Steve's Mountain Bike Page
Turlock, California

November 15, 2007. On October 3rd I took delivery of an '07 Stumpjumper Pro. After riding it for more than a month now I am thrilled with it! It combines the best of my two previous bikes. It has the third generation brain shock, five inches of rear travel, and 140 mm of front travel.  First things first, the color is great. It's not a yucky orange but almost a bronze or even gold, and the finish is beautiful. The color goes very well with all the red on the Magura brakes, which are great. Size XL - weight 28.5 lbs. Perhaps I'm the only one who really liked the Shimano integrated brake/shifters. So I was skeptical about the SRAM trigger shifters. The SRAMs are really nice, smooth as silk, very crisp and precise, and they have full length sealed cable housings. It didn't take long to get used to them. The bike seems a bit more nimble and faster than my '05 and the bottom bracket is definitely higher. The brain works as expected, feels like a hardtail until the shock is  needed. I do notice the extra 10 mm up front though, with a bit more bobbing going uphill than I got on my '05. The travel adjustment on the Fox fork is great, just turn the knob one or two clicks to switch between 100, 120 or 140 mm. With the fork dialed down to 100 mm and the brain shock doing its thing the bike really climbs! I sold the Epic to a teenager who really appreciates it.

December 26, 2005. It has now been seven months since I got the Stumpjumper and it has had quite a workout on all my favorite trails. It is so much fun to ride that I've only ridden the Epic twice, and both times were just three hour rides at New Melones. But a shock bolt/bearing problem, coupled with the Christmas rush at my bike shop, required me to ride the Epic for 31 miles at Annadel this past weekend. The first time I got back on the Epic I realized it was too small for me. The Epic is a large while the Stumpjumper is a extra large. This also explains why I need bar ends on the Epic - because they let me stretch out a bit more. It took me about an hour to re-adjust to the Epic at Annadel but then I remembered some of its strengths. It climbs like a monkey! It is a bit more nimble, but that may be due to the smaller size. However, it is a few pounds heavier and it is not as forgiving as the Stumpjumper. The Stumpjumper goes over just about anything while the Epic takes a bit more skill. If I were a racer, more skilled, and perhaps a bit younger, the Epic would no doubt be my first choice. However, I am indeed older and less tolerant of being banged around, I'm certainly not very skilled and with my rather limited riding schedule I don't  have the luxury of practice time, and I've found I really like going over, rather than around obstacles. The Stumpjumper has turned out to be exactly want I wanted. Nearly the same geometry and riding position as the Epic, but with much more travel. And an added bonus has been saving a few pounds. The Stumpjumper has definitely made me a much better and more aggressive rider, and even my fellow riders have noted so. The next question is how long must I wait to get a S-Works Stumpjumper?

On May 17, 2005 I took delivery of a new Specialized Stumpjumper 120 Pro! I've been wanting a second bike with longer travel for some of my rides (Downieville, the Plunge) and my LBS made me an offer I couldn't refuse. 

On February 15, 2003 I took delivery of a Specialized Epic Disc. My first ride was the following day. Read about it here. The bike is mostly stock except I transferred my old XTR shifters, XT rear cassette, Terry Fly saddle, and Shimano 545 clipless pedals to the new bike. At first glance, the stock Shimano disc brakes did not appear to be as good as my old XT's but it looked like it might be difficult fitting them on my old bike, which I had already pre-sold. However, I left them on the new bike and they seemed to be just as good, if not better than my old ones once I got them on the trail. In contrast to my old brakes they are silent, even on steep descents. The only thing I miss is the cool stainless steel brake cables. 

Since my GT iDrive 3.0 developed a crack in the frame again I took this opportunity to buy a new bike. I was really interested in a different type of frame: lower, lighter, and more cross country oriented. Even before I knew anything about bikes and riding I had named the GT "The Beast". I soon realized how appropriate that name was. It was big and very heavy. Coincidently, Specialized had just introduced the Brain Rear Shock and it sounded too good to be true. Click here to read about how it works. Although I had a rear shock lockout on the GT, I rarely used it. After reading up on the brain technology and finally riding the Epic I was sold on it. I had to wait a month for the disc version but since the knees were bothering me the wait gave them some rest. After just one trail ride I'm sold on this bike!

The Specialized is even better than I expected. It is much lower, more nimble, several pounds lighter than my old GT, and it handles and corners really well. Since my old GT had quite a plush ride and I'd never ridden a hard tail on singletrack before, I was a bit apprehensive about the brain shock. However, it works perfectly, activating exactly when needed, and locking out when not needed. You don't even think about it, you just know when it works. The lock out is especially noticeable when you stand up and pedal up hills. There is absolutely no bobbing like I used to get with the GT and the rear tire really hugs the trail. The bike climbs like a monkey. Although the rear shock seemingly has one inch less of travel than the GT, as many reviews have pointed out, you can't make a direct comparison to other full suspension bikes. A heavy person such as myself is already riding on a compressed rear shock so the net available travel is not as great as you would think. The brain technology ensures you get the full "advertised" rear travel. The Specialized is put together really well and it even has a good sound (whurrrr ) on the trail, like I've heard when really good riders zoom past me. For now, particularly in light of my recent knee problems, I'll just stick with the current components. 

A lot of misconceptions are posted on mountain biking bulletin boards by people who have never experienced the brain shock technology so here are a few quotes from the March 2003 issue of Mountain Bike Action Magazine. Read the entire article and you will see how much they raved about it.

"Is the Epic a better cross country racer than a hardtail? Absolutely."

"Can the Epic sprint like a hardtail? The Epic doesn't sprint like a hardtail. It sprints better."

"How does the Epic climb? ...simply motors uphill."

"...you are thinking...suspension can't kick in fast enough. Wrong."

I bought my first bike, a GT XCR 3000 in May of 2000. It was pretty basic because I had planned on just riding the dirt roads on the irrigation canals outside of town. Check out the seat and ridiculously high handlebars on it. However, once I got out of town, particularly on singletrack, my riding changed considerably and I began to upgrade the original components. The original rear shock blew very early on and my LBS gave me a Fox Float RC for only $50. Once I got hooked on singletrack I realized my handlebars were way too high so I got a lower stem and I also added Shimano hydraulic disc brakes. Both really improved my riding. I no longer felt I was going to do an endo on descents from riding too erect, and the disc brakes gave me a lot more confidence because of their tremendous stopping power. I still believe the disc brakes were the best investment I ever made and they are the one upgrade I couldn't live without. The Shimano 545 clipless pedals came next. I'm an old guy, I started biking late in life, and being attached to the bike sounded really scary. However, contrary to what I thought, it actually feels good to be attached to the bike, particularly on fast bumpy terrain and while going uphill. It also makes hanging off the back of the seat on descents much easier. Most impressive is how easy they are to get into, particularly compared to toe clips. It took me less than a half hour of practice in a grassy area to get used to them. I've only ever fallen once because of being clipped in, and that was the first time out because I put out the wrong foot on a turn. I started with the 545's because they also have a platform so I could unclip when I got scared (or so I thought). I found I really didn't need the platform but it's nice to have, for example, when my cleats get too muddy to clip in, I can still ride. 

I've never written much about this delicate subject but I had a sore butt for many months and I tried many different saddles. I also learned it is more efficient and better for the knees to raise the saddle as high as possible to get a  full downward stroke. Simultaneously I bought a taller and more adjustable seat post, Easton EA70 and Terry Fly saddle, and I really cranked up the seat post. Unfortunately, the new bike takes a different diameter seat post so I've had to leave the Easton behind. Along the way I also upgraded to XTR shifters and derailleurs. I also upgraded the front fork to a RockShox SID and that really improved my uphill climbing.

After about one year of riding I had the bike exactly as I wanted it. However, my knees went out after a ride on  May 20, 2001. I was actually going to try and ride the next weekend because at the time I didn't know how bad they were. While washing the bike I discovered a crack in the frame near the seat post support. Fortunately, I decided to check with my LBS. They said it was so bad and dangerous that they would not give it back. Since my knees were gone and it was under warranty I didn't protest too much and I thought the layoff while waiting for the replacement frame would do me some good. GT dragged their feet so my LBS just took a new iDrive 3.0 off the showroom floor and swapped out my components within about 10 days! It was certainly a cool looking bike and I tried riding it around the neighborhood a few times, but the knees hurt too much. It then sat in my spare bedroom for the next 11 months.

Nearly a year later (May 18, 2002), and six months after double knee surgery, I decided to try trail riding one time before giving up and buying a motorcycle. Much to my surprise it wasn't too bad and it seemed to help the knees a bit. I resumed riding again with a vengeance. Fast forward to January 2003. My knees were getting sore again and I was having serious problems with both derailleurs. A LBS mechanic noted my frame was twisting and I had a serious crack in the seat post area again! About a year ago GT was bought out by somebody else and they began making much lower end bikes. To their credit at least, they honored the warranty and I gave one of my students a really good deal on it. However, since my riding style had changed so much and I now know much more about bikes, I decided to buy the new Specialized Epic Disc.

GT owners note: check out the mountain biking forums on the web and you will learn that many GT iDrive frames crack in the seat post area. The cracks are nearly microscopic so pay attention. GT has figured this out and they have strengthened that area, making the bikes even heavier than they already were. At least they have honored the warranty twice for me. Other than the cracked frames I have to say the GT was a great beginner bike, particularly for the price. 

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