First Look: Specialized Stumpjumper FSR Expert Carbon 6Fattie

[Duane_Bosch]

So you haven't ridden one, but feel qualified to give your opinion that 'the bike makes no sense'?

I've ridden one. And I didn't think much of it at all. The roll and bounce in the tire isn't worth the extra grip IMO.

 

Having said that I see a lot of them on the trails and the guys that have them rave about them. Maybe my tire pressures were off.

Edited February 10, 2017 by Duane_Bosch

[Meezo]

I've ridden one. And I didn't think much of it at all. The roll and bounce in the tire isn't worth the extra grip IMO.

 

Having said that I see a lot of them on the trails and the guys that have them rave about them. Maybe my tire pressures were off.

 

or you've just gone full roadie

[nonky]

Bike is a lot of fun - I rode one at Modders on a spez tester day.

 

However, you're completely over-biked at Modders with this machine and better served by a regular 29er.

 

This bike is best for (IMHO):

 

i.the proper gnarly stuff or

ii.for a beginner  or

iii.very sandy / beach riding

[Wil6]

Bike is a lot of fun - I rode one at Modders on a spez tester day.

 

However, you're completely over-biked at Modders with this machine and better served by a regular 29er.

 

This bike is best for (IMHO):

 

i.the proper gnarly stuff or

ii.for a beginner  or

iii.very sandy / beach riding

You will need all that travel for the rough sand

[nonky]

You will need all that travel for the rough sand

 

Or something like Kalahari Challenge, which is rocky AND sandy.

 

Look, you don't REALLY need carbon or 1x11 or full sus or a sus fork or gears or 29er wheels for that matter.  Many nutjobs are perfectly happy on single-speed, rigid, steel bikes but the "extras" are nice to have, aren't they?

[Headshot]

I've ridden one. And I didn't think much of it at all. The roll and bounce in the tire isn't worth the extra grip IMO.

 

Having said that I see a lot of them on the trails and the guys that have them rave about them. Maybe my tire pressures were off.

I suspect bike set up ie tyre pressure is very important but i suspect these tyres wont work very well in certain situations at all  - for instance sloppy slippery stuff. They would possibly have more in common with a skimmer board on the beach than a bike tyre then. In contrast, a 2.35 - 2.5 "normal" tyre works pretty well in all situations. A fad and a gimmick more or less IMO. 

[Flippa]

Look, I'm not convinced about the dual sus plus thing. I ride a Krampus (29+ for those who don't know) and chased my brother, riding a Spez Fuse 6Fattie, through all of the blue sections at Thaba Trails, and I feel I could do with 120mm travel fork instead of the rigid I'm running now.

 

In two years riding this bike, I've never felt like I needed boing at the rear too.

[Flippa]

I suspect bike set up ie tyre pressure is very important but i suspect these tyres wont work very well in certain situations at all  - for instance sloppy slippery stuff. They would possibly have more in common with a skimmer board on the beach than a bike tyre then. In contrast, a 2.35 - 2.5 "normal" tyre works pretty well in all situations. A fad and a gimmick more or less IMO. 

 

Tyre pressure is critical on plus tyres, I swear I can feel the difference between 0.6 bar and 0.8bar. Grip is more about tyre choice, the Surly Knards are impossible in mud, but the newer plus tyres, Nobby Nic plus, Rekon+, Ikon+, Ranger, Purgatory, etc all have acceptable performance in the mud and wet.

 

Oh, and 5 years in the market is hardly a fad IMO

[mtb impi]

My W2W buddy on his Stumpy + had an effortless ride, with most of the time a grin on his face. He was a complete newby to cycling, let alone mtb'ing. This bike boosts confidence BIG time, and extremely forgiving, letting you do silly things (as a newby) leaving you with a feeling of being an old-timer.

[Pipsqueak]

My W2W buddy on his Stumpy + had an effortless ride, with most of the time a grin on his face. He was a complete newby to cycling, let alone mtb'ing. This bike boosts confidence BIG time, and extremely forgiving, letting you do silly things (as a newby) leaving you with a feeling of being an old-timer.

Ya, people in this country need to learn how to stop the marathon bus and have some fun every now and then.

[Eugene Brown]

Bike is a lot of fun - I rode one at Modders on a spez tester day.

 

However, you're completely over-biked at Modders with this machine and better served by a regular 29er.

 

This bike is best for (IMHO):

 

i.the proper gnarly stuff or

ii.for a beginner  or

iii.very sandy / beach riding

Same with me in that I also had a test ride at Modders. Whilst it may be too much for the relatively flat Modders trails, I loved every minute on it, and coming from my KTM 29" FS, I felt so much more "in the groove", especially on the slightly off camber slightly downhill parts where my confidence was much higher, based on the feel I had with this mamba of a bike. Being a fat bastard, I kakked on the uphills with the 1x gearing on the test bike, but that's no reflection on the machine. Sometime soon, very very soon.......

[Headshot]

Tyre pressure is critical on plus tyres, I swear I can feel the difference between 0.6 bar and 0.8bar. Grip is more about tyre choice, the Surly Knards are impossible in mud, but the newer plus tyres, Nobby Nic plus, Rekon+, Ikon+, Ranger, Purgatory, etc all have acceptable performance in the mud and wet.

 

Oh, and 5 years in the market is hardly a fad IMO

Maybe a fad is not the right term - I am thinking of things like SS bikes and fat bikes  - appeal to a few hipsters but that's about it :-) 

[Flippa]

Maybe a fad is not the right term - I am thinking of things like SS bikes and fat bikes  - appeal to a few hipsters but that's about it :-) 

:-(

 

My other bike's a SS.......she's also 5 years old this year

[stefmeister]

I've realized I like lower volume casings. The Spez 2.3 ground controls I had once already felt too much, and I'm experiencing the same with the 2.5 maxxis dhf I am currently running. Too low pressure and it feel like the front is rolling, go higher and it wants to wash out.

I prefer a tyre that can cut into the trail, and it'd be safe to say that 27.5+ is not for me without any experience of it whatsoever. 

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

I've realized I like lower volume casings. The Spez 2.3 ground controls I had once already felt too much, and I'm experiencing the same with the 2.5 maxxis dhf I am currently running. Too low pressure and it feel like the front is rolling, go higher and it wants to wash out.

I prefer a tyre that can cut into the trail, and it'd be safe to say that 27.5+ is not for me without any experience of it whatsoever. 

Tougher casing... Solves all that. 

[stefmeister]

Tougher casing... Solves all that. 

The maxxis minion dhf is EXO TR casing? Not enough?