Among the many new bikes that Specialized launched back in August were the particularly interesting EVO models. These are tweaked and tuned versions of existing Specialized bikes, which have been beefed up to boost their abilities. It’s exactly the kind of thing that people do with their own bikes, only Specialized can change frames as well as parts.
Since the 140mm-travel (5.5in) Stumpjumper FSR came along, people have been wanting a model with slacker angles and bigger tyres. If you’re one of them, wait no more…Ride & handling: Pumped-up Stumpjumper FSR really delivers on the trail
The Stumpjumper EVO is a real trail tamer. The revised geometry gives it a mini-downhill-bike feel, but with a steep seat angle, adjustable seatpost, twin-ring transmission setup and reasonable weight, it’s ready to ride all day.
While regular Stumpys are fitted with Specialized’s inertia-valve BRAIN shock, the EVO gets a custom Fox RP23 instead. While the BRAIN is a pretty clever bit of kit, it’s never found favour with riders who like to work the trails – and the bike – to get the most out of them, so doing without it should be a popular move.
The custom Fox shock features a kind of reversed ProPedal lever. Instead of the three-position dial controlling the amount of platform damping when the lever’s on, here the dial controls what happens when it’s off. Effectively you have a fixed compression setting for climbing, and three low-speed compression settings for descending.
If you want to point and shoot, leaving it fully open will deliver maximum plushness. But if you like to work the trail, launching off roots and lips, a firmer setting will give the bike a little bit of ‘pop’ to help things along.
**Article Originally Published @ Bike Radar
