2022 Specialized Stumpjumper Pro Mountain Bike Review

A couple weeks ago, we reviewed the Specialized Stumpjumper Expert. It was quite the journey. Our first ever full-length mountain bike review, my first time on a Specialized bike in a few years, and we walked away from the experience feeling both impressed by the bike and invigorated to do more with bikes. Unfortunately, it started raining right after that review. Then it rained some more, then it rained even more. Thankfully, we’re out of that weather pattern now and can get back out on the trails. While we were enamored by that Stumpjumper Expert from a general perspective, there was a bike on our sales floor that kept grabbing my attention, the minty fresh Stumpjumper Pro. There were a handful of things I wanted to test. How much do the carbon upgrades help? Does AXS shifting make a big difference? Do I really fit an S4, or is the S3 a better option for my 5’10” frame. While there are other bikes we want to get to, I couldn’t resist the temptation, and here we are.

I took an S3 sized Stumpjumper Pro out for some quick testing here in Stowe, Vermont, through both our Cady Hill and Adam’s Camp trail networks. It is a jaw-droppingly impressive machine. Where the Stumpjumper Expert was quick, the Pro is lightning fast. I liked it so much, my current personal bike is already for sale. I’m still not 100% convinced a Stumpjumper Pro will be my next bike as I want to put the Stumpy Evo through the paces, as well as comparable bikes from other brands, but I do know I like it more than my much-longer-travel Scott Ransom 910. Before we get further into performance, let’s look at the specs and how it differs from the Expert.

At a Glance:

2022 Specialized Stumpjumper Pro

First, we get Factory level Fox suspension. A Float 34 Factory fork provides the Grip2 damper and Kashima coating and has both high and low speed compression and rebound adjustments. The Float DPS Factory rear shock isn’t quite as adjustable, but still a nice little upgrade over the Expert. The cockpit is significantly better, in my opinion, with both a 35 mm Deity stem and Roval Traverse SL Carbon bars. I’d love to see the bars come in at 800 mm rather than 780, but it’s not a huge issue. Just a personal preference more than anything. The AXS X01 drivetrain is snazzy and works great, far surpassing the expectations of this analog-loving rider. The X01 carbon cranks pair nicely with carbon Roval Traverse rims and an upgraded DT Swiss 350 rear hub. Between those elements, they’ve reduced rotational weight pretty significantly, which absolutely comes through in performance.

As soon as I got this bike on some single track, I immediately felt more comfortable on the S3. While climbing, I felt more comfortable and a bit more upright, which not only gave me a little more leverage and control over the front end, it also opened up my chest a bike and allowed for easier breathing. So, fun to test, but I’m definitely an S3 rider. Short stem on an S4 just wouldn’t do it, although I thought it might after testing the Expert. On the descents and flats, the bike just felt more flickable and nimble. Easier for me to lay over into a corner and easier for me to make little hops and adjustments to put the front tire where I wanted it to go. Even though the S4 Expert felt agile and quick, the S3 Pro was far better for me.

Back to climbing, this bike is FAST. It’s crazy how much forward momentum you achieve through a single pedal stroke. I noticed it the most coming out of corners while climbing. It feels like you just rocket ahead when you start pedaling. Normally, Bob can put some distance on me on the climbs with his tree-trunk size calves, but the tables were turned on the Stumpy Pro. Multiple times while riding behind me, Bob called out how fast the bike looked, and that’s exactly how it felt. It almost makes me want to stop riding flat pedals and go back to clipping in because then it would be insanely fast. I don’t think I can do that, however, as it’s just as much fun on the descents and playful trails and clipping in to pedals would make me feel like I was there to do something serious, rather than to just have fun.

And fun is probably the best word to describe it on a downhill, particularly a flowy downhill. If it’s not too chundery, the Stumpy Pro absolutely flies. It’s so efficient pumping through rollers and berms. You could take it to your local pump track and probably keep up with dudes on BMX bikes and dirt jumpers. Maybe not, but that’s how fast it feels. It jumps super well, too. This was another place where I found the S3 felt much more comfortable for me. It was much easier for me to turn the bars going into and while in the air. That translated to a lot more confidence and a lot more control. It was also much, much easier to corner, and felt snappier coming out of the corners. Laying it over is mostly the size difference, I think, but the acceleration out of the corner is surely coming from the wheels at least partially. Just so responsive and so fast.

More technical descents and bumpier terrain like roots and rock gardens weren’t quite as smooth. Coming off a much longer travel bike, those are the areas where I feel a bit slower on the Stumpy Pro, but I didn’t play around with suspension adjustments nearly as much as I could’ve. With the fine tuning capabilities of the Factory suspension, I think you could counter that nicely. Also, what I found interesting and rewarding, was anytime I felt like I lost some momentum through a bumpy section, I gained it right back by pumping out of it or accelerating out of a corner. So, while I felt myself slowing down in those bumpy sections compared to my personal bike or any longer travel, more supple bike, I actually think I was faster overall on the Stumpy Pro. Granted, none of these were super steep or super demanding trails, so I think that makes sense. Take it to your local bike park, and I don’t think the result would be the same, but that’s really now how this bike is designed.

AXS shifting is cool. This was my first time riding it for more than a couple laps during a test event. I like it, and I basically got used to the difference after we finished testing the Stumpy Pro. Talking to one of our mechanics, I do want to play around with the adjustments you can make in the app. I like the idea of a 3-burst downshift, and I would definitely swap the location back to what feels like “normal” placement to me. I understand the concept of a more complicated system potentially breaking more often, but the benefit seems to outweigh that concern, at least I think it does.

This Specialized Stumpjumper Pro was originally $8,200, but it’s down closer to $6000 right now with current discounts. No Eagle Transmission, unfortunately, but that is available on the new Stumpy Pro that just hit the market. It’s basically the only change too. That bike hits $8500, which is getting up there, but doesn’t feel unreasonable either. The fact that you can get a very, very similar bike with a drivetrain that’s still really, really good for $2500 less is hard to pass up. So hard, in fact, that there’s a reasonable chance I’ll end up owning one. That is, to say, as long as it’s still available after I have a chance to test those comparable bikes and the Stumpy Evo. Worst case scenario, I suppose, I’ll have to shell out the money for the new Stumpy Pro, which doesn’t seem like a bad scenario… plus I’d get to test the Eagle Transmission… Hmmm….

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