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Specialized
Stumpjumper FSR XC
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Submitted by
Jeff
a Downhiller
from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Date Reviewed: January 14, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Gnomalizer | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$1600.00 | | Purchased At: | Revolution Cycle | | Strengths: | Great Geometry for XC, climbs like you're on a rocket. The stock components at the price point were impossible to beat at the time. Show me another bike for the price that had lockouts front and back and weighted under 28lbs stock? The bike at the price point is geared to beginner/intermediate riders that ride only once or twice a week that do not ride overly aggressivly and wanted to try out racing for the first time with one or two races in a season. | | Weaknesses: | Minimal seat height adjustment due to the interrupted seat tube, paper thin stock tires and tubes used to keep the weight down in the showroom and completely useless on the trail (a Specialized trademark!), cheap front fork not up to the task at all. In the first month I ruined the rear wheel, broke the rear shock mounting bolt on the connecting link, crushed multiple bearings in the linkage, and blew the Manitou Axle fork seals. Granted I was doing small jumps and drops no larger than 2 to 3 feet on it, the bike was not designed for this. So, I gave this bike the benefit of the doubt to it's unreliablility since I was riding this bike aggressively and not for its intended use so I fixed everything and kept riding it but never left the ground (keeping in mind its intended use). Low and behold, I blew the fork again, bent the shock bolts, crushed the bearings in the linkage! This time I knew the bike was not meant for an aggressive XC rider either! | | Similar Products Used: | Rocky Mountain Expert, Rocky Mountain Element, Schwinn S10, Santacruz Bullit x 2, Santacruz VP Free | | Bike Setup: | Replace the Axel Fork in the first year to a Float 100 R which couldn't keep oil in either, replaced the Avid V-brakes with Hayes Comps, Replaced the stock post with a Thomson. | | Bottom Line: | For an aggressive rider that wants a XC race bike that can double as an all day epic/enduro type bike look elsewhere. Keeping in mind that this was not the right bike for my riding style I wouldn't recommend this bike for the intended mountain bike rider either. I find the initial impression of a great spec for the price point to be an illusion and the old saying that "you get what you pay for" rings true. I found out in short order that this bike was not designed to leave the ground. Since fixing the first month of riding abuse I dished out, I finished the season on it with a 3rd place in sport in the over 19 category at the National XC finals at Whistler in 2003 and have ridden it no more than 100 hours in 4 years since because it was trashed! I did and still do attack downhills and rolling sections of trail with lots of square edge hits and rocks typical of riding in the mountains on this bike once or twice a season but I'm prepared to have to rebuild it after ever couple of rides since I can't afford another bike, but I have now learned that it was only meant for riding to 7-11 and back. So if you see a used one for more than 100 bucks don't buy it. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jason
a Cross Country Rider
from Chicago, IL, USA
Date Reviewed: December 10, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$1200.00 | | Purchased At: | Village Cycle Center, Chicago | | Strengths: | Great frame geometry and four-bar suspension linkage works well, especially under breaking. Fun to ride either racing or trailriding but stay away from big drops (that's what trashed my stock front wheel). | | Weaknesses: | Component group; XT and LX just don't cut it. Pedal bob in rear due to older shock; wasted a lot of energy on hills and starts. Chain suck; not horrible, but just every once in a while to remind me. | | Similar Products Used: | 2001 Schwinn Homegrown (hardtail) w/SID World Cup, SRAM XO rear and grip shifters, XTR front, Mavic 717 rims w/XT Hubs, Easton EC70 bars, MG60 Stem, Selle Gel Flite saddle, Time ATAC Carbon Ti pedals | | Bike Setup: | SRAM X.0 rear derailleur and grip shifters, XTR front derailleur, Mavic 717 Rims w/XT Hubs, Fox Float R shock (stock), Duke fork (stock), Mich Comp S light tires front and rear, Time ATAC Carbon Ti pedals. | | Bottom Line: | Solid bike for the money with the upgrades. Stock derailleurs (XT rear and LX front) were junk; those were the first to go. I rode this bike for a full season of XC racing, some endurance rides and over 2000 miles of training rides with only one (other than two flats) mechanical breakdown (a snapped master link on the chain due to crossing from big ring to big cassette too often). Otherwise this bike ran great, just the usual needs for adjustments and tuning. It even performed great in mud thicker than oatmeal that dropped other riders from two nasty races. Rear shock linkage (bushings) wore out midway through season but I couldn't get the bushing sleeves out, so that replacement waited until the end of the season. I had to replace the lower rear shock mount bolt after it bent (too much pressure in the shock over some big drops; that was my fault).
I'm keeping this bike to race next season with a few upgrades. I just put on a Fox Float RP3 shock, SID World Cup fork w/Remote lockout, and Kris King headset. After winter, it will also get a new BB and cranks (either XTR or new Truvativ; the stock ISIS BB lasted longer than I though it would) and carbon bars. Also have a set of Crossmax SL's waiting to go racing. All of this should bring it close to 24 lbs. Even with these upgrades, it's still a good value given the initial price. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
C
a Cross Country Rider
from Texas
Date Reviewed: August 7, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | erwin | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$1100.00 | | Purchased At: | plano | | Strengths: | Great bike no problems in 2 years. The only thing I have replaced is a chainring and the seatpost to a Thompson. | | Weaknesses: | few weak points. Very durable | | Similar Products Used: | Specialized FSR 99 | | Bike Setup: | stock with thompson seatpost | | Bottom Line: | Great bike I would recommend it to any one I know. I see other riders with similar bikes that love their rides too. this bike makes you a better rider immediatly and makes you want to go to the trail. The Specialized line offers a great bang for the buck, with a quality frame that can be upgraded. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Josh
a Cross Country Rider
from Berkeley
Date Reviewed: February 1, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | China Camp | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$1400.00 | | Purchased At: | Solano Cycles | | Strengths: | Light and responsive | | Weaknesses: | Unreliable, fragile, low clearance | | Similar Products Used: | Hard tail stumpjumper | | Bike Setup: | Stock | | Bottom Line: | While it was a great bike to enter into the world of FS, this bike needed to go to the shop after almost every ride. At 185 pounds I thought this bike could handle the most of the single track around the SF Bay but it was a unreliable monster. From brakes to wheels to crank case the only thing that didn't break on this bike was the frame. While this may be a good bike for cross country racing, it can't handle even moderate downhill single track. A weeny ride. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
hanktoberfest
a Cross Country Rider
from newark
Date Reviewed: June 24, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$1600.00 | | Strengths: | light | | Weaknesses: | components | | Similar Products Used: | bianchi single speed | | Bike Setup: | avid discs, rhyno wheels | | Bottom Line: | I hate this bike! Ride after ride this bike fails me. Right now I'm at 50% reliability, every other ride something goes wrong. Granted it's not speacilizes fault if a shimano component breaks but they do bear some responsability. I have so much F***ing money tied up in this bike and it sits broken most of the time. I have never had properly working deraullers since day 1. The wheels have fallen apart. the rear swing arm had a bolt that got sheard off, probably manufacturer defect or somethin. I have been thru chains, cassettes, rings, bottom brackets, cables. I've even put on a bash guard for the rings and I still bent the middle ring a few days ago, how? I don't know. Those crappy tires are wothless and are paper thin. The handle bars are junk. The headset sucks. It used to be pretty light before I started putting on heavy duty components in a attempt to keep it reliable. I ride about 3 times a week and I would not consider myself "extreme" by any means. I bought the bike to extend my riding time and to do some light racing. I few months ago I bought a used bianchi single speed for $250 and now I barely touch the stumpjumper and when I do it breaks and leaves me walking miles back to the car. I should have never bought this bike. Maybe if I was only biking on paved pathway would this bike be acceptable, anything other than that forget it. As far as maitanance on the bike I clean it after every ride and lube the chain. I have never been a mait. freak but this bike has forced me to spend an additional 15-20 minutes cleaning it up after every ride, even with minimal dirt and grime I'm forced to clean it every time. Maybe it's just my bike but I have been cursed with non-stop problems. I will never buy another specialize! My single speed gives me about zero problems, is alot more fun to ride and I believe it may even be a faster bike. I'm pulling off the parts that I've put on and I'm selling it for probably a huge loss but I don't make alot of trump and I cannot afford to let that bike sit there doing nothing. I had some cheap $200 GT before this bike and it was 1000% more reliable, my friends would get tired of my bike breaking on a ride and they would get on me to ride my old GT, thats pathetic specialize! I would give this bike a negative chili for all the grief it's caused me. Yesterday the chain snapped with such force that it went flying into the woods never to be seen again, thus leaving me stranded 5 miles out with no chain. It was the first time I have ever picked up a bike over my head and heaved it, not very rational. So if I'm throwing a bike I'm defeating the purpose of going out there in the first place and that is to have fun. Oh yeah that was the first ride since it was overhauled AGAIN at my local shop. FU specialize! | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Lee Kline
a Cross Country Rider
from St. Pete, Fl
Date Reviewed: June 20, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | Good Frame, good balance, resonable light-weight quick handling | | Weaknesses: | Very low bottom bracket clips your pedals on everything, rear end tends to hop like a ht on steep fast decents. | | Similar Products Used: | Gt i drive, kona ht | | Bottom Line: | I have had this bike for nearly a year and has held up great even though the components are starting to see some wear. The bike handles good but the stock setup needs to be tweaked with a little right off the bat. First off get rid of the 80mm fork and upgrade to a 100-125mm in order to raise the bottom bracket up. If you stick with the 80mm you will clip your pedals on every little fricken rock on the trail. I changed to a manitou black 100-125 and this solved the problem, now the bottom bracket is 13 inches. The rear susp. is nice but tends to bottom out at times on rough decents which makes the bike bounce like a pogo stick. Might need to up the air in the rear shock to solve the problem. I'm 190lbs and run about 155psi will try more pressure. The rear susp. also doesn't soak up bumps as well as like the gt i drive but then again the Specialized is more of a racing rig than a trailbike. If you ride fast trails that are relativly smooth the specialized is the way to go. If you ride steep technical narrow singletrack might need to go to something with a little more travel. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Been- jammin
a Cross Country Rider
from Menlo Park, CA
Date Reviewed: March 13, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Steam Donkey at El Corte de Madera | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$1300.00 | | Purchased At: | Aggieland Bikes in College Station | | Strengths: | Frame, 4-bar design with cartridge bearings - no flex, little bob, smooth ride, stable geometry especially on DH for a XC racer, surprisingly competent Duke XC (my other fork is a Zoke BAM 80) | | Weaknesses: | tree-trimming handlebars, improper seatpost, heavy rear wheel/cassette, deathwish tires, can't find a H2O cage that works at seatpost position as I loose bottles if they aren't tied on with a toestrap | | Similar Products Used: | tried 'em all - FSR XC was the absolute best bike for my needs and a great value | | Bike Setup: | Thompson seatpost, XT cassette and chain - great improvement in shifting, Rolf Propel tubeless wheels for racing, lizard skins on shock and chainstay, Easton EC-90 carbon bars and bar ends (you'll need them for climbing steeps to keep the front end down even with Thompson 0 degree seatpost) | | Bottom Line: | This bike will make you faster on all trails, especially DH compared to a HT. No more back pain, ride all day w/o fatigue. This is the one for endurance racing. I took it to Keystone in summer and was faster on it than on a rental freeride bike on all but the Black Diamond runs. Needed better brakes on the mountains... disks would be nice, but changed to XTR V's. Get the Thompson seatpost with clamp for laid back seattube angles. This bike rocks! 5 chilis for overall, 4 for value due to a couple poor components. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Gaston Rebuffat
a Cross Country Rider
from Los Angeles
Date Reviewed: December 28, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Beaver | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$900.00 | | Purchased At: | Superblo | | Strengths: | Climbing, XC. Good parts spec for the price overall. Duke XC, Fox Float R | | Weaknesses: | Seatpost, Stem, other house brand crap | | Similar Products Used: | Fuel, Kokapelli, Sugar, etc | | Bike Setup: | Hayes Discs, XT hubs, Thomson post, Easton Stem | | Bottom Line: | I've ridden this thing for over a month now and overall it performs well. I gave in and swapped out the post though, because the seat tube angle is only 69 and sets you too far back. You need to take back about an inch by getting a post with no layback. The crappy stem was annoying too- flexed and looked weak on an otherwise nice bike. Thomson doesn't make a 0 degree rise so I went with Easton. Stout stout stout. After changing out the tires, wheels, brakes, stem, post, bars, it is a very nice package now. Luckily all the bad things about the bike were easily fixable, keeping all the strengths.
The Duke up front works well and is sufficiently rigid. I don't miss the lockout in the rear at all. Watch the seat post though- you'll nail your shock if you have it protruding from below the seat tube. Also, invest in a shock boot in the rear. The thing acts like a fender and is continuously coated in mud. Not good for it. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Gaston Rebuffat
a
from Los Angeles
Date Reviewed: December 18, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$900.00 | | Purchased At: | Supergo | | Strengths: | Price, Value, Rockshox Duke, Frame | | Weaknesses: | Everything Else | | Similar Products Used: | Sugar, Yeti Kokapelli, Epic, Fuel, etc | | Bike Setup: | Hayes discs, titanium flat bars, Sun/XT wheelset | | Bottom Line: | Just FYI in case anyone's interested, Supergo is blowing out the 02 Specialized bikes at pretty good prices. I was going to go with the FSR Disc for 1499, but then found the base model for 999. They are the exact same spec except for the brakes (obviously) and wheelset and rear derailleur (XT for XTR). I talked them down to 900 after producing my old frame which was a house brand hardtail which broke at the headtube. I took the extra 600 bucks and picked up the Hayes hydraulics and a XT/Sun disc wheelset for 380 (on sale on their site), new bars, tires. I now have a better bike than the FSR disc for about 100 less, and still have an extra wheelset I can sell on ebay for even more cash. Anyway, back to the bike. The frame is solid and Specialized seems to have all the bugs ironed out by now. The rear and front shocks aren't adjustable except for air pressure and rebound, but the feel fairly well adjusted from the factory. There is noticable bob in the rear, but I'm coming off a hardtail, so I'm probably not used to it yet. As far as the seatpost issue, I haven't had a problem with it yet, but may try the 0 offset Thompson as everyone seems to rave about it. Other than those issues, I have nothing bad to say about the bike yet. The durability will manifest itself after a few months...
Bottom line: good value, good performance, but it's an unfinished painting. Be prepared to finish it with component upgrades. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Warren Steele
a Cross Country Rider
from Durban, South Africa
Date Reviewed: November 25, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$1500.00 | | Purchased At: | Alameda Cycles, San Francisco | | Strengths: | Well finished
Fantastic handling
Active suspension with negligible bob | | Weaknesses: | Wide bars
Rockster Pro tyres
Avid brakes
Heavy and wide bars | | Similar Products Used: | Fisher Sugar 3
Trek 7000 | | Bike Setup: | Thomson Elite seatpost
Roll X tyres
XT brakes
Handlebars chopped to 600mm | | Bottom Line: | This is my second review after 6 months of riding. Generally the bike has been fantastic, especially in technical singletrack. Tried an Easton EC70 bar but front felt too wippy and kept lifting on steep climbs. Chopped the original bar down to 600mm and this feels better. This has effectively reduced some of the the effect of the 9 degree sweep and feels okay so far. The Rockster tyres were light and quick but you have to have your finger out in turns. Very little traction. Tried Specialised Enduros which handled great but too wide for the chainstays. Now on Specialised Roll X's which fit well and seem to be a compromise between the two aforementioned tyres. Have not riden enough in varying conditions too comment on them. Swopped the seatpost for a Thomson Elite as the general consensus is that the original seatpost was incorrectly specced. The feel is certainly different and my initial impression is that the bike feels more responsive. Need more riding too decide whether this is my imagination or reality. The Avid brakes gave me the runaround. The levers seemed rickety and I could never sort the sttings out on the caliphers. Have traded these for XT which are performing well and look better anyway. Suspension is great. In the sprint there is negligible bob and while there is a litte more in seated climbs it is hardly an issue. The bike has never felt spongy and both rear and front shocks are great. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dana Jurgensen
a Cross Country Rider
from Spokane
Date Reviewed: November 5, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Not possible | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$1300.00 | | Purchased At: | Markee's Cycling Center | | Strengths: | Great suspension design, lightweight | | Weaknesses: | Low bottom bracket, funky wide bars, seatpost, tires | | Similar Products Used: | First full suspension bike, previous hardtail:Zaskar w/USE post | | Bike Setup: | Thompson straight seatpost, Titec titanium bar, Flite ti saddle, IRC tires, mostly XTR components. | | Bottom Line: | The bike handles pretty well once you swap the bars and seatpost. I tested the Comp, but didn't feel I needed the lockouts though the Fox fork was awful nice. I basically bought the bike for the frame, knowing that I was going to upgrade most everything else, and swapped most of the parts with a dealer. Sprinting on the FSR is like slow motion compared to my hardtail, but lap times are quicker due to the increased pedal time through the rough and comfort on the descents. The fork, though heavier than my Mars, is more stable through the rough. Low bottom bracket makes catching a pedal a daily routine and makes for some wild action sometimes. The frontend wanders a bit on the steeps and I don't think my positioning is off, but maybe a stem swap would help. Definitely threadlock the stem bolts, they loosened up on one outing. I'm pretty pleased with the bike thus far and plan on upgrading the wheel setup for racing next spring. If you want to experience a quality full sprung ride, or your back can't take the XC course on your hardtail anymore, I'd recommend this bike. Value rating 5 and overall 4 chili's due to funky bars and seatpost setup. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
david gray
a Cross Country Rider
from Plano, Tx.
Date Reviewed: November 1, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Any | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$1500.00 | | Purchased At: | Plano Cycling | | Strengths: | Product design | | Weaknesses: | Parts mix | | Similar Products Used: | Various fully active and semi-active designs. | | Bike Setup: | Stock with the exception of bars, brakes, tubeless conversion, and seat post. | | Bottom Line: | This is a follow up report after having ridden the bike for nine months. Excellent ride quality and durability. Just a great overall performing frame. Excellent handling. A straight block seat post similar to the S works version sharpens the handling dramatically. Don't care for the stock bars too much sweep. Now that I have the susp. setting dialed in it rides like it's on rails. Bottom bracket developed an annoying creak. Simple fix, Plumbers putty on the bottom bracket threads, end of problem. Best do all frame I've yet ridden. This frame begs for the technical stuff. I race it locally from time to time and just about every other bike on the line is some version of this bike. I am very pleased with the overall everything about this bike. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Austin McFly
a Racer
from Winnipeg
Date Reviewed: October 26, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | LaRiviere | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$1600.00 | | Purchased At: | Woodcock | | Strengths: | good climber
wins races
comfy ride=fun
looks damn good | | Weaknesses: | tires suck
bottom bracket creaky? | | Similar Products Used: | rocky element
devinci moonracer
specialized allez comp(road) | | Bike Setup: | all about gripshift
| | Bottom Line: | i never want to stop riding / racin this bike
n the chicks dig it too | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Derek
a Cross Country Rider
from Indidnapolis, IN USA
Date Reviewed: September 24, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Town Run | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$1099.00 | | Purchased At: | Mathews Bikes | | Strengths: | Killer Frame
Duke XC Fork
Solid Design | | Weaknesses: | WeakArm II (errr. StrongArm II)
tires (lack of traction)
| | Similar Products Used: | Sugar, euroracer, etc... | | Bike Setup: | Factory with the exception of WTB velociraptor kevlar bead front and rear tires. Time Atac pedals | | Bottom Line: | This bike is sweet. I am really starting to get used to it. The first thing I noticed on the trail was how quickly the tires drifted and the lack of traction going up steep inclines. I swapped the factory tires out with WTB Velociraptors. I have complete confidence in these tires. I have ridden the bike for around 2 weeks and the StronArm II is already talking to me. I initially noticed it barking at me under a bit of strain going up hills or whatever. Now when I pedal it creaks and chatters. I plan on replacing that out with the Race Face Next LP. The bike is unusually light for a FS and it handles extrememly well on descents. I am overall happy with the bike, just know if you are going to purchase it you will need to upgrade a few components.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Nick Davison
a Cross Country Rider
from London, GB
Date Reviewed: September 15, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$1075.00 | | Purchased At: | Dee's cycles | | Strengths: | Lovely ride, great shocks. | | Weaknesses: | Shifting isn't what it might be, seatpost a little strange, handlebars too wide, tires are laughably bad | | Bike Setup: | Stock until the bike shop opens tomorrow and I replace the stem, tyres, and rear shock | | Bottom Line: | OK, so I'm riding on a loose, pebbly downhill when I start to feel the tyres give. I start dabbing the breaks, and this does nothing, I dab them some more, still nothing, and then I reach hard earth, the front wheel grips and locks and I flip right over and cut my back and arm so much that some guy riding past insists on calling an ambulance, only stopped by the fact that we're in the middle of woodland. My bike lands about 10 feet away. Those tyres are a health hazard! Change them. Don't do what I did, and test them out first.
Now, apart from that, I'm happy. The seatpost goes back a bit far, not sure if that's meant to be the case. The shaocks are very good, like the other people say, a lockout would be nice, but not essential. The stem is a bit extreme for me, but that's personal preference. The frame, the soul of the bike, is very good indeed, and the whole thing's very light.
The bottom line is this: There are very significant things wrong with this bike, but they can all be fixed with a little money. The really important things that can't be changed so easily work like a dream. Despite my bad experience, and the fact that I'm having concerns about the LX, I still rate it at 5, but with a 4 for value, because it needs work to reach its potential
PS: Don't let your seatpost come out from the top half of the tube. Even if it doesn't look like it, you'll damage your shock, and void your warranty.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
George Vazquez
a Weekend Warrior
from Florida
Date Reviewed: September 3, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$1400.00 | | Strengths: | rock shox duke, fox float r, Big bang for the buck | | Weaknesses: | Tires are real poor no traction. Handlebars are way to wide and flat. I find myself hunching over to much with the 10 degree rise in the stem. | | Similar Products Used: | trek 930 single track HT | | Bike Setup: | Easton high rise monkey lite handlebars, thompson stem with 15 degree rise, XT crankset,XT bottom bracket, Mavic cross max ust rims, WTB Veloci Raptor Tire (awesome grip)
| | Bottom Line: | For the price the bike comes with alot of mid to high end
Components. It has a great ride with the changes I made to the handlebars and stem. One of the problems I ran in to was the bottom bracket. After every ride there would be a grinding noise, my local bike shop would grease it up and it would go away for another ride or two. They also advised me that it might be water, and to be careful not to spray it with force when cleaning the bike. that turned out NOT to be the problem, so I changed the bottom bracket and guess what? Problem solved. The mavic cross max were a bit of a over kill but I got a good deal (625.00) I also upgraded the crankset to XT. love the bike great handling
and the front/rear shox are awesome. I give this bike overall 4 flamin Chilis. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Sandman
a Cross Country Rider
from Pompano Florida
Date Reviewed: August 30, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | Tested or demo'ed only | | Purchased At: | Rented In No Carolina 2 days | | Strengths: | Very fast downhill, handling, XT group, great fork | | Weaknesses: | Climbing was not a strong point. seat post folded way to easy, the tires seemed fine untill I found some mud then they got real scetchy | | Similar Products Used: | Giant Ranier with xtr/xt drive(my bike), also Giant NRS3, Giant Warp2&3 (both suck), , Santa Cruz SL, Schwinn Mesa GS | | Bike Setup: | Stock except for my Titec seatpost (lucky it fit!!) | | Bottom Line: | I On a recent trip up to Tsali North Carolina I broke my Fork, or should I say DESTROYED it on the secont trail ride of the first day! Thus the need for a rental. I was NOT happy about traveling 850 miles to rent a bike. This soon faded away and turned to BIG FREEKIN SMILES!!!
I'm a Big Guy 6'3" and 230# So FS bikes and me dont get along well.I know what your thiking, another BIG A$$ FLATLANDER HARDTAIL rider, whocares!!!
All I can say is this bike rocks! Excluding the climbs, I went farther and WAY FASTER than I could have on my HT or any of the other FS bikes that I've ridden, I did have to adjust to the climbing though. I was slower here but feel it was me or the set up. With the proper set up and some saddle time I feel like I could relly improve with this bike. So much that as soon as I got home I started planing to buy one!!!
If your a larger guy looking for a FS bike that will do it all, Big Air, fast DH runs and Great handeling this may be the BKIE!!
I did not buy the bike so my rating is somewaht subjective due to the seatpost failuer, but who kwows waht happened to the bike before I rented it! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Craig
a Cross Country Rider
from Incline Village, NV
Date Reviewed: August 26, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$1400.00 | | Purchased At: | Bob's, Sacramento CA | | Strengths: | Great suspension design, minimal bobing. Light & well spec'd for the money. | | Weaknesses: | Stock tires are crap-o-la. Bars are too wide. I'd like to see it come stock w/riser bars | | Similar Products Used: | Jamis Dakar Comp, GT LTS1, Rocky Mountain Element | | Bike Setup: | Cut bars down 2" & swapped out tires right out of the gate. Rear shock is in 90 mm setting. | | Bottom Line: | This bike rides like bikes that are much more expensive. I had some initial problems as you can see from my review below. Once I got the bugs worked out I've had no complaints. I've ridden some friends bikes that cost $1000 more than the FSR. Amazingly I've liked my bike as much or better than the more expensive ones I've tried. For the money this bike is damn good. I've seen a few bikes at this price point that are spec'd a little better, but not much...I'll probably get a 100mm or adjustable travel fork when I have the $$. The duke is great, I just want a little more travel.
Bottom line: It climbs and descends very well. Yeah the descending, did I forget to mention that? It's FAST and super stable. You'll be going downhill faster immediately. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
darren
a Cross Country Rider
from new zealand
Date Reviewed: August 9, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | fast, light, responsive, great value for money since it was an orphan that had sat in the shop for a while. | | Weaknesses: | weird handlebars, nasty seat, extreme offset seatpost considering seat tube angle, joke tyres, average wheelset. | | Bike Setup: | standard equipment except 3t wave handlebar, rooxs seatpost, IRC mythos 1.95 tyres, old style crossmax wheels, SDG seat, SRAM 9.0 cassette, lizardskin on chainstay and rear shock. | | Bottom Line: | terrific handling, light, climbs beautifully with almost no bob with rear at 180lbs (I am 180lbs) and spinning rather than pumping. Descends and handles rough ground at high speed. Stay in the saddle much more than hardtail. Brakes extremely well, rear stays stable and contacts ground. Coming up to obstacles at speed I think 'this will never stop in time!' but it does.
Horrible noise from chain slapping on stay and rear deraillier banging on lower pivot. fixed with long lizardskin which I slide over pivot on RHS (just remember to pull it back after a wet ride to prevent water hanging around pivot.
low rise bar was a must as could not have bike leaving shop with crazy banana bar. only rise of about 1 inch to retain a racing stance.
Used a cheap comfortable seat as was not going to subject my undercarriage to the body geometry torture seat.
rooxs seatpost has to be raked over to max adjustment to cope with the seat tube angle, but i understand that this is part of the magic geometry of this bike. cockpit position is now perfect.
loses 1 chilli for some tragic accessory choices | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Shawn
a Cross Country Rider
from Colorado Springs, CO
Date Reviewed: August 3, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$1500.00 | | Strengths: | The frame is awsome! Front shock is bomb proof! 4 bar rear is as close to an Intense as I can fork out... | | Weaknesses: | Tires,.....Tires......lets see, what else? TIRES | | Similar Products Used: | 1st full suspension bike I've had! | | Bike Setup: | ClubRoost 2 1/2 in. riser bars - Kore shorty rise neck-XTR front/rear brakes - WTB speed v seat - Time ATAC peddles-WTB velociraptors front/rear - Curve brake brace - and a few cool stickers (they make you go faster ya know!) | | Bottom Line: | This is a great budget bike! The ride is so smooth! I bought this one because I had all the parts from my old bike, so it made no sense to pay for parts on the high end moddle. And it's the same frame anyway! As this being my first full suspension, I don't have anything to compare to but I love it anyway! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mark M.
a Racer
from St. Augustine,FL
Date Reviewed: August 2, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Hardrock | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$900.00 | | Purchased At: | American Bicycle | | Strengths: | Smooth travel, light weight, good value for the level of components, top quality frame material (M-4), last years S-Works. | | Weaknesses: | Wide and heavy (220g) handle bars, body geometry saddle (not my bodys geometry), tires are worthless in most off road conditions, but very fast on the road.
Drive side crank bolt loosened up several times, even with locktite applied.
Drive side pivot bolt looseden up and backed out, causing damage to inner chain ring, (same as some other reviewers), shop replaced the chain ring & locktighted all pivot bolts and crank bolts, hopefully no more problems. | | Similar Products Used: | Specialized A-1 Aim, Trek Y's, C'dale Jeckels, and various hardtails | | Bike Setup: | Bontranger FS-10 saddle, IRC Notos tires, Lizzard skin on chainstay and rear shock, bar ends, Time ATAC's | | Bottom Line: | The bike is made for speed. It holds its lines well both on climbs and decents, only problem was with predictability in corners, that was due to poor tire choice. I race on mostly hardpack limestone trials in Florida, and these tires give little warning when they are going to break loose in corners. I found myself washing out in corners where I never had problems before. Swithed to IRC Notos, and have no control issues to date. Who came up with the idea of a freeride-ish 220g, 9' sweep bar for a cross country race bike? I have not switched bars, yet, but did cut off 1' on either side. The bars make my hands numb, by putting too much pressure on the outside of my palm, due to the 9' sweep. Overall I love this bike, it looks great, accelerates quickly and takes anything I dish out to it. By the way, this was a warrenty replacement for my 1998
A-1 Ground Control full suspension that I raced on for 4 years. I gave my old broken complete bike and got the new FSR for about 1/2 price. Thanks Specialized, | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Matt Walsh
a Racer
from Spring Tx. U.S.
Date Reviewed: July 31, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | cypresswood | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$1350.00 | | Purchased At: | bike lane | | Strengths: | everything good brakes good shifters good shocks good ride and a highly enjoyable ride make this a bike i could alwas have | | Weaknesses: | the tires they have almost 0 traction when the muddy stuff comes | | Similar Products Used: | specialized 2000 rockhopper xc | | Bike Setup: | stock with new tubes in the tires | | Bottom Line: | good all rounder good for eneyone that wants to go fast and be able to do it well it is very adjustable in the brakes and suspenstion so you could set it up just bout eney thing you wanted | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Warren Steele
a Cross Country Rider
from Durban, South Africa
Date Reviewed: July 26, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Howick, KZN | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$1450.00 | | Purchased At: | Alameda Cycles, San Francisco | | Strengths: | Duke xc shock
Comfortable cockpit
Saddle
Quality finish | | Weaknesses: | Rockster Pro tyres 1,9"
Crankset
Wide bars | | Similar Products Used: | Tested: Giant NRS XTC, Fisher Sugar 3+. | | Bike Setup: | Standard componentry with 25% sag set upon front and rearshocks (70kg rider), Specialized Enduro Pro tires. | | Bottom Line: | This bike is well finished, relatively light, has a responsive feel and instils confidence in a rider. Both front and rear shocks perform beautifully. The bars are wide but after being cut down are quite comfortable and offer positive control. I have had no complaints about the seatpost as many have and wonder what all the fuss is about. My riding position is correct and comfortable with the offset seatpost. The saddle felt hard initially but after a few long rides I have decided that it is the most user friendly of the five saddles I have tried in the past 2 years. The crankset creaks badly and seems to be flexing under hard pedalling. I changed my tires to Specialised Enduro Pro's and feel that they are more suited to cross country as they are more forgiving than the Rocksters. I took some hard knocks on the rims with the 1,9" Rocksters intalled. Generally I am very impressed with the bike and look forward to getting to know it better in the coming months.
This bike is well suited to a rider looking at getting into some fairly serious x-country riding. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tony
a Weekend Warrior
from Beckley, WV
Date Reviewed: July 22, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$1350.00 | | Purchased At: | mail order | | Strengths: | Best riding FS out there. The four bar linkage is the only way to go. Nice components for the money. | | Weaknesses: | Stock saddle feels like riding a brick. The bars could be a little shorter. | | Similar Products Used: | Giant NRS (test rode) | | Bike Setup: | stock except for Terry saddle | | Bottom Line: | This bike is a super value. It's very close to the top FSR at a fraction of the cost. I wanted a fully active suspension with minimum bob and I got it here. I was happy with the deal I got as well. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Craig
a Cross Country Rider
from Incline Village, NV
Date Reviewed: July 15, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | the one I'm on | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$1400.00 | | Purchased At: | Bob's, Sacramento, CA | | Strengths: | Light for the price. Great suspension design. | | Weaknesses: | The stock tires are crap,long handlebars, Specialized Front hub, fox rear shock | | Similar Products Used: | Jamis Dakar Comp, FSR Enduro, GT LTS | | Bike Setup: | Michelin rear, IRC front tire. Cut bars down 2" & set in 90mm travel before I left the shop. The rest is stock for now. I'll upgrade as things break/wear out. | | Bottom Line: | I swapped out the tires before my fist ride. Problem #1 Before I even hit the dirt I noticed that the front hub was "clunking" and had play in it. When I brought it in, I was told that the hub was bad and the bearings wouldn't seat properly. They had to send it back to Specialized. It took 10 days to get a replacement(not bad since the shop gave me a loaner front wheel to use). Problem #2 I had them set up the shock at the shop. After two rides I noticed it was low. I pumped it back up and went for a one hour ride. When I got back the shock was super low again. I can't blame Specialized for the shock leaking air but to have a BRAND NEW bike have the shock leak and the front wheel be defective is very frustrating. In the middle of summer I'm left bikeless when I'd normally be riding 5 days a week. Normally I'd have a back up bike but my hard tail was stolen.
Let me just offer one piece of advice. Buy your bike from a local shop. I bought in Sacramento because I'm moving there next month. But if I want to get service now, which usually wouldn't be necessary on a new bike, it's a total pain in the ass.
I give two flamin' chili's for overall rating until I have the bike back and can actully ride it. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
David Nixon
a Cross Country Rider
from NewJersey, USA
Date Reviewed: July 10, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Mercer County Park | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$1300.00 | | Purchased At: | Guy's Cycles | | Strengths: | For the price, it has great componants and a solid frame, VERY light for full suspension | | Weaknesses: | no lockout on the rear shock, stock tires are kinda narrow and cheezy for my tastes | | Similar Products Used: | K2 Launch 4.0, Giant NSR-3, Cannondale Jekyl 600, Trek Fuel 80 | | Bike Setup: | WTB Velociraptor 2.1 tires, Liberator seat, everything else is stock, but I plan on adding Avid disc brakes | | Bottom Line: | What a nice bike! I am 6'4" and 220 pounds, and was riding a Trek 4900 hardtail, and decided to move to a full suspension bike. This thing is light, it is FAST, and it works very well so far, no complaints. For $1300, it was the best bang for the buck I could find. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Scott
a Cross Country Rider
from Murrieta, CA
Date Reviewed: July 10, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | San Juan Loop | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$1300.00 | | Purchased At: | LBS (I.E. Bikes) | | Strengths: | Great components for the price; excellent frameset; best rear suspension around for a mass-produced bike. | | Weaknesses: | Now that I've replaced the tires, seatpost, and chain, none. | | Similar Products Used: | Trek Fuel, Cannondale Jekyll | | Bike Setup: | Stock with upgrades: Panaracer Fire XC tires, Thomson seatpost, XT chain. | | Bottom Line: | This is a follow-up to my earlier posting:
This bike keeps getting better and better every day. I replaced some 'less than adequate' components, and now this thing really cooks! I gained better grip and confidence by replacing the stock tires with Panaracers. I gained a better riding and climbing position by replacing the seatpost with a Thomson straight-block seatpost. I gained shifting efficiency by changing the chain to a HG-93 XT chain.
Look, the stock components work well. You get quite alot for a little $$. Plus, the stock bike out of the box, weighs less than 26 lbs. You can't beat that!
If you want a great bike that you won't have to rob a bank to get, get the FSRxc. If you own the bank, get an Ellsworth. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Weekend Warrior
a Cross Country Rider
from Toronto , Canada
Date Reviewed: July 8, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Hardwood Hills | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$1466.00 | | Strengths: | Geometry, weight, speed, great handeling | | Weaknesses: | handel bars, seat post, front chain rings are soft. | | Similar Products Used: | Sugar 3+, Fuel 90 | | Bike Setup: | replaced stock handel bars with risers, Dukes @ 135 PSI, Fox @ 235 PSI - my weight is 175 LBS. | | Bottom Line: | Absolutely a great bike - great handeling, speed and suspension. The handel bars were the first to go, and now the seat post squeeks?? plus it doesn't adjust forward enough for a more aggressive stance. The front chain rings keep bending inward for some reason. Besides these minor issues - this bike makes me a better rider. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Bikes 'n Hockey
a Cross Country Rider
from Fort Collins, CO, USA
Date Reviewed: June 25, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Hewlett Gulch | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$1425.00 | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | Lightweight, strong frame, easy upgrades later on | | Weaknesses: | Crank, Rock Shox Dukes | | Similar Products Used: | Gary Fisher Sugar 3, Schwinn Rocket 99 (2001 model), Trek Fuel 90 | | Bike Setup: | stock | | Bottom Line: | This is a great cross country bike. I ride at least twice a week on a variety of trails in Northern Colorado. The dual suspension works very well on cross country terrain. The only time I notice any bob is when I put a lot of torque on the pdeals, and only if I am on pavement. This bike climbs like a goat, assisted by excellent gearing components (Shimano XT). The only problem I've had with it is with the front crank. I have had some problems shifting the chain onto the highest cog. Recently, the chain got stuck and bent the crank. I will replace the crank. This is the only problem I have had. It would be nice to have a rear shock with a lockout option, but for the money this bike is an unbeatable deal. The Rock Shox are also labor intensive. Keep them clean and they won't give you problems. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Flash
a Weekend Warrior
from Michigan
Date Reviewed: June 23, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Burchfield | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$1400.00 | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | Frame,ride,everything. | | Weaknesses: | None for price | | Similar Products Used: | Just about everything. | | Bike Setup: | 100mm Duke,90mm back. Other bike stuff. | | Bottom Line: | Buy this bike, put on some of your favorite parts in spots you feel are weak stock and add up your total. It still cost
less than aany bike close in quality. And the abng for buck is off the scale. If you want to spend more than go ahead! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Brad Walters
a Racer
from Durango, Colorado
Date Reviewed: June 21, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Anywhere in Colorado | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$1600.00 | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | -Duke XC front fork kicks ass; very stable when climbing,
yet soaks up the bumps on downhill.
-Fox rear shock
-lightweight
-good components
| | Weaknesses: | -seat post and handlebars too long | | Similar Products Used: | Cannondale Raven SL 1000, Sugar 2+ | | Bike Setup: | Stock | | Bottom Line: | This bike is super fast for XC racing. Personally, I used to be in the lower 1/3 of my team on team rides and races. Now with the weight of this bike and it's drivetrain, I've moved to about the middle of the pack. Really did make me faster.
Awesome bike. Feels and performs like a hardtail, only more shock absorption on the downhills.
Get this bike if you're a racer looking for a bike with excellent handling and no sacrifice on downhills.
4 chilis for value - I had to get a new seatpost, front derailleur, and stem. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Brad Bijold
a Weekend Warrior
from Denver, CO, US of A
Date Reviewed: June 20, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | all of them | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$1400.00 | | Purchased At: | BikeSource | | Strengths: | Great feel. Very agile and it really wants to go fast. Really fast! Four bar linkage is where it is at. I could not find a better design out there. Fairly good component mix for price. | | Weaknesses: | That stupid seat post. Not only is it too far back, it creaks. It is gone soon. The tires are ok, but will be replaced with another design when they are done. Cut handlebars before I even left the store so they are ok now. | | Similar Products Used: | Test rode: Sugar, Fuel, NRS 2, and Dakar. All are good, but the FSR takes the cake. | | Bike Setup: | Mavic 223 with XT disc hubs and XT disc brakes. A little heavy, but well worth it. Best brakes ever!! (Make sure you cover the hoses or they will eat your paint!) | | Bottom Line: | I bought this bike because of the feel. It is smooooooth. Takes the small stuff like a champ and even eats up 3' drops on Porcipine Rim. The bike makes me faster. I would recomend it to my freinds as long as they changed out the seat post. Great ride.
Anyone looking to go FS should give this bike a chance. You simply cannot beat it for the price. If you are like me and have disc brakes to put on the bike, do so. If not, consider the disc model.
Has anyone got the kit to change the Duke to 100mm of travel? If anyone does, write a review and let me know how it works. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Terry
a Weekend Warrior
from San Antonio
Date Reviewed: June 18, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$1500.00 | | Purchased At: | Planet Bike | | Strengths: | What I Love:
Frame design
Fox rear shock
Overall feel
What I like:
Duke XC
Saddle
| | Weaknesses: | What I dislike:
Tires
Seatpost
Rims
Handlebar
Stem
What I hate:
Brakes
crankset / chainrings
The whole "E-type" BB, front der setup
| | Similar Products Used: | Sugar 1, the old hardtail (Fisher Tassajara) Test rode Fuel 98, Santa Cruz Superlight, Sugar 3+ | | Bike Setup: | Panaracer fire XC pro tires, Marzocchi Xfly 80, Easton Monkeylite riser, Chris King Wheels, Bontrager Racelite ceramic rims | | Bottom Line: | When I was ready to upgrade from the old hard tail to FS it seemed a foregone conclusion that a Sugar would be my bike. I loved my hardtail. But when I test rode the Stumpjumper, I loved it immediately. The ride is crisp and agile. I can cruise along at tremendous speed; the feeling is like floating... until I clip a tree because I'm watching the bunnies. :)
It climbs well, and the handling is amazing. The Duke is nice, and the Fox is sweet.
I nearly killed my self the first day I had the bike - those tires are not suited to the conditions that I ride in. Or perhaps I'm still inexperienced, and need tires that have more grab. Either way the tires were gone the first day, and the improvement was tremendous.
I couldn't get real comfortable in the cockpit until I got a riser handlebar. The rims seemed to need truing often (I'm 190lbs.) There is a long sad-then-happy story about how there came to be a Marzocchi front fork on this bike (e-mail me if you are curious), since I really do like the Duke. But the Marzocchi is an upgrade and feels such. Part of the sad-then-happy story includes me tooling around on a Sugar 1 for several months. The Sugar had Syncros cranks that I can only describe as *Butter* In comparison, the Specialized cranks feel like tin foil, and the shifting can be clunky- generally annoying.
3 turds for value - for 1500 bones one shouldn't have to deal with proprietary crap, house brand junk, and parts that just plain suck.
4 turds overall because the ride really is nice.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Chris
a Cross Country Rider
from Evergreen
Date Reviewed: June 10, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | That one in Colorado | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$1400.00 | | Purchased At: | Bikesource | | Strengths: | Excellent suspension, roomy cockpit, extremely solid feel, light for FS in this price range. | | Weaknesses: | Handle bar waaaay to wide, chain smacks chainstay constantly on rough downhills. | | Similar Products Used: | Sugar 3+, Giant XTC NRS2, Jamis Dakar Comp | | Bike Setup: | stock except new riser bar, lizard skin on chainstay (helps quiet the ride), 230 rear p.s.i. | | Bottom Line: | I love to ride this bike! Since swapping the handlebar, I'm even more thrilled. Tires aren't that bad except on sandy trails or steep rocky climbs. Can ride much farther and feel better than on the old hardtail. Super solid feel on fast descents. If you enjoy long XC rides or are a budding racer, this bike is a good fit! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Hank Irving
a Cross Country Rider
from Danville, VA USA
Date Reviewed: June 4, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Douthat State Park - Blue Suck Falls | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$1450.00 | | Purchased At: | Cycles De Oro | | Strengths: | Rear suspension, frame sensitivity, weight, Rock Shox Duke (damn good fork for stock), avid brakes are decent. | | Weaknesses: | Body geometry seat (starting to tear for reasons I am not sure of). Handlebars are a bit wide. | | Similar Products Used: | Fisher sugar 3 | | Bike Setup: | Stock! XL and XT Shimano. Rear suspension set at 75 mm with 210 psi. Front fork 80 mm. | | Bottom Line: | I am in love with the FSR XC. It is the most agile bike that I have ever ridden. It handles well and the specialized stock tires do not deserve the rider wrath that they have been given. If this version of the stumpjumper had the SID rock shox on the front, XTR crank and disk brakes, I would need for nothing more. If you have an extra 600$ purchase the FSR XC Pro. If you dont, the FSR XC will treat you just fine. I LOVE MY BIKE! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Chris Boyle
a Weekend Warrior
from Phoenix, AZ, USA
Date Reviewed: May 15, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | South Mountain | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$1300.00 | | Purchased At: | SuperGo Bike Shop | | Strengths: | The Rock Shox Duke XC front shock is awesome for any type of riding. Lightweight and easy to ride. | | Weaknesses: | None Yet. | | Similar Products Used: | Rode 2001 Stumpjumper and similar GT models. | | Bike Setup: | 2002 Specialized Stumpjumper FSRxc | | Bottom Line: | The Bottom Line is this bike is a great buy. You get a great frame, front shock and components. The bike is very manuverable on trails and offers a good ride. I have only had the bike for a couple of weeks, but I find myself wanting to keep riding and riding when I go out. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
scott
a Cross Country Rider
from colorado springs, CO USA
Date Reviewed: May 7, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Smuggler, Aspen | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$1400.00 | | Purchased At: | Criterium | | Strengths: | Solid company/service/parts, lightweight bike, competitively priced fs. | | Weaknesses: | Like others, I too found the handlebars too f*#ing wide. Had a shop chop 1" off either end which made an incredible difference in handling. Also like others found tires to be crap, but a simple fix. Had a hard time getting used to f.s. coming from a hardtail, esp. on the climbs, but put about 210 psi pressure in rear fox (i weigh 165), got stiffer biking shoes..problem solved. Enjoy it more and more each ride. | | Similar Products Used: | Sugar 3. Rocky Mountain Hammer. Trek Fuel. | | Bike Setup: | Stock plus frogs (lighter, more float), shorter stem. | | Bottom Line: | Takes getting used to, finding it better with each ride. Chop handlebar down 2 inches, replace stem w/shorter..rides much better.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Brian McRae
a Racer
from Austin, TX USA
Date Reviewed: April 30, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Warda | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$1450.00 | | Purchased At: | Bicycle Sport Shop | | Strengths: | Light for a fullie. Frame geometry is sweet for a tall rider. Fox Float R is awesome. Duke XC's were a pleasant surprise. | | Weaknesses: | Stock tires are crap-ola. Front handlebars have too much sweep. Front chainrings are waayyy too soft - you really gotta baby the shifting or you'll bend teeth left and right. | | Similar Products Used: | Trek Fuel 90, Gary Fisher Sugar 3+, Various POS... | | Bike Setup: | Michelin Widegrippers; Shimano 545's. Will replace seatpost, handlebars, and front chainrings. Everything else stock. | | Bottom Line: | This bike is an absolute rocketship. Handles exceptionally well in tight singletrack, climbs like a goat, and is very forgiving. Excellent value for the $$. Great for tall and/or big riders (I'm 6'3", 215 lbs) but you gotta max out the air pressure in Fox Float to get the sag right. 4 chiles overall, only because the tires are terrible and the front chainrings are unusable. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jak maz
a Weekend Warrior
from Rochester, NY
Date Reviewed: April 26, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | the one I am ridng | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$1450.00 | | Purchased At: | Park Ave bike | | Strengths: | Frame design and performance. RS Duke much better than anticipated. | | Weaknesses: | House brand parts.They all are plain Bad!! | | Similar Products Used: | HT Stumpjumper, Enduro, Idrive | | Bike Setup: | Panaracer fire( front) Smoke (rear), Thompson seatpost,Monkeylite riser, The rest is stock(for now) | | Bottom Line: | Proven design that delivers as always. Medium weight FS that can be used for a little of evrything. I was very close to buying the enduro, but I think the FSR is still a better spinner. Its the rider, not the bike. Not a "freeride" machine, but can handle more than I can.
First, burn the stock tires. They are not good for a single thing. Next, the seat post, handelbar and stem are all wrong geometry for this bike.Duke is ok.
No matter what rig you have, you will wind up swapping something for your individual taste. So, I went for a frame that is spot on,knowing I would be upgrading.
Overall, Awesome!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Eva
a Weekend Warrior
from Austria
Date Reviewed: April 20, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$1600.00 | | Purchased At: | local store | | Strengths: | lightweight, brakes, rear suspension system | | Weaknesses: | fork (Manitou Comp Coil Diva) - coils too hard, tires, saddle | | Similar Products Used: | trek 90 WSD, several Giant fullies, KTM XCA 2 (all on test rides), several hardtail | | Bike Setup: | conti explorer 2.1, avid mag, saddle:selle san marco aero | | Bottom Line: | This is a review for the ladies' version - slightly smaller frame and other fork as the men's version. In my opinion it's the best value for your money out there. Top frame, best suspension system, lightweight,the avid mag are even better than the stock sd3. And (as I'm just 5'4") finally the right size available. Only the fork could be better (a Manitou Elite perhaps) but for the price it's okay. And the riding experience: just great. I feel a lot safer on singletrail, my back doesn't hurt even after 5h in the saddle and I think I'm also faster than on my old hardtail (same weight)- the stumpjumper fsrxc is just so much more fun. I love it and recommend it to every girl who wants a fast and efficient bike that's also comfortable for long tours. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Sledge Foot
a Cross Country Rider
from W. LA
Date Reviewed: April 2, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | Good mix of Shimano and Avid components.
Very little peddle bobbing. | | Weaknesses: | Hard seat, very uncomfortable.
Stock tires not as good as they should be for a bike in this price range. | | Similar Products Used: | Rocket 88, I-Drive , and some inexpensive hardtails. | | Bike Setup: | Stock. | | Bottom Line: | A good bike for my type of riding: local trails, some whoop de doos, and commuting. A great upgrade to riding hardtails.
Very little peddle bobbing on climbs. WIth the exception of the tires and saddle, I have no complaints. Fork is fine and so is rear Fox air shock. The Avid brakes are strong. Love the suspension design. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Johnny Wad
a Weekend Warrior
from Minneapolis, MN
Date Reviewed: March 28, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Fastest Route to your Girlfriend's House | | Duration Product Used: | Tested or demo'ed only | | Strengths: | Quality frameset and ride (frame only). Big company name and product support. | | Weaknesses: | Poor performing fork, wheelset and seat post. | | Similar Products Used: | '00 FSR XC, Ellsworth Isis, '00 Heckler, '02 Superlight, '01 GT iDrive, various hardtails | | Bike Setup: | Stock setup. Large frame. | | Bottom Line: | Rented a brand new (as in just out of the box) SJ FSR XC (M4 frameset) to ride in mountains surrounding Phoenix over a 4-day weekend. Having owned a '00 FSR I was pleased with the cont'd evolution of this classic FS framset.
I was thoroughly disappointed by the fork (RS Duke XC) and wheelset (Mavic 221s, Spec Stout hubs). Dictionary definition of flexy. Note that I am a big rider and I did swap out my OE FSR fork and wheelset for a Zoke and Rhynolites, but for '02 the front end was like a flaccid wang. Far worse than the Manitou SX-R and similar wheelset that came on my '00 FSR XC which served me without fail until I replaced them with something more burly.
I thought the fork was literally going to fold back under the frame during hard braking. I could flex the rims with my hands, let alone pitching the bike on an angle or deflecting around in rock gardens. Simply scary and confindence robbing. The lateral and forward/back flex of the fork and lateral flex of the wheelset probably gave the bike I rode an extra inch of travel in EVERY direction.
The post is still crap too (formerly carried a Ritchey logo). Still the same in form and (lack of) function. I, like so many FSR owners, replaced mine with a Thompson.
I digress. Maybe I just got a lemon. I'm still a fan of the frameset, but found certain componentry badly wanting for such a well established brand/model at this pricepoint. Remains a tried and true FS XC race/everyday trail bike. Great FS climber - very efficient.
3 out of 5 on both counts. Not up to snuff with prior offerings. Hopefully my experience was an outlier... | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Scooter
a Cross Country Rider
from Murrieta, CA
Date Reviewed: March 5, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | San Juan Trail | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$1300.00 | | Purchased At: | I.E. Bikes (LBS) | | Strengths: | Good components, lightweight, excellent ride, affordable price, mellow paint scheme. | | Weaknesses: | W-I-D-E handlebar, OK tires, seatpost | | Similar Products Used: | HardRock A1 Comp FS | | Bike Setup: | Stock: RochShox Duke XC front, Fox Float R rear, Avid single didget brakes, XT rear derailler, Time ATAC clipless pedals | | Bottom Line: | Been riding my 'econo' hardtail for over a year, and it was time for an upgrade. What an upgrade! This thing is about as plush as it gets. Dial the front and rear shocks in and you're gone. No monkey motion while pedaling, like NONE! Climbing is effortless. No wheel chatter while braking. This bike does everything it says it will do, and then some. I would trade the super-wide handlebars for something a bit narrower and with less sweep. The 130mm stem should be swapped for a 110-120mm instead. Overall, a terrific ride that I would highly recommend. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
DAVID GRAY
a Cross Country Rider
from PLANO TEXAS USA
Date Reviewed: March 3, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | ANY | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | PLANO CYCLING/FITNESS | | Strengths: | DESIGN AND PARTS MIX. | | Weaknesses: | BARS HAVE TOO MUCH SWEEP. | | Similar Products Used: | VARIOUS FULL SUSPENSION | | Bike Setup: | STOCK | | Bottom Line: | Excellent handling bike, best manors of anything I've ridden. Fully active rear end rides like a dream. This is as close to a do all full susp. as I have ever ridden. I have yet to find a comfortable set up with the bars, they are a 9 degree sweep which is too much, a five degree sweep I think would make the bike more to my liking. Other than the bars not a thing I would change. They lengthened the top tube in 02 which made an already great bike even better. It's easy to understand why this bike has been around for so long. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Nils Jenson
a Cross Country Rider
from boulder
Date Reviewed: January 26, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$1700.00 | | Purchased At: | u bikes | | Strengths: | fairly light, pedal efficent, pretty consistant parts spec. has held up well since 99 | | Weaknesses: | i blew the air seal on the rear shock, that sucked, i changed the seatpost, got a beefer back wheel, and new handle bars, stem and seat. mine is a 99, so it came with a crappy manitou. i now have a Z2 BAM, it is so much better. | | Similar Products Used: | superlight, fuel 90, etc | | Bike Setup: | as stated above, i have a lot of new stuff, including xt shifters/ levers. i am planning on a new crankset/bb cuz i don't like the specialized stuff. i also have a new cassette, and a lot of small stuff | | Bottom Line: | this bike is great for what its made for. don't take any big urban drops like i did on it though. its not too heavy, the suspension is nice, and it takes the corners pretty well. this bike is definatelty worth the 1700 or something that i payed for it. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dan
a Cross Country Rider
from Rehovot, Israel
Date Reviewed: December 20, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Karmei Yosef Jerusalem Corridor | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$1800.00 | | Purchased At: | Mezman et Meruz | | Strengths: | light, stiff fork, nice wheels, rear supension, good stand over hight, handling on fast fire roads (where i ride mostly) | | Weaknesses: | crappy seat post , tire only suited to hardpack, horrible seat | | Similar Products Used: | first FS bike. rode a 1997 KHS comp,1990 Cannondale M-1000 | | Bike Setup: | stock, except for: USE Alien seatpost, Ritchey WCS 100mm stem, Answer Hyperlight bars & Hyperends & a King headset, plan to upgrade crank to XT and tires to IRC mythos when i have the money | | Bottom Line: | I have been riding hardtails for more than 10 years and still think they are great fun (especially the more expensive custom ones...) anyway this is my first FS bike which I bought with the intention of riding 20/80% road/off-road- mainly forest fireroads a bit of single-trek and for climbing. I preferd the FSR to the trek fuel, fisher suger, giant xtc etc because i think the frame is better value for money and i like upgrading the stock component to my liking. the FSR enables me to ride the same trails with less fatigue and it seems to be a lot faster too. with my KHS HT i came back a lot more exhausted from a ride. even for climbing i don't feel the suspension is holding me back. in all, i will surely buy an additional HT bike when i have the money (not in the near future....) because i like the stiff chasis for sprinting etc but for now the FSR is much more pleasurable to ride.
wait for an update in a few months. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Davis
a Weekend Warrior
from San Diego
Date Reviewed: December 16, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Noble Canyon | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$1300.00 | | Purchased At: | SuperGo | | Strengths: | 26Lbs, very tuneable with air shocks front and rear, Duke is very stiff, Very stable descending, Seems very tight, no lateral flex. | | Weaknesses: | In only slightly wet conditions I have gone through 2 Fox Vanilla Float R's...they wouldn't hold air long. SuperGo was great and got me going the same day. On shock #3 I put a lizard skin over the shock and I think that has solved the problem. Someone reviewed the Float and said it can't take the mud, 'it kills the poor thing' and that seems accurate. The shock's position also serves as a 'fender' and all the mud gets deposited there. So $10 for the Lizard Skin is a must. The cranks are squeaky and the crank bolt on the R side came loose every ride until the shop doused it in Loctite. It still squeaks though. Small things: the brake pads were weak, I traded the tires before I left the store.
This is my 1st FS and I hit the cranks/BB lots on technical climbing. | | Similar Products Used: | On paper I was getting the Fisher Sugar 3+ but the Black front shock was way, way too soft. At 205lbs I could bottom it hard in the parking lot test drive. It also weighed 2 lbs more for about the same price. I rode some Schwinn Rocket 88's...nicely spec'd but the rear looked too complicated, flexy and had 'phantom' gear changes when rear shock was depressed. I rode a FS cannondale in the price range but didn't feel like I got as much bike and don't love the headshock. I rode a Trek Fuel...not enough rear travel- | | Bike Setup: | Riser bars, higher stem, frogs, Botranger/WTB tires, 12-34 XT cassette, | | Bottom Line: | Great design, very light, and except for the rear shock it seems to handle some abuse on the trail. Good value for the weight compared to most others I looked at. I descend strongly and the bike seems rugged enough to take it. But I need all the help I can get climbing and this is the lightest bike I rode in this range and it shows. I still have'nt gotten the new technique for cleaning obstacles on climbs...hopefully that will develop soon.
4's on value is this is a lot to pay for any toy but compared to others it was a great value.
4's on overall only due to shock problems. The Duke has been a pleasant suprise. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Sondra
a Cross Country Rider
from Santa Barbara, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: December 3, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$1400.00 | | Strengths: | Great value! Cartridge bearings at the pivot points and M4 alloy frame. | | Weaknesses: | Tires. Not suited for loose or rough conditions | | Similar Products Used: | POS | | Bike Setup: | Stock | | Bottom Line: | This is a great parts package thats perform wells and will last. With an air fork and shock it's easy to set up for any rider's weight. Proven suspension design that remains active and climbs well. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
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