Ask the experts

[smmokan]

Tons of used ones on the market (including mine), and the warranty for Specialized bikes transfers to the second owner which is pretty nice...

[hick]

Not against it, and can score a deal on Stumpy as well. For whatever reason I thought people were saying it was too much bike for day to day pedal rides.

I think the stumpy Evo is a great all day Middle if nowhere bike. I actually feel it gets the edge over the Ibis Ripmo I had when it comes to feeling like an efficient climber. The adjustable geo can make it a steep tech crusher. A lot of good options in the 160/150 range.


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[Andeh]

Ok, you guys have me convinced to check out the StumpyEVO. I’m a little disappointed that all of the available ones are now mullet, but maybe that would be a fun change? I mean, I was considering a Bronson.

DTM, since you asked, the Smuggler would need to go away to fund a new bike.

I was seeing full 29 ones available on Specialized website, which can ship to the shop. But I guess if you've got a deal with shop you're stuck with what they have. The biggest issue with the Evo mullet is it's easy to bottom out. If you're just cruising smooth trails that's fine, but jumping I'd want to cram the air shock full of tokens. If you really love the mullet setup but need more progression, you'd have to get the WRP mullet link. Or I'm sure you can offload the trendy MX wheelset and just run it as 29.

Note: I really like mullets, but I'm shorter and ride steep-ish trails regularly. If I had to chose between Evo and Bronson, I'd do the Bronson and either suck up the higher price tag/worse spec, or move parts over from my older bike where possible.

[VTskibum]

Smmokan and others who've ridden regular and Stumpy EVO, how ridiculous would they overlap to own both? Kicking around the alloy frame with a considerably heavier build, maybe 38 up-front to pair with my light weight Stumpy, probably go a little faster/lighter in tires to differentiate. Too close?

Also I sorta trolling commented on the We Are One Arrival PB article yesterday "I stopped reading at Super Boost" and got pretty heavily downvoted, people take that stuff to seriously, but I got a lol out of it.

[zion zig zag]

If I had to chose between Evo and Bronson, I'd do the Bronson and either suck up the higher price tag/worse spec, or move parts over from my older bike where possible.

Any reason other than you prefer SC? I mean I get it, the Trek mentioned above is supposed to be a badass bike, but something about Trek just leaves me a little meh.

[zion zig zag]

Tons of used ones on the market (including mine), and the warranty for Specialized bikes transfers to the second owner which is pretty nice...

I'll take a look at the used market, but the manager of the local Spesh shop owes me. I paid for 100% of his living expenses for almost 2 decades.

Also, it looks like you can get the 29'er link online for about $75. That and a rear wheel would make it a pretty cheap A/B experiment.

[smmokan]

Smmokan and others who've ridden regular and Stumpy EVO, how ridiculous would they overlap to own both? Kicking around the alloy frame with a considerably heavier build, maybe 38 up-front to pair with my light weight Stumpy, probably go a little faster/lighter in tires to differentiate. Too close?

Also I sorta trolling commented on the We Are One Arrival PB article yesterday "I stopped reading at Super Boost" and got pretty heavily downvoted, people take that stuff to seriously, but I got a lol out of it.

I had both this year... and preferred the Stumpy EVO (with a Cascade Link, so 158mm rear travel) by a long shot. It doesn't give up much in the climbing category, and I actually preferred it on techy and/or steep climbs. I ended up riding the EVO for 90+% of my rides, and ended up selling the regular Stumpy pretty early in the fall because of it. Instead of the two bikes, I just kept two wheelsets for the EVO: 1500g carbon I-9s with Specialized Butcher/Eliminator tires, and then a set of Enduro 305s with Magic Mary / Big Betty beefier tires for rowdier trips.

[SchralphMacchio]

Agreed, I have a Sentinel, and Mrs. Eluder is on an Evo. We ride all over on them. The only time I ever want less bike is in an XC race setting. Never once have I started a 2-4000 foot descent wishing I had a smaller rig... I get people warranting 120mm-130 travel bikes in some locations, but the do-all travel is still 140-150mm.

Interesting data point: I demoed both a Sentinel and a Spire (and also a Spur and Patrol) 1.5 months ago … the Spire was hands down a better climber than the Sentinel! [emoji50]

Way less front wheel wander and more rear wheel traction. That Spire was a pretty damn impressive piece of engineering. Its main downside is that it’s so dang settled that going less than 15 mph is incredibly boring on it, as is trying to air off anything less than 2 feet.

[SchralphMacchio]

FWIW I also agree that 140-150 is the do it all travel range. But I can also see how people choose Spires Megatowers etc as their do it all bike (maybe with two wheelsets though like Smmokan said)!

[Eluder]

Related Question: Do any of you actually swap wheels regularly on bikes?

I'm a grab and go rider... ill pedal the heavy tires before going through that.

[smmokan]

I wouldn't say regularly, since I ride the light carbon wheels and Spec tires most of the time... but I do keep the heavier/burlier wheels for trips to BC and other places when appropriate.

I guess what I'm really saying is that I personally prefer a lighter enduro bike vs two bikes (I weigh 170 FWIW), as long as I can easily build it up bigger when needed. The EVO I had weighed just over 30 lbs with pedals, and now I have a Forbidden Dreadnought that's 31.5#.

[Andeh]

Any reason other than you prefer SC? I mean I get it, the Trek mentioned above is supposed to be a badass bike, but something about Trek just leaves me a little meh.

Mostly suspension progression. Also a little bit the higher BB height of the Bronson. I ride flat pedals, tend to land a bit rear heavy, and ride steeper trails (although not that heavy, maybe 175 # geared up). I find that I bottom out shocks too easily for my taste unless the bike has 25-30% progression. I have a Spec Levo (very, very similar kinematics to Evo 29), and am running it with a Cascade link and an air shock with 3 tokens AND HBO. That and my experience with SC bikes over the years is that they're tough as hell and have great warranty.

That said, if you've got that much of a relationship with a Spec dealer: get the Evo. Have him order you the 29er link (if it doesn't come with it) and a 29er rear wheel to match the stock front. Try both, see which you like, sell the setup you don't. There's a ton of Evos out there of either flavor, and I'm sure you'll find someone out there who'd snap up a conversion kit from you. And if you find one you like but are struggling with bottoming out, then you can get either a Cascade link (29er) or WRP link (mullet). The Evo will be lighter and especially in 29 a better "all mountain" bike I think.

[Andeh]

If anyone cares or was following my question about cockpit setup a few pages back, I checked the bar->BB distance on my 2 bikes. The one that had the 35mm stem (and was feeling more hand pressure) was indeed shorter. I put a 40mm stem back on it, adjusted its +/- orientation & stem spacers so that the (bar->floor - BB->floor) delta was the same as the other bike, then measured bar->BB, and low and behold the distance was within 1-2mm of my other bike. I haven't ridden it yet, but I'm sure it will feel fine now.

[toast2266]

Related Question: Do any of you actually swap wheels regularly on bikes?

I'm a grab and go rider... ill pedal the heavy tires before going through that.

I swap wheels on the Norco sometimes. Heavy wheels w/ DH tires for any time I don't have to pedal uphill. Lighter wheels with DD / Exo+ tires for pedally stuff.

I tried running just the lighter wheels for a little while, but neither the tires nor the wheels held up to lift served smashing. And that bike is a fucking pig, so pedaling it with soft rubber DH tires kinda sucks.

[jackstraw]

My kid has an EVO and I have a Bronson mullet. I suc so bad I can barely tell the difference [emoji16]. I think the EVO might be a better all around bike and the Bronson is pretty playful with the 650b out back. One thing for sure is that they're both pretty confidence inspiring on the downs for me. And bike set up is so critical. I'm still tweaking things as I go. I find that is a really difficult thing to do and should probably be done more often, but obviously that varies depending upon terrain.

[mildbill.]

Related Question: Do any of you actually swap wheels regularly on bikes?

I'm a grab and go rider... ill pedal the heavy tires before going through that.

Yep - rolling resistance and rotating weight make so much more of a difference than a few pounds of frame weight or a little less travel with current suspension designs that it is a lot easier to justify 2 wheelsets vs. 2 bikes.

I have the same cassette and rotors on each wheelset. Ideally would have the same hubs as well, but since I don't it usually requires a quick caliper alignment and derailleur cable tension adjust to account for that variance - so I don't go back and forth every other ride but I do for a weekend / weekday kind of thing.

When the heavy wheelset is on the bike, my math for throwing the light wheelset on is that I pretty quickly can make up the time spent on the swap with the faster climbing (~10% faster depending on the tires on each) on the lighter wheelset.

When the light wheelset is on the bike, I don't do math for the swap to the heavy because if I'm going heavy I'm usually just stoked that I'm heading out to go smash stuff.

[Shredeagle]

https://www.norco.com/bikes/mountain...ic-c2-shimano/

I’m thinking of this bike to slot into my family bike quiver. We all ride the same size. I have a 2019 Transition Patrol and a 2021 Santa Cruz Blur. I’m looking for something faster than the patrol that is still fun on flatter trails but can rip the steeps too. Would prob upgrade cascade link and maybe a carbon bar but otherwise build seems sweet. Shop would sell to me for 3,400. Hoping it would mostly be a good bike for my son to ride with his bike team where they do training but are riding rougher trails that would destroy the Blur race bike. We also do backcountry rides together where we are doing big chunky 3-4K descents and hoping this wouldn’t be too undergunned on that. Plus the old man would rip it around on some of the local trails where the aluminum patrol is overkill. And my wife could ride it when the two of us ride together. Any thoughts/experience on this thing? I like this build kit but it’s about 500 more than the SRAM C2. Any screaming deals out there I’m missing for something similar?


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[J. Barron DeJong]

Any thoughts/experience on this thing?

I’ve had an Optic C1 for three seasons and love it. Anything in particular you want to know about them?

[smmokan]

I can’t remember… who was looking for a Stumpy EVO mullet link? I’ve got one that’s brand new if you’re still looking.

[LeeLau]

Smmokan and others who've ridden regular and Stumpy EVO, how ridiculous would they overlap to own both? Kicking around the alloy frame with a considerably heavier build, maybe 38 up-front to pair with my light weight Stumpy, probably go a little faster/lighter in tires to differentiate. Too close?

Also I sorta trolling commented on the We Are One Arrival PB article yesterday "I stopped reading at Super Boost" and got pretty heavily downvoted, people take that stuff to seriously, but I got a lol out of it.

I like WR1 and would consider a frame but it's not considered because of Super Boost

[Shredeagle]

I’ve had an Optic C1 for three seasons and love it. Anything in particular you want to know about them?

Mostly just if it seemed like a good bike for the what I was thinking about using it for. I pedaled one around town today and my impression was it pedaled great and is a fine climber. Didn’t get to take it on anything too crazy but it was super fun on a couple little downhills. I also demoed one back in 2020 and totally wrecked myself when I ran out of suspension in the back. I’d like to use this on some big rougher downhills and my main question was does it feel under gunned in things like that? This one seems like a burlier bike then the last one I tried a few years ago. I’m sure my son will be rough on it too - is your impression that these can take a little abuse?


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[g_man80]

I can’t remember… who was looking for a Stumpy EVO mullet link? I’ve got one that’s brand new if you’re still looking.

That was me I believe. I think I’m still considering it, but have been allocating most funds to a build for my wife. Feel free to send me a PM with the details.

[toast2266]

I like WR1 and would consider a frame but it's not considered because of Super Boost

Same.

What they're doing with it makes sense, but still. Not spending money on that particular rabbit hole.

[smmokan]

That was me I believe. I think I’m still considering it, but have been allocating most funds to a build for my wife. Feel free to send me a PM with the details.

It’s a mullet link. If you end up wanting it, just let me know.

[Canada1]

My daughter is 85#'s. Need / want to lighten her bike after feeling guilty about everyone around her in races having lighter bikes. I started by putting a SID on. Need most bang for the dollar on XC wheelset. Obviously at that weight, she is not likely to ever knock them off true. I have a hook up on specialized, but they are out of stock and pretty pricey even with the hook up. I am open to ideas. Hunt has a relatively economical XC aluminum wheelset, but would love to go carbon just for weight weenie reasons. Boost / micro spline. Any recommendations?