Submitted by
Wocketman
a Racer
from Woolwich, Maine
Date Reviewed: October 16, 2011
Strengths: Great geometry and power transfer, not too heavy, cheap, durable.
Weaknesses: A little heavier than carbon or light alu, but not much!
Bottom Line:
I first did a mtn frame with 700c conversion on my GF's Kona Muni-Mula, which worked so well that I did it on my Fisher Supercaliber Alu. I raced that last year and it wasn't bad however the frame was getting worn out (rear wheel hitting brake pads a lot). So I found a 95/96(?) tange prestige Stumpjumper SC in a nice tiny 13.5" for a mere $70. Just raced my first race on it yesterday in Portland and it ROCKS. Great handling at low speed (important!) and very stable on fast sections. I'm very happy and the "Frankenbike" gets a lot of comments...;-)
Similar Products Used: Fisher Supercaliber (94 or 95?), Specialized Rockhopper (beater bike)
Bike Setup: Set up as cyclocross bike: AC ti BB, Redline 170mm cranks with 38T single biopace ring, Crank bros pedals, Bontrager carbon seatpost, Specialized Romin road seat, Bontrager stem, Easton EA70 bars, Sram Rival shifters/deraillers, Origin-8 700c carbon fork, Zipp 303 front wheel with Tufo Primus Flexus, 26" (of course) rear wheel with Schwalbe 26" CX pro tire, Sram Red 11-28 cassette.
I always wanted a Stumpjumper and was dissapointed when they became all alu framed until this frame turned up on eBay and I had to have it. Since building it up it has surpassed all my expectations. The ride quality is superb with the way the back end just floats over the terrain, ok the power transfer is not as quick as with alu but the benefit really kicks in on a long ride with no fatigue.
I love the way people look at the bike with jealousy, even those on state of the art full suss models.
This is a bike for purists who love the feel of steel!
Ive been an avid rider since 1992 and got my first Stumpjumper that year, a used 91 model, which cracked at the downtube and was replace under warranty with a '94 model, no problems. For the past 8 years ive had a 95 Stumpjumper, which uses oversized tubing in the front triangle and is a little heavy at 4.8 lbs for an 18 inch frame but rides very nicly, stiff and responsive yet compliant. ive used it for racing xc and downhill (not recommended, obviously) commuting, training and everything else. ive considered replacing it with something lighter, but have never really been able to justify it as it performs so well. the frame is made in japan with Tange Prestige tubing and is quality workhorse that'll propably last forever.
Bike Setup: old school stuff: XT thumbshifter, XC Pro 46/36/24 cranks, XT and LX components, Manitou 4 fork
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
John
a Cross Country Rider
from College Station, TX USA
Date Reviewed: October 29, 2002
Strengths: light frame, great feel
Weaknesses: none
Bottom Line:
I stared out with a 350 dollar Specialized Hardrock in 2000. I have managed to break or bend everything on the bike except the frame. As I break it I replace it with upper end parts. I know have a 25lb. extreme Hardrock that's built better and lighter than the new aluminum Stumpjumpers.
Bike Setup: xtr, raceface, easton carbon, sun 0degree lite rims on xt
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Greg
a Cross Country Rider
from Atlanta, GA
Date Reviewed: September 16, 2002
Strengths: Excellent shock absorption and stiff tubes (characteristically steel). Excellent geometry for both climbing and descending (see long top tube), non tapered seat stays, looks good, best fitting bike I've ever ridden. Almost weirdly light considering its material and it's 21" size.
Weaknesses: The pink "specialized" and "rockhopper" decals don't quite match the frames forest green powder coat, if you know what i mean. It was also pretty difficult to find a good fork for the one inch head tube.
Bottom Line:
This bike weighs in at 25 pounds, which i consider exceptional for its size and its bomber construction. Its handling inspires confidence and it climbs marvelously. I find myself being surprised at the end of gnarly climbs by this bikes simplification of the ascent; in short it makes climbing a pleasure, not a chore.
Bike Setup: Rockhopper steel frame, titec hellbent riser bar and seat post, marzocchi atom race coil with ecc, xtr 8 speed drivetrain with xt brakes and shifter/levers, salsa rims with xt hubs and salsa skewers, truvativ hussefelt cranks with race face chainrings and truvativ isis bb, speedplay frog pedals, schwinn sweet roll tires
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
matt
a Cross Country Rider
from Sydney.AU / Amsterdam.NL
Date Reviewed: February 20, 2001
Strengths: perfectly tuned tubeset, lightweight, well balanced geometry, 'steel feel'
Weaknesses: 1" head tube no cable routing for v brakes
Bottom Line:
This bike has become an item that i could never part with - it seems to have out-lasted several generations of new bikes amongst my friends and still ends up the lightest, fastest, most compliant and well balanced bike of the bunch. I have used this bike all over the Northshore when i lived in Vancouver, in North Washington state, and all over the trails around Sydney (inc Mt Kiera) and have found it to be ultra reliable and suited to almost any riding condition that i can find. I don't do major drop offs, but will ride down anything else i can find (i probably should learn to wheelie drop in), i climb everything from 1200m ascents to steep technical sections and I grind the big ring on the open firetrails, and the bike simlply performs in all situations.
I believe it is a US hand made frame, using a custom drawn triple butted tubeset, originally from Tange prestige. It is hard to imagine a finer frameset than this one - i mean who makes bikes like this now? It also seems to be as tough as nails, almost impossible to dent, let alone break. The rear end seems to be the perfect balance of plushness to stiffness -it's simple tubes are beautifully welded into a very very fine geometry which makes the bike always feel fast, balanced and controlable.
For some reason, it always ends up lighter than my friends' new Aluminium bikes (cannondale, jamis etc), despite the fact that i have it built to be quite trail worthy... I once had it down to ~21.5lbs in rigid form and I intend to return it to that state after i buy a new bike this millenium. If anyone has any clue what I should buy next, please email me! (i am coveting the RM Slayer at the moment, but will probably build it up lighter than it is spec'd)
Despite being a beautifully made bike, it is not an overly precious object like a titanium bike - this 'steelness' makes it all the more rideable, practical, likeable. I am keeping this one.
Similar Products Used: Trek OCLV, Kona Kiluea, Specialized FSR, various Cannondales, Giant ATX, Giant NRS, Jamis Komodo(?)
Bike Setup: 94/5 S-WORKS frame, 8sp XTR drive train (rapid rise), gripshift, 96XTR crankset + hubs, XTR v brakes, Judy XC's w speedsprings, titec hellbent riser bars, Syncros stem, Thomson seatpost, Ti beserker saddle, mavic/syncros rims, IRC myhtos 2.1's.
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Steve Railing
a Cross Country Rider
from Burlington, WA
Date Reviewed: January 28, 2000
Strengths: Stiff but with a sweet ride
Weaknesses: ?
Bottom Line:
I bought my 16.5 inch Stumpjumper FS in 1994. It cost me $1150 !!! I know, that was alot but at the time front forks were new and I HAD to have one! I'm a-tellin you I have NEVER regretted it. This bike is still running the stock Future Shock (from Rock Shocks) I change the oil twice a year with motorcycle 7wt fork oil. I've worn out probably 5 sets of components (I ride year round in the Pacific Northwest). My Stumpy is a technical hound! It loves the tight and twisty steep stuff but I can still push it to keep up with all but the very fastest dualy riders on the downhills. I recently changed over to a riser bar and I like that too - seems to help on the downhills. I recommend Specialized Chromo Stumpjumpers to anyone. Wish they still made them.
Great frame for the price. It handles well on single track, and it feels lively, yet soft on drop offs. The only gripe is the weight (around 28), but then again those self sealing tubes add a whole lot of weight. I figure the lightest you could get this bik to is about 23-24, but you'd have to spend a lot. Great deal though.
Submitted by
Jared
a Cross-Country Rider
from Durango, Co
Date Reviewed: September 14, 1999
Strengths: Stong as hell. This thing will last forever. Lifetime warranty.
Weaknesses: The weld quality isn't to great. Also about a half pound to heavy.
Bottom Line:
This thing is worth the money. Its really inexpensive but you can't go wrong because it will last forever. The weight is a bit much but thats the difference between a $450 Rockhopper and a $1600 IF.
Submitted by
Chris Nikkel
a cross-country rider
from Canada
Date Reviewed: February 26, 1999
Bottom Line:
I bought a '95 Rockhopper Comp for a great price. I've been riding it hard since day one and have only had to replace my bent handle bars, and now I bent the forks. The CROMO frame has taken a real hard beating and kept on ticking. It's a 21 which is a little big and makes it a bit slower in the turns but handles like a cadillac. The original components were on the cheap side but the frame is awsome.
Submitted by
Jon
a cross-country rider
from Minnesota
Date Reviewed: February 15, 1999
Bottom Line:
I ride a 95 StumpJumperFS. The frame is tange prestige (4130 chro-mo). My 18 frame weighs 4.8 lbs. The ride is resilient & comfortable, a real sweet ride. The geometry is the Specialized profit race geometry. The combination of the feel of steel and the not to extreme geometry makes it fun to ride for long hours. It handles very well in technical single track and feels very stable on fast descents. My bike is LX/XT with a Rock Shox Mag21 and weighs 26.5 lbs. Therefore it is to heavy to be a serious racing machine. I posted this because a mail-order shop is selling these frames for $127 (spring 99). For a single track trail bike this frame is great and I would buy it again in a heartbeat.
Submitted by
TeaBag
a cross-country rider
from sf,ca
Date Reviewed: February 13, 1999
Bottom Line:
I have a 1991 Stumpjumper cromo right before the suspension fork era. The bike is stiff everywhere and twangs stiffly at stutterbumps and everything else, but on large hits, it is quite comfortable. The 'square' chainstays make for an efficient climbing machine. This frame has been through rain, mud, fog, and salt air for 8 plus years and it still feels great. The best thing about steel is how it feels on the road- smooth as butta, but it flexes like a muscle with snap. THe geometry is a bit steep and twitchy at high speeds offroad, but good at less than 20 mph. This frame is durable with all 1991 DX parts, Mag 20, and clipless pedals- wuth no superlight parts, it weighs a solid 27.0 pounds (circa 1991). This IS the good ol' bike!
Submitted by
N. Dough
a cross-country rider
from San Francisco, CA
Date Reviewed: January 27, 1999
Bottom Line:
I've had a CrMo '96 Stumpy A1-FS for about two years now and have had no success in keeping the stupid grin off my face whenever I ride. I guess my attraction started with a rigid Hardrock Comp years ago.Being an inveterate tinkerer, I've replaced almost all of the stock LX parts with XT or better and am now waiting on what I hope will be a sweet wheelset.Ride On!
N. DoughYou're sitting on your brains, dude. Your Stumpy A1 frame is ALUMINIUM, not chromoly, learn how to read!How come this great sport of ours attracts so many illiterate idiots? Just read some of the reviews on MTBR!
Submitted by
David Van Win
a weekend warrior
from Johannesburg Gauteng South Africa
Date Reviewed: January 22, 1999
Bottom Line:
I have a Specialized Rockhopper 97 bought it in the UK from GRIPS in Rayleigh since then i stripped it and replaced the components with XT / XTR and Mavic 517's as well as an RST Mozo Comp this bike will let you get away with murder and is very forgiving Specialized have done an Excellent job the only time i would get rid of it would be for something like the S-Works or the M2 SJ anyway all in all an damned fine ride.
Scott finished up his stainless steel fatbike frame today.
Check out the photos:
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