Specialized Stumpjumper FSR 29, Maple Springs, Main Divide, Silverado Motorway

This was my third ride on the same course with rented demo bikes. You can read about the first two rides here and here. Today's ride was a Stumpjumper FSR 29, propedal rear shock, but no "brain". The first thing you notice about this bike is that the bars are very wide and the front tire is really out there. It feels like a very big bike. Here is a picture about halfway up Maple Springs Road.

 With this bike, I had pedal bob all the way, and could not get rid of it. Both settings on the rear shock seemed to produce the same results. I hope there was something wrong with it - in other words, I hope it's not supposed to act like that! It felt like more work to climb the mountain than either of the other demo bikes, but I finally made it to the top.

At the junction with Main Divide Road, I lowered the seat and flipped both shocks to the active position in anticipation of some fast descending. The Stumpjumper FSR had five inches of travel front and rear, and it simply ate the big ruts that gave me trouble on the hardtail last week. So far, so good! Overall, I was descending a little faster today, partly due to the bike, and partly due to the practice I've been getting the last three weeks. On relatively smooth fire road, it screamed downhill. I could learn to love this!

At the junction of Main Divide and Silverado (above), and at the wind sock on Bedford Peak (below)

 From here on out it is all downhill, very steep with lots of loose rocks. The Silverado Motorway drops around two thousand feet in less than three miles. The trail is very narrow and there are steep drop-offs right next to the trail. It was on this part of the ride that I started to dislike the handling characteristics this bike, and started to love the brakes. The bike seemed to "wallow" at times and generally act in an unpredictable manner. I even crashed once (into a bush, not over the side). I don't know why - I hope it's because someone before me thrashed something or other on the bike. Other times it seemed to behave and worked rather well. In places with lots of rocks, the fork would sometimes compress too much, resisting my forward motion to the point of almost stopping. This could have been due to my lack of skill, or from going to slow, but I don't remember it happening with either of the other bikes I tested.

Bottom line: For the type of rider I am, and the type of riding I do, thumbs down. It did not climb as well as either of the Niners I tested, nor did it handle well on Silverado. The places where it did shine were a relatively small portion of the entire ride. Ride details are below.

Happy New Year!