The Specialized Stumpjumper is one of mountain biking’s iconic names and the 2016 Specialized S-Works Stumpjumper FSR once again taps into the 1981 original’s innovative DNA. Words and photos by Seamus Allardice.
35 years ago the first Stumpy went into production. It was, not only for Specialized, a first – it was the first mass-production mountain bike. It opened up the sport to initially hundreds, and then thousands of riders and forever changed the cycling scene, by making the reckless new-fangled mountain biking both affordable and accessible.
Before the Stumpy if you wanted a mountain bike you had to have one custom made. Or build one yourself. No wonder people still played golf!
Okay so that ’81 Stumpy and this ’16 Stumpy don’t look much alike. Fully rigid vs. full sus, featuring Specialized FSR rear suspension and the silky RockShox Pike upfront. Welded steel vs. FACT 11mm carbon frame. Weeny little 26er wheels vs. the 2.3” Butcher and Purgatory 29er tyres set on 30mm inner width rims. But the DNA remains; the Stumpy is a bike to get you out onto the mountain. It’s a proper mountain bike for pushing your limits.
Where the Stumpjumper FSR 6Fattie, which we reviewed for the September 2015 issue of Full Sus, is fun and confidence inspiring, the S-Works Stumpjumper is a far more precise machine. The wide and aggressive Butcher/Purgatory tyre combination provide more than ample grip too, but require a bit more care and accuracy when being pointed downhill than the three inch wide 6Fattie tyres do.
Though it feels like a big bike it’s remarkably nimble, even on the climbs. But it’s going downhill where the Stumpy truly excels, obviously. Be warned though, the 135mm of rear travel and the 140mm up front require some skill and commitment to taking on the more technical lines to be utilized fully.
As an aside; the 2016 Specialized S-Works Camber which I rode during Origin of Trails is a far easier bike to ride to its limits. It’s faster than the 2015 model (making it better for racing) but it hasn’t lost any of its trail-riding, smile-inducing shredability.
In the innovation department Specialized have put some serious work into the SWAT Door technology. It’s such a simple idea, to utilize the space inside the oversized downtube for storage. It keeps the bike’s lines clean; no uncool saddle bag or unsightly tubes and tools taped to the frame like a macabre Christmas tree. And then, joy of joys, Specialized have ditched the pesky mini-Brain off the 2016 Stumpy.
I know some riders will be outraged by this, and Specialized might be too, but for me the Brain ruined the Stumpy. (One big S employee might have said in private that it dumbed the bike down.) Without it the suspension linkages and the Fox CTD shock are allowed to do their thing – which they do beautifully. The bike is plush, absorbs hits big and small with ease and best of all doesn’t do that clunking engage over small bumps which it used to do with the Brain. (I should point out though that the 2016 S-Works Camber now has a Brain, which Specialized have dubbed as “trail tuned”. It runs at far deeper sag than the old Stumpy Brain and works perfectly on the new Camber.)
Overall the 2016 S-Works Stumpjumper FSR is one heck of a bike. It’s an aggressive trail machine that wants to eat up steep slopes and rough terrain. Where the 6Fattie version inspires confidence this Stumpy requires confidence – but if you ride like you’ve been doing it since the first Stumpy came out in 1981 then you and the 2016 S-Works Stumpjumper FSR will get on famously.
Sus the Stumpumper FSR Geometry
All measurements are for a medium frame in degrees or mm.
2016 S-Works Stumpjumper FSR RRP R124 999.
| Stack | 617mm |
| Reach | 417mm |
| Head-Tube Length | 95mm |
| Head-Tube Angle | 67.5° |
| B-B Height | 336mm |
| B-B Drop | 36mm |
| Chain-Stay Length | 437mm |
| Wheelbase | 1 143mm |
| Top-Tube Length (horizontal) | 594mm |
| Bike Stand-Over Height | 757mm |
| Seat-Tube Length | 430mm |
| Seat-Tube Angle | 74° |
