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Specialized
Stumpjumper M4 Pro
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Submitted by
mfDB
a Cross Country Rider
from Atlanta, GA
Date Reviewed: October 21, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | for this bike - tight, fast singletrack | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$850.00 | | Purchased At: | used | | Strengths: | Check out the date of this review...6 years after this bike was made. I bought it in 2003. Strong, fast, reliable. Great in singletrack, great at climbing. | | Weaknesses: | Not much. It's noisy. This bike is not made for super steep west coast stuff, but then no x-country bike is. | | Similar Products Used: | Cannondales, Giants, other Stumpjumpers, Azonic Steelhead, | | Bike Setup: | All XTR, Race Face carbon cranks, XT/Sun disc wheel upgrades. | | Bottom Line: | I've replaced a lot on this bike, mainly the Specialized components and the wheels (its been 6 years), but I've ridden this bike all over the country on all types of trails. I've been riding for 18 years and this is by far my favorite hard tail x-country bike. The SID still works like a charm with thousnds of miles and only 1 full Rock shox overhaul, and a few oil changes. If you see one of these used and want a sweet addition to your family - get it.... | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Aubrey Daniels
a Racer
from Atlanta, GA, USA
Date Reviewed: April 4, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$1200.00 | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | Super light. Acelerates like no other stock bike at this price range. | | Weaknesses: | Has a few cheap parts to swap out. | | Bike Setup: | Still stock, but the upgrades are coming soon. | | Bottom Line: | I don't think Specialized makes a stumpjumper pro anymore, and that's too bad. I tested out a lot of bikes before I got this one, and it was hands-down the best. Mavic 517s are really light, just try to get a 36 hole in the back. You can drop half a pound by upgrading your rear hub since it's just a Deore. The Ritchey seatpost sucks and will keep moving your seat more and more nose-up. The fork is light, but there are definately better handling forks. I got mine on clearance, and I'm really glad I did. At 1800 I would be less enthusiastic about it, but for what I paid, this bike is excellent. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
HG GH
a Cross Country Rider
from Idaho Falls, ID
Date Reviewed: December 29, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | any | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$1200.00 | | Purchased At: | Rock's Cycling and Fitness | | Strengths: | stiffness, quality, beauty | | Weaknesses: | some sqeaking in seatpost | | Similar Products Used: | everything | | Bike Setup: | XTR rear, XT everything else, Ground Control Tires, SID XC Fork, standard Specialized spec | | Bottom Line: | This bike was an odd story because I got it in 2001 when the S-Works was still an M4. I gave the guy notice a couple months early when I was going to buy it and I am pretty sure that he changed out some stuff such as the tires to something that he knew I used more than the Rockster tire. This bike is just absolutly amazing. A hardtail spec'd this well and this stiff for $1200 is unbelievable. The wheels on this bike are great, extremely low weight, beautiful performer. I rode this bike on every kind of trail and every kind of race you can imagine, and my only complaint that I could ever come up with is how stiff it was after riding FS for two years. SID XC is not the stiffest fork ever, but you have to make compromises and the stiff front hub made up for it. I still intend to ride a SID for the rest of eternity. Kudos to Specialized | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dude
a Cross Country Rider
from the land of the Fells
Date Reviewed: October 29, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Fells, blue hills | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$1475.00 | | Purchased At: | Wheel Works | | Strengths: | THIS BIKE KICKS ASS!!! so light and such good specs!! | | Weaknesses: | Stock fork weak for anything more than a curb, rear tire clearance | | Similar Products Used: | 2003 raleigh M50 | | Bike Setup: | Specialized stumpy pro panaracers, shimano m545's, and one brand spanking new Fox vanilla 125mm fork!!! BOO YEAH!!! | | Bottom Line: | This bike is so responsive it isn't funny!!! It accelerates like a ferrari on steroids. Sure the S-Works stuff isn't great but I have a fox fork! HAHAHAHA 125mm of buttery smooth all american machined metal!!! I got a wicked deal on this bike!!! $1475 with the fox fork!!!! I upgraded for only $75!! Wheel Works rules!!!! they match prices and everything!!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ian
a Racer
from Rothesay, New Brunswick, Canada
Date Reviewed: October 18, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$1800.00 | | Purchased At: | Darlings Island BIke Shop | | Strengths: | everthing | | Weaknesses: | cranks suck | | Bike Setup: | stock | | Bottom Line: | this is the fastest race bike. It is so stiff it rips through anthing with ease | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mark
a Racer
from Chesterton, IN
Date Reviewed: September 10, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$1350.00 | | Strengths: | Let's start with the heart of the bike, el frame. I must say I love the geometry, the harder you push the bike the better it responds. The stock wheelset is fine for expert racing unless you are a total weight weenie. Most of the stock components are fine, brakes are very nice. | | Weaknesses: | Prior to buying this make sure the shop swaps the cranks! The stock cranks felt like wet noodles under my legs (158 lb. expert rider) Come on, on this caliber of a bike I expect more. I swapped for some 2002 XT's and love them. Next, the 2002 SID'S are terrible, I blew 2 seals in 3 weeks, I am currently waiting for my 2003 SID replacement from Rock Shox.
Lastly, the stock tires are the worst I have ever used, only use them for road training. | | Similar Products Used: | GT Zaskar, K2 Zed Team | | Bike Setup: | All XT/XTR, Chris King headset, Time ATAC carbon pedals, titec bars and stem, Kenda Kharsima Lite tires. | | Bottom Line: | Sweet ride after some modifications, once I get the 2003 SID I will be back to a light weight XC machine. I currently have a zoch' on it so that added about 1.5 lbs.
| Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Bryan
a Cross Country Rider
from watertown New York
Date Reviewed: August 10, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | black river adventurers shop | | Strengths: | damn near everything | | Weaknesses: | fork, handlebars | | Similar Products Used: | stumpjumper fsr comp (full),exotech comp 4 pro?
| | Bike Setup: | stock except pedals and i am adding a suspended seat post | | Bottom Line: | super responsive, lightweight, fast,fast,fast. I somehow managed to blow out the neg. air chamber on the fork after 2 months. I could not stop riding this bike until the fork problem and now i just cant wait to get it back. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Marc
a
from Ottawa
Date Reviewed: July 29, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$1100.00 | | Purchased At: | Pro Deal | | Strengths: | Fast, light, durable, very responsive and nimble. Out of the box race-ready! | | Weaknesses: | Poorly spec'd minor components at the price. Throw those tires and that seatpost out!!! | | Similar Products Used: | 1995 Stumpjumper FS, 1998 S-works, 2000 S-works, 1999 supercaliber, etc. | | Bike Setup: | Thompson Seatpost, XTR rapid-rise rearD, Time ATAC Carbon pedals, XT crankset, Panaracer tires, longer stem, shorter bars, XTR V brakes | | Bottom Line: | Fist things first; it's been a wet season in the Great White North and the spec'd tires lasted 2 rides before I sold them both for $10 to someone who commutes on streets only. Anything more than commuting or riding very consistent and predictable hardpack, you will likely do the same as me. The seatpost is ridiculous (weight, strength etc.), for this bike and so are the pedals and I had both switched before the first ride. I also changed the crank-set due to a preference in length as the 15.5’ bike was spec’d with 170 mm, as opposed to 175 mm. On my older bikes I never had a problem with the Strongarm (II) crank-sets, though I notice better shifting with the XT chainrings.
I am a pretty big fan of the feel of Specialized bikes and their M class frames. In comparison to other bikes I’ve ridden, all of the Big ‘S’s hardtails have expressed excellent trail characteristics suited to my riding style; this bike is no exception. I have confidence throwing the bike down hills and pushing the larger gears. With the immediate power and steering precision, I am able to fly through twisty singletrack or technical rock-gardens where the well prescribed SID SL’s work their magic in keeping the front-end quiet and compliant to subtle steering corrections (and hey, I even use the Climb-it control thingy). The rear delivers good feedback and is stiff without feeling terribly harsh. One thing I have noticed is that there seems to be some lateral movement in the rear when I am pushing up steep climbs which is characterized by brake rub on the left pad. I am not sure whether this is due to frame flex, or the disk-brake-dished rear wheel.
One of the first things I noticed when I rode the bike was the amount of brake fade I had with the Avid brakes. The brakes are just not as punchy or precise as the XTR’s I had on the 2000 S-Works and I am currently replacing the Avids…This is too bad because I had high expectations of their performance.
Overall, this bike kicks butt! If you are looking for a bike that you can push the envelope with, this is it! The M5 was an option for me, but the price and minimal differences between the M5 and the Pro steered me towards the Pro. I could upgrade with what I saved and have a great bike in return. If you can’t upgrade, it is still a well spec’d bike for a hard-core XC rider. However, I wish Specialized would offer a more sensible component package for this price point, as most serious riders would dole out for similar upgrades.
3 burning sausages for value, due to components. 4 burning sausages for overall, due to the outstanding performance of the bike itself. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Roland
a Cross Country Rider
from Oosterhout-Nijmegen
Date Reviewed: July 19, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Velp/rheden - Groesbeek | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$2400.00 | | Purchased At: | Reerink Rijwielen Westervoort | | Strengths: | Light -> incredible light ,
A bike which can be driven directly straight from the shop without changing components to make is a star class bike!
Avid TI brakes, Hugi /mavic wheels strong arm all top class products!
| | Weaknesses: | not found yet
only the price difference between Europe and the states is the only weakness of this bike,
(more than $700) difference is to much! for the same bike.
| | Similar Products Used: | Wheeler 9990 easton varilight (driven for 4 years)(7 years ago) in the time between Mongoose VRS5.0 (fully) and now back with a hardtail | | Bike Setup: | Standard except,
Handle bar, replaced with Zoom AluCarbon downhill
Replaced XT shifters with GripShift Rocked 9.0 (Shimo I’m sorry about this, there is only one shifter and this shifter is called: Gripshift
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| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Louis
a Racer
from Ottawa,Ontario,Canada
Date Reviewed: July 10, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$1100.00 | | Strengths: | First the frame is pretty light and pretty stiff.Nice high quality components for the price.The geometry is really good. | | Weaknesses: | All the specialized parts on doesn't performed as well as they should, they also look like cheap imitation of good quality product like easton | | Similar Products Used: | Cannondale F-1000 | | Bike Setup: | Stock bike except for Spinergy SPOX wheels and a RaceFace next Lp crankset | | Bottom Line: | The bike is really a cross-country race bike right out of the box. It handles well in almost any condition.It also climbs like a rocket and goes down as fast too.All that because of a great geometry design.The bike could be even lighter if specialized would put easton handlebar, stem, seatpost instead of their own imitation. But still for the price you have an amazing cross country bike, even if you dont buy any upgrade components parts for it.So it's a really good value . | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mick
a Racer
from Sacto, CA
Date Reviewed: June 27, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$1200.00 | | Strengths: | Got an awesome deal on this bike and left me plenty of money to play with. Upgrades kept the weight about the same but parts make this bike this bike insanely fast and extremely responsive.
Saddle and post were the first to go. Ritchey post is junk (I now use it to pound out headsets), rear tire is scary on anything but hardpack. The tires weren't spec'd for racing, they were spec'd to keep the published weight down.
This is a follow-up review. After 6 months of riding, my opinion of this bike is stronger than ever. I raced it all season long and wound up with a 3rd place finish (got 10th on my last bike). Trust me, it was the bike. It gave me the edge I needed to pass other racers with ease on the uphills and keep up with the full-suspension guys on the downhills. You really will never know how good this bike is until you ride single track. It feels like the bike knows what you are going to do before you do it!
BUY THIS BIKE! If you are fortunate enough to come across a '01, go for it over a '02. '01 is the last year that Specialized built these in the U.S. Stumpjumpers are now manufactured in Taiwan.
| | Weaknesses: | Stiff, light, beautiful workmanship. Everything that made me decide to buy another stumpjumper hartail and more! | | Similar Products Used: | Headset, seatpost, Rear tire. That's it. | | Bike Setup: | Spec'd to the max: SID SL, RF Next LP ISIS cranks, RF Signature XC BB, Black spire 46-34-24 rings, FSA XC 200 stem, King headset, Hugi 240 hubs, thomson seatpost, Fire Pros, WTB Rocket Laser V saddle, Onza bar ends. 23 lbs | | Bottom Line: | Got an awesome deal on this bike and left me plenty of money to play with. Upgrades kept the weight about the same but parts make this bike this bike insanely fast and extremely responsive.
Saddle and post were the first to go. Ritchey post is junk (I now use it to pound out headsets), rear tire is scary on anything but hardpack. The tires weren't spec'd for racing, they were spec'd to keep the published weight down.
This is a follow-up review. After 6 months of riding, my opinion of this bike is stronger than ever. I raced it all season long and wound up with a 3rd place finish (got 10th on my last bike). Trust me, it was the bike. It gave me the edge I needed to pass other racers with ease on the uphills and keep up with the full-suspension guys on the downhills. You really will never know how good this bike is until you ride single track. It feels like the bike knows what you are going to do before you do it!
BUY THIS BIKE! If you are fortunate enough to come across a '01, go for it over a '02. '01 is the last year that Specialized built these in the U.S. Stumpjumpers are now manufactured in Taiwan. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Doug Vaccari
a Cross Country Rider
from East Cost Rider
Date Reviewed: June 17, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Anything and everything | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$1840.00 | | Purchased At: | Dave's Cycle's | | Strengths: | Nice weight,helps on climbs, the SID SL's are the best shocks you can by for XC racing other than the Carbons (which are a rip off),smooth ride | | Weaknesses: | Seat post, crank,handle bar is tiny | | Similar Products Used: | Gary Fisher SuperCaliber,Trek 9.8 Elite | | Bike Setup: | I put Bontrager Racelite Tubless wheels on, upgraded the XT hardware to XTR, put on a thomson seat post. | | Bottom Line: | This bike is made for the rider that wants performance and low weight. Aside from some of the weaknesses I mentioned this bike is worth it. And for all of you looking into a XC racing bike and were considering this or the S-Works I think you should know this. This bike and the S-Works hardtail weigh the same yet the S-Works costs 1,000 more.
GREAT BIKE but not for the guy who's looking for a mountain bike for his kids birthday.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Gari
a Cross Country Rider
from Bath, UK
Date Reviewed: June 12, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | That would be telling ! | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$1085.00 | | Purchased At: | Private / 2nd Hand (as new) | | Strengths: | Light, tight, well-mannered and damn good looking.
Fab 'As-Is' for just jumping on and having a burn ( but see weakness for upgrades). Climbs like a whippet on steroids and is so precise on the twist downs; gives you confidence to really let it rip. I just lurv the SID SL - especially having just relinquished my old stumpy with the Mag 21's - the lockout works like a dream and so easy to reach down and adjust on the fly.
Build quality is what you would expect from Specialized.
Great package. | | Weaknesses: | Even after a few months, there have been some niggles.
Lose the bars - like immediately ( I survived only 1 run with them in place) - and put on some decent risers. The stem was ok but nevertheless I have upgraded it to a slightly longer one (for my fit). Next came the cranks. I still have them in place but am on the lookout for a replacement. They work ok and perhaps I am being harsh - but . .. , they look as if they will give up the ghost at a moments notice. Its a confidence thing really.
Final niggle - the seatpost / saddle creaks annoyingly. (Definately not the cranks). Despite tightening I cannot seem to lose it. | | Similar Products Used: | None really | | Bike Setup: | Standard stand-fast the upgrades listed above | | Bottom Line: | Bottom Line - Despite the niggles, I have'nt regretted buying the Pro. I did buy it at half book price though (you couldn't tell it was 2nd hand) but I don't think I would have bought it at full whack.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tony
a Racer
from Portland, Or
Date Reviewed: June 10, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Gails Creek | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | Employee Purchase | | Strengths: | Light, Quick, Livley(sp). This bike just wants to keep going. | | Weaknesses: | It didn't help with my lack in skills.
Jury is still out on the SID SL. As far as a 170+lbs rider is concerned.. | | Similar Products Used: | Nothing similar. 96 GT(Huffy) Avalanche. This bike was my baby, I'm sad to see her go. | | Bike Setup: | Stock Frame, Fork, Derailures, Brakes. Race Face Next LP cranks, XT wheelset, XT/XTR. Ringle stem, Hell Bent risers.. | | Bottom Line: | Like most bikes, This gal needed some of the stock stuff upgraded.
But, oh brother does this bike like to go. I finished my first 15 miles ride on it. But she was not ready to go home yet. So, we switched trails and kept going.
I have never riden anything so, I can't think of a word to describe it. If I had not bailed 5 miles in to the second trail, I would still be riding...
What others say is true, This bike rides it's self. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Rob
a Cross Country Rider
from London, UK
Date Reviewed: May 15, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Hemsedal, Norway | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$1400.00 | | Purchased At: | Evans Cycles, London UK (employee) | | Strengths: | Very Light
Frame feels great
Superb SID SL Forks - Lockout quick + easy to use on the fly, great adjustability and most of all plush and responsive out on the trail.
Well specced Wheels + Brakes
Looks the part | | Weaknesses: | Frame and Forks flex, flex ,flex - the penalty you pay to save weight
Have reservations about cost-cutting in-house seat-post, stem and bars and especially chainset...
Not impressed with headset
Bars light, but too short - would replace with a long riser bar
Not amazing value - would not have considered at full retail price. | | Similar Products Used: | Trek 6000 w/marzocchi Z4s
Marin Palisades trail | | Bike Setup: | Mavic x317s on Hope xc hubs.
Hope mini disc brakes | | Bottom Line: | Very fast bike - almost rides itself!
I Swapped the wheels and brakes immediately, so don't know the full story, but with my current setup the bike works amazingly. However, the SID SLs are extremely flexy and the disc brakes magnify greatly how this influences the performance of the bike under breaking. I have also noticed that the frame flexes laterally to such a degree that the chain rubs the front mech when very high loads are applied to the pedals - having said this, it does not affect the performance of the bike in any significant way and the frame feels great and stiff out on the trail...
Overall, a great bike that can probably take a good beating and yet still be light enough to win races... If you're going to race, get it - but if you're not then you don't need it - sacrifice a few pounds of weight and get a bike with a stiffer frame and forks.
But...
Specialized have once again employed their strategy (most evident on cheaper bikes) of attracting naive customers by putting high spec derailleurs, forks, wheels and brakes and less impressive minor components on the bikes on the basis that most people won't look at the whole picture and just look at the high spec major components.... which, I suppose, is what all the major manufacturers do to some extent ...
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Submitted by
robby
a Cross Country Rider
from chattanooga, tn
Date Reviewed: April 11, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | pro deal from specialized | | Strengths: | incredibly light..
SID SL is amazing.. the lockout is the best one out there..
plush and nice when you need it to be, but you don't have to worry about busting it on a drop..
Avid TI brakes.. ooo.. beautiful.. | | Weaknesses: | i'm not a big fan of the xt shifters..
specialized cranks.. not bad, but i'd rather have something w/ a real name on it.. | | Bottom Line: | i love bike.. the fork and brakes are what sold me on it.. if you've got the money..go for it.. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
mark
a
from Flagstaff, AZ
Date Reviewed: February 2, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | any and all | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$1399.00 | | Purchased At: | absolute bikes | | Strengths: | good frame, nice and light | | Weaknesses: | strong arm II cranks are flexy and weak... | | Similar Products Used: | xt cranks, race face LP's | | Bike Setup: | 2001, W/ XT and XTR with a whole lotta Easton parts added ta boot. | | Bottom Line: | this bike is awsome after exchanging the seat post, stem, and handle bars "replaced with monkey light XC", cranks, and stock tires it weighs in at 22LBS!
you can make do with the stock components however, i suggest you get rid of the specialized strong arm II cranks right away! there not worth the $$ or headache.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Peter Lopez
a Weekend Warrior
from New York, NY, USA
Date Reviewed: December 17, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Case Mountain, CT | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$1800.00 | | Purchased At: | Bicycle Habitat | | Strengths: | LIGHT! It is so very light and tight. The whole drive train system feels so dialed in that with every pedal stroke you can feel all of your power going into your forward motion. | | Weaknesses: | The SID fork isn't hardy enough. I immediately swapped it out for a Marzocchi Atom Race. | | Bike Setup: | As specialized sold it except for the Fork. I swapped it out for a Marzocchi Atom Race | | Bottom Line: | I haven't ridden it long enough to know the whole story, what I would say for now is: dialed in for speed, can leap up on almost anything, and for the few big drops I've been able to do so far it has held up really well (In other words it is also really stong)
This bike is for a racer as is, but if you beef up the front suspension, put on wider more mud capable tires it can be a cross country machine.
It is not cheap, but if you look into the specs, the Pro is definetely worth it over the Sport, but not so for the straight up Stumpjumper, that is a good deal for what your paying. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
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