non X) is probably one of the more pedal-friendly FS designs you can find (and it is not DW link). For a bit more $, you can also look into an Alloy Rocky Mountain Element for more XC-ish trail, or RM Instinct for bit worse pedaling, bit better DH performance. Specialized doesn't make something much better than the Stumpy for pedalling before you jump to an Epic Evo, which ofc is much saltier in price. The Status is more of a cheap enduro bike, i.e. definately DH oriented and if you ride a lot, will be tiresome. If you are a weekend warrior, riding once a week or so for 10-15mi, it matters less. If you ride a lot of miles a week, getting the zippier, lighter bikes becomes more important (and you put down the miles/experience to tackle staff without the help of lots of suspension travel).

Finally, just to finish my morning rant, a significant portion of the people who can afford even the 2K bikes like this, are in their mid-30s or even 40s. and up. Unless you have a lot of experience in MX or were riding 10y ago MTBs etc, might get intimidated by "teh gnar", the jumps and the steep DH in blue and black rated trails, or at least I know this is the case in SoCal and other areas. So over-biking to "be ready" for when the "heroics" come into play, is too often the case. Too often I see people on mid/long travel Pivots or Specialized enduros etc, and they ride mellow blues that I know are easily rideable on a Chisel or even a well shorted gravel bike...they are people my age, that know that they have to go to work tomorrow and cannot afford the "heroics"...duhh...so don't go too far into the "not good enough" critiques. Get a bike that can grow with you, but be realistic and realize that maybe your ceiling is far lower than that of the bikes, so overspending on stuff you will never need will only be useful for flexing to your friends, not actual riding. This doesn't mean "go HT, no need for FS", FS is easier and more forgiving = safer for beginners to learn on, I strongly believe that, but little bit gan go a long way. You don't need the stupid-expensive bikes to enjoy cycling, just like you don't need a Porsche or a M3 to enjoy driving.

Cycling is amazing, decompressing on even easy fire roads is amazing, MTB can be risky as you see in YT but doesn't need to be and is a low-impact exercise vs. running etc. Much better for your joints if you don't have the muscle structure to support it or already have strained joints. Look into it.

"this bike is no good because it's not a different bike" is really flawed logic.

The truth of it is that 4-5lb difference on a full suspension is no big deal at all. Could that make a 8 second difference on a 5mi loop? Maybe. But who cares? And if your legs are getting tired you're getting stronger.

I say this as a previous "weight weenie". I was convinced a couple lb was some huge difference and it just simply isn't. You want good construction, smooth suspension response, and a bike that fits you.

You know what it costs for those few lb difference (like the difference between having a full VS empty water bottle)? Like 2-3 thousand dollars. My HT is 21lb and my FS trail bike is 29lb, and both are damn fun to ride. After years of buying into the "weight is everything" I upped my miles driven and stopped worrying and learned to love the ride and not the performative BS of pretending an average starting mountain biker would ever find substantively negative impacts from a couple lb bike difference. The enduro people have it right - build it stout and resilient. Those pro enduro folks have bikes well over 30lb and they are professionals. These days I hear weight complaints and all I think is "casual".

25% off MSRP pricing from top level MSRP (there are different levels publishable by dealers and cost given to dealers depending on their volume and relationship with Specialized, this being directly from them) is not what I would consider good. Now, good used to be 50-55% off but I haven't seen much near that post-COVID.

If your going to spend over $2 on a bike and new to the game find a used Yeti ASR or SB 5 It's a discontinued model of Yeti but rides so good! Plus they hold there value. If you can spend it go new and try looking at the SB 115.

I've never seen a specialized bike for 50% off, not even floor models, returns, last year models, none. Canyon might do that kind of inflated MSRP pricing, but Specialized generally does not. I might agree that Specialized is often quite overpriced for what you're getting, but to suggest that anyone waits for a 50% off deal on a Specialized is just bad advice, because you're going to be waiting forever.

Why the haha? Marin makes a well respected mt bike. Look at their team riders, wins, and report back.

But no xc Epic on sale.

I've never seen a specialized bike for 50% off, not even floor models, returns, last year models, none. Canyon might do that kind of inflated MSRP pricing, but Specialized generally does not. I might agree that Specialized is often quite overpriced for what you're getting, but to suggest that anyone waits for a 50% off deal on a Specialized is just bad advice, because you're going to be waiting forever.

"this bike is no good because it's not a different bike" is really flawed logic.

The truth of it is that 4-5lb difference on a full suspension is no big deal at all. Could that make a 8 second difference on a 5mi loop? Maybe. But who cares? And if your legs are getting tired you're getting stronger.

I say this as a previous "weight weenie". I was convinced a couple lb was some huge difference and it just simply isn't. You want good construction, smooth suspension response, and a bike that fits you.

You know what it costs for those few lb difference (like the difference between having a full VS empty water bottle)? Like 2-3 thousand dollars. My HT is 21lb and my FS trail bike is 29lb, and both are damn fun to ride. After years of buying into the "weight is everything" I upped my miles driven and stopped worrying and learned to love the ride and not the performative BS of pretending an average starting mountain biker would ever find substantively negative impacts from a couple lb bike difference. The enduro people have it right - build it stout and resilient. Those pro enduro folks have bikes well over 30lb and they are professionals. These days I hear weight complaints and all I think is "casual".

That's where I got mines too lol btw do they have any carbon xc ht frames? I was thinking about the Arc but that ain't xc geometry or it's a better deal ion a complete xc bike? They need to update website but they never do why??

this is a stumpy though, not an epic.