[scottaw]

What would be gained/lost upgrading from my 2019 SJ Expert to a 2021 SJ Carbon Comp? I’d keep my Roval carbon wheels to transfer to the new Stumpy, can’t give those up! From the reviews, it sounds like the new one would be a bit more playful, poppy, etc., better pedaling efficiency, etc. I don’t do drops/jumps or bike parks, but do enjoy technical, rock/roots, hard climbs,etc. Rarely use all my travel now on the 150/140 of the current SJ. My only concern is the rear seat stays, and what the longevity of flexing carbon may be? Loaded with gear I’m riding at 225lbs., and have broken numerous hubs cranking up mountains over the years…love my DT Swiss ratchet hubs though…. So I want a durable frame. Have cracked three Fuel EX frames (al and carbon) as well, and my current SJ has proven to be a very durable frame.

Curious to hear any feedback from other riders who have possibly made a similar model upgrade. Between selling my current SJ to Pro’s Closet and getting the new one, it’ll only be about a $800 upgrade, so I’m tempted!

 

[Bassmantweed]

i would stay where you are if it were me. I went this exact route and the only reason I went with the newer was because it was available in the xxl (s6). I am 6’6” and needed the extra room

your going to pay more for less bike. Its not as simple as swapping rims as the new bikes have a fox fork vs. a rock shoc so you’ll at a minimum need to get new end caps. The rear cassette are different as well.

It was a difficult transition to the new bike for me. Not sure if it was because it was bigger or if it was the new geometry. I did not like it at first. Since this post it has grown on me but if my older bike were larger I would have been fine staying with it.

see my post.
New (2022) Specialized Stumpjumper Vs. Old Stumpjumper (2019) let down - is it just me?

New (2022) Specialized Stumpjumper Vs. Old Stumpjumper...

So I don't know what to say here. I am a long time specialized fan. I have owned 12 different specialized bikes in the past 2 decades. This one is the first one that I feel, well………. Meh about. I am looking for help feed back on this bike . First things First - My...

www.mtbr.com

 

[riverrat]

Well I can't speak to all your points, but I would respectfully disagree with Bassmantweed's assertion that you would be "paying more for less bike". Sure, the new SJ has less travel and perhaps gives up a bit of burliness and capability in gnarly descents. And, yes, they are spendy these days.

But whether it's "less bike" depends on what you're looking for. The new SJ is spot on what I was looking for, i.e. lighter and snappier than the immediately preceding years. Perfect for all day trail riding and still fun on climbs. From that perspective, it's more bike than the 2019 which seems to be slanted more toward descending. To me, the current version is exactly what this bike should be. If you want something burlier, go for an SJ EVO although that would seem like mostly a lateral move from where you are now, pretty similar to what you have with some geo updates.

Given what you've described as your riding style, I think the 2021/22 SJ would be a good fit for you although it'd be worht thinking through how and why you've had issues breaking frames. I feel confident that my 2022 SJ will be plenty tough for me but I'm not that tough on gear. I'm sure Specialized did their homework, but there are always tradeoffs. The jury is still out on the flex stays under heavy duty usage by bigger stronger riders, I think. Given its descending prowess, I think a certain percentage of bigger riders may push the bike beyond its limits and experience problems because of that. Time will tell; might be worth it to wait a bit and get more feedback on that.

 

[rakerdeal]

We have both a 2019 SJ Expert and a 2022 Expert in the family, we're a big family of riders with lots of bikes, a bunch of Stumpjumpers (all carbon with upgrades here/there) and Intense Snipers. I'll mention we also have a 2017 Camber with a 140mm Fox fork. The bikes of choice are the 2019 SJ Expert and 2017 Camber. That damn Camber is the one that gets the most praise and I simply can not figure it out. LOL!!! The bike is slacker than the reported geometry with the 140 effect on the head angle of course. But that bike? Oh my! We have it right at 25 lbs and if you are into to soak-it-up-smooth it destroys the 2022 SJ Expert. I have SL carbon wheels on the 2022 Expert, it is light and fast! But I'm surprised at how bumpy it feels...we are all still messing with the fork adjustments though.

 

[rakerdeal]

I'll add that I try to read and sort of follow the posts and subsequent posts as to new SJ models, they do somewhat follow a pattern. I'm not sure if you call it confirmation bias or whatnot, but I'm a tad suspicious on this new seatstay model. I think, but of course am not at all sure, it may follow the 2016-2017 SJ theme in that back then those short seatstays were the talk of the town. These short stays made the 2016-17 "lively" and "playful" and such. But within a short period you could read even the previous praisers begin to post less flatteringly. The 2018-19 model was widely welcomed as far improved. I had a 2017 SJ and I will state I do like the 2022 far better. But it does ride far more "lively" than the 2019 model.

 

[EdSawyer]

I agree it would be a downgrade. I have a 2019 expert and wouldn’t trade for a 2022 even if it was a free swap. The flex stays are cost cutting measure, nothing more.

 

[scottaw]

Thank you all for the thoughts! I think I'll hang on to it, I know what it is capable of and have things dialed in just right on it these days. I also should have an Epic Evo coming this spring, so it will keep the arsenal of bikes from overlapping. Just have to remind the wife, N+1 never stops.

 

[riverrat]

I agree it would be a downgrade. I have a 2019 expert and wouldn’t trade for a 2022 even if it was a free swap. The flex stays are cost cutting measure, nothing more.

Everyone is entitled to their opinions and preferences, obviously. And removing a set of pivots from the rear triangle should result in a frame that's less complex, and therefore less expensive to manufacture. I'll grant you that likely figured into Specialized' decision making. Companies in all industries are citing increases in material costs and labor to justify retail price increases but I'm not sure this fully explains how expensive the new Stumpys are, especially given the simplified rear triangle. Glad you are happy with your 2019 bike.

But the entire SJ frame was redesigned for 2021, even though the rest of it looks quite similar to the previous gen. There are purportedly numerous subtle changes in the geo and carbon layup, resulting in a frame that is not only lighter but stiffer and stronger. My understanding is that there was quite a bit of R&D involved in developing the new carbon SJ frame; part of an effort to simplify and sharpen market/rider targeting in the SJ line, which previously had a ridiculous (to me anyway) 3 grades of travel/burliness and two wheel sizes, and multiple component levels in each.

The new standard SJ models are something like 2 pounds lighter than comparable previous gen models. Climbing ability and responsiveness have been improved, by just about all accounts, while giving up little in descending capability. Spesh seems to have tried to roll the best qualities of the 2018-2020 ST and standard SJ models into one bike, by way of geo changes, a lighter, stiffer frame and splitting the difference on component specs. rakerdeal sorta went this direction putting a 140mm fork on his Camber. To reiterate, the 2021-22 SJ is a different bike than the 2018-2020, not just the same frame with a set of pivots removed. The current SJ EVO is more similar to your 2019; comparing standard SJs from 2019 and 2022 is kind of an "apples and oranges" situation.

Back on topic for the OP, the fact that he seems to have the budget for a 2nd bike for lighter duty usage suggests that replacing his 2019 with a 2022 SJ might not be the best choice. But the new SJ models are selling very well and making a lot of riders happy. For a lot of people (including me) the changes make the bike exactly what they want, a perfect one-bike solution that does a lot of things well.

 

[Kjfsurfcycle]

I own both of the bikes you note (XL and S5). I am 190 to 200 lbs fully kitted for riding, so I am not a lightweight. I ride up everything I descend and I wanted a slightly snappier frame. Your type of riding sounds very similar to mine. I don’t think I am generating the same level of torque or stress on the frame that you are generating. I am assuming Specialized will warranty the frame if there are problems. I bought the 2021 SJ for the Bay Area so I could leave the 2019 SJ at Tahoe. The 2021 does feel snappier and more nimble, despite the geometry changes and the aluminum wheels. FYI - I just bought carbon Control wheels to make the 2021 even more lively. The 2019 does feel stable through the chunk and I attribute it to the extra 10 mm fork and the slightly longer head tube lifting the handlebars higher. The 2019 feels a little slower on the single track/climbing. Would I sell my 2019 to buy a 2021 and have to add $1-2K, probably not because I haven’t seen the issues you read about on the internet and I probably don’t ride fast enough to hit the instability window. At $800 it is much more appealing. If a Tallboy, etc. had been available to thoroughly demo and was similarly priced, I would have tried them to compare. But, there wasn’t the ability to do that due to the supply chain. It is highly likely that I would buy the 2021 again for my circumstances and I really like it.

BTW I rode the 2021 EVO and it felt slower and more focused to descend. Since I wanted a snappier bike the SJ fit my needs.

 

[rakerdeal]

In North Carolina we have a trail called Kisuma and I ride it at 67 years old by basically climbing a greenway up through Point Lookout that then goes right through land my family owned for many years -- leading up to Ridgecrest. Then a tad more climbing followed by what can be termed three miles of downhill. The downhill is in places a little too steep for most mtn bikers to do without braking. So basically the entire 3 miles becomes braking lumps over time now matter how much work is done on the trail. OK....so to me (and this is me writing not someone else of course) that's the place the 2019 Stumpjumper and new non FSR model show their huge, to me really significant, differences. I can ride that downhill on the 2019 and even with a slightly less head angle (since we obsess over them now) just let it go and relax. Not so with the new model, at 160 lbs it is a very bumpy experience where I have to focus not to bounce out/off. So to me, and my view may not be others view at all, the new SJ which I ride nearly 100% of the time now is on the edge of being a completely different bike. Do I like it? For me it is better for what I ride most of the time and yes I really do enjoy this bike. With my carbon wheels it is light and lively and I only drag a tad keeping up with the 40-50 guys I ride with. But even the 2014 Evo, which we have 2 of in the family, rides the Kisuma downhill far, far, far more "smoothly" than the 2021-2022. It is what it is. I'm sort of interested in where Specialized goes with the SJ after this model. I think it may surprise us. LOL, I enjoy all the bikes and I really enjoy the big S trying to progress down the road of technology.

 

[scottaw]

Good feedback from many perspectives! I’m almost sensing that lighter riders have more feedback that the new SJ is not as smooth on the bumpy descents, while heavier riders don’t feel that, and instead notice more of the benefits of the poppier, more efficient pedaling platform. I’d have to wonder if the flexing seat stays are optimized for target rider weight, or is it rear shock tuning or a combination of both.

I’m not too worried about the descents. I ride a ’20 Fuse as well, and am quite used to descending on a hard tail. Great thing about the Fuse is it shares the geometry of the ‘19 SJ, so it is very easy to switch between bikes on daily rides and have no adjustment period for how a bike might steer, for example. (Compared to my previous hard tail, a Salsa Timberjack with a steeper head angle. I would always oversteer and understeer when switching between the bikes and needed 10-15 minutes to re-acclimate.)