2022 Specialized Stumpjumper Expert Mountain Bike Review

The progression of our reviews here on SkiEssentials.com has been fun and rewarding to witness firsthand. What started as short, quick reviews of skis and ski-related gear has grown into long, in-depth, borderline-too-nerdy breakdowns of our favorite gear. While still predominantly alpine-ski-focused, we’ve chatted about snowboards, XC skis, in-line skates (Rollerblade), and a handful of other categories over the past few years. What we haven’t yet delved into, however, at least not in a public-facing format, is bike.

Now, before you start thinking to yourself, “what business does SkiEssentials have reviewing bikes,” I’ll tell you! Our brick and mortar location in Stowe, Pinnacle Ski and Sports, has been building on and expanding its bike business over the last decade. What started as rec path rentals, going back quite a bit further, has become a full line of retail offerings and a robust service center. Our recent acquisition of Basin Ski and Sports in Killington added fuel to an existing flame, coming with years and years of experience in the bike world and a slew of new brands for us. The natural progression is to integrate more bike content and e-commerce options into our online presence, and here we are!

I’ll start by giving you some background into my own riding. I (Jeff) worked in the bike industry for close to ten years coming out of college. I’ve attended Interbike, ridden a ton of different models, and was fully in-tune with all things mountain bike. While the last 10 years hasn’t been spent specifically in the industry, I haven’t stopped riding bikes. Lift service DH, lots and lots of local trail riding, the occasional mountain bike themed trip, and plenty more. While I’m not the world’s biggest bike geek, I think I at least qualify for consideration into the club.

Without further ado, let’s get into the fun part and talk about this bike. While I’ve ridden a lot in the past couple decades, my Specialized experience is surprisingly small compared to most other big box brands. I was, not surprisingly, very excited to throw a leg over this Stumpjumper Expert and give it a run. Carbon frame and rear triangle with Specialized Fact 11m carbon. Sleek, light, looks great, feels great. 29er wheels (remember when we used to laugh at these things?), a 65 degree head tube angle, 76 degree seat tube angle, and a 140/130 front/rear suspension breakdown gives the Stumpy what I would describe as very modern trail bike geometry.

At a Glance:

2022 Specialized Stumpjumper Expert

Components are pretty slick for a $6200 bike, especially considering you can pick it up closer or even less than $5000 with current discounts. Fox Performance Elite suspension front and rear, with the fork featuring the Grip2 Damper. I haven’t ridden a DPS rear shock much, and while I often prefer more volume and more adjustments in my rear shock, I was pleased with the convenience of the 3-setting switch and impressed by its overall performance. Similar story for me with the fork. Coming off a bike with a Fox 38 (my personal bike is a Scott Ransom 910), the 34 looks so small, but the Grip2 damper did its job as I’m used to and I never felt held back by the fork once I got over the visual difference. X01 drivetrain might be the highlight in how this bike is pieced together. It’s a pleasure to ride. Crisp shifts, great feel, love it. Makes GX feel like garbage. Maybe not garbage, that’s a bit harsh, but there’s a noticeable difference. I’d love to get carbon hoops on this thing, but I also don’t have any major issues with the wheelset. The DT Swiss hub is reliable and the Traverse 29 Alloy rims from Roval feel solid. Cockpit could use some upgrades, in my opinion. If I’m spending over $5000 on a bike, it’s going to have carbon bars on it. I understand that I’ll be making that change more often than not at that price point, I just think it’s worthwhile. It’s understandable that Specialized leaves it off for cost reasons, and upgrading to the Stumpy Pro solves that problem, but if you’re picking up this bike, I would at least consider slapping some carbon bars and your stem of choice on there. That can go a long way. Good stopping power from the brakes, so no issues there. Nice getting a 200 mm front rotor on a (relatively) short travel bike.

So, how does it ride? In one word: fast. Starting with climbing, as that’s what I experienced first (how many trail networks start with a descent? Can’t be many), it feels highly efficient. I was riding an S4 size, which at 5’10” is the bigger of two size options for me. This did cause me to feel a bit more stretched out than I would’ve preferred while climbing, and the long wheelbase did seem to wander a bit for me, but the straight-line efficiency is off the charts. Almost no pedal bob whatsoever, even when standing. It shot me forward in climbs, which was a huge benefit for me as I still have early-season riding legs. Compared to my longer travel bike, it felt so so nice on the climbs. I do think I would prefer the S3 size, at least I would for climbing, but I also didn’t have major difficulties on this and you gain the benefits of speed and momentum with the bigger bike. Bob, riding the S5, didn’t have any issues whatsoever. Matt Stromecki is a little more like me, being somewhat in-between L and XL frame bikes. Both riders are 6’2”, so really interesting this is more based on what they prefer than anything else, but noteworthy none-the-less. He felt the S5 was a bit big, similarly to how I felt the S4 was a bit big. Interesting to note, but not a major issue for anyone, and easy to fix with your size choice.

General trail riding is similar to climbing, the bike feels extremely efficient and fast, but I started to learn another side of it. It’s quick and agile as soon as you start to build up some speed. Where the bike was a bit floppy for me on climbs, again probably due to the size, it was the opposite on flatter terrain. It became extremely agile, quick, and flickable. Easy to pop off little rocks and roots on the sides of the trails, corners really well, but feels stable and balanced too. This is also where I started to want slightly better small bump compliance, however. Admittedly, I could’ve spent a little more time really fine tuning suspension settings and tire pressure and I think I could’ve eliminated that feeling, but it’s worth bringing up. It did feel a bit bumpy at times, or maybe I was just feeling more vibrations in my hands with my general preference for carbon bars. Hard to say, but it was there.

You could feel it on the descents too. This isn’t a massive bike, and at times through chundery sections of trail, I wished for more travel or a bigger shock, but that didn’t happen very often, and was just about always over-shadowed by the bike’s speed, agility, and general ability to just get it done. Whatever I pointed it towards, we got through just fine. I could feel it, at times, but it’s a very capable bike that will gobble up everything your local trail network has to offer. I wouldn’t want to bash it through endless bike park laps, as I think that would push the suspension past its comfortable capabilities, but that’s really not what it’s designed for. Alternatively, on the descents, when we were on more machine-built flow trails, the Stumpy Expert is INCREDIBLE. This might be the best flow trail jumpy trail bike I’ve ever ridden. It’s so responsive and agile I found myself clearing certain doubles and other features extremely easily compared to on my normal longer-travel bike. I absolutely loved it on some of our (already) classic flow trails in Stowe. Florence in Cady Hill, Haulapalooza in Adam’s Camp, it absolutely rips on those trails.

All in all, this is a fantastic trail bike. It’s way more well-rounded than what I’m used to riding, which felt super refreshing for me. It reminds me of that conversation we often have here at SkiEssentials.com about skiers opting for skis that are arguably too wide. I think the same could be said about bikers and suspension travel. Do you really need that 170 travel bike? I, for one, have decided I do not, and I largely owe that new mindset to testing this bike. Will my next bike be a Stumpy? It might be, it might not, but it’s on the list. Will my next bike be a ~140 travel trail bike? This Stumpjumper Expert has convinced me the answer is yes, a resounding yes.

Matt Stromecki is young, talented, and with a strong riding background. We twisted his arm (it was easy) to get him to put this bike through the paces, and I’m excited to share his reaction.I hope you enjoy hearing his perspective!

Matt's Thoughts:

Being a freeride mountain biker, the Specialized Stumpjumper has consistently been on my radar as a bike that would be well suited for my riding style and application. Many friends of mine ride them and they have certainly piqued my interest. The Stumpjumper’s progressive geometry and trail riding focus makes it a bike that stands out as a capable option for people such as myself. Once I got the chance to ride the size S5, all of my assumptions were confirmed. It climbs like a machine and I did not feel as though I was losing a lot of traction. This was especially evident in situations where I was climbing steep and technical sections as the bike just rolled over the top of roots and rocks without my front wheel losing contact with the dirt. The S5 did feel a bit long for me as my personal bike has a shorter reach, however I think that significantly assisted in its uphill performance. This is because I found that the configuration of the cockpit had my weight towards the center of the bike when going uphill. Now, this uphill performance may be a little skewed due to my personal bike having more travel, shorter cockpit, and lower ride height. Due to the longer reach, I found the Stumpjumper to not be as nimble and maneuverable as I initially thought it would be. The headtube angle helped counteract this though and once I got used to it, the bike became much more predictable and easier to control.

As for downhill performance, the Stumpy came to life and was agile yet stable. Tight turns and technical sections were a breeze as the bike simply glided over the rough chunder without a fit. The longer reach allowed for a weight balance over both wheels, which lead to a composed feeling throughout the descents. Cornering felt great as I did not feel as though the bike was dictating my movement, instead I felt as though I was the pilot at all times. I could lean into the turn as much as I wanted without feeling like I was pushing the bike beyond its limits. The Stumpjumper’s jumping capabilities were much better than expected as I thought that I may get a little bucked forward at first glance. Instead, the bike was composed and provided an excellent pop off the lips. Upon landing, the geometry soaked up the impacts gracefully without transferring too much energy back into me.

Overall, I was very impressed and understand why it is such a popular choice for trail riders all over the world. This is a trail bike through and through, great on the uphills and capable on the downhills. Would I chose this to be my enduro race bike? Probably not as it only has 140mm of travel in the fork and shock. Would I choose this as my bike to take to the bike park? Definitely not. But would I choose this for a full day of crushing miles through the rolling hills and mountains? Absolutely!

Available Soon!