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There aren't many mountain bikes with a history as long as the Specialized Stumpjumper. It was launched in 1982 and was the first complete production mountain bike - everything before then had been either custom or at least built to order, and actually making a bike involved a good deal of parts sourcing and light bodging.
In the years since then, the Stumpjumper name has been attached to a remarkable array of steel, metal matrix composite, aluminium and carbon fibre frames in both hardtail and full suspension flavours. The current Stumpjumper FSR is very much at the pointy end of MTB technology, with its carbon fibre frame, 120mm suspension travel, inertia-valve rear shock and so on and so forth. Which means that about the only things it has in common with the original Stumpjumper are the name and the presence of two wheels.
And if you've ever wondered what that very first Stumpy would have been like to ride, now's your chance to find out. To celebrate the Stumpjumper's 25th birthday, the company has launched a limited-edition reproduction of that 1982 pioneer.
The spec is a slightly curious mix of ancient and modern. The Tange chromoly frame is built to the original Stumpy geometry (which essentially means short at the front, long at the back and relaxed angles at both ends) and is fitted with a suitably retro tapered, curved rigid fork with an investment cast crown and 1in threaded steerer. Plugged into the top of that is a one-piece "bullmoose" steel bar/stem. Further period touches include the flared foam grips, motorcycle-style four-finger brake levers pulling cantilever brakes, fluted seatpost and proper Ground Control tyres.
The transmission is distinctly 21st century, though. Shimano Deore XT outboard-bearing cranks turn a Shimano HG chain and nine-speed cassette. The front mech is also XT, while the rear derailleur and shifters are SRAM's cutting-edge carbon fibre X.0 parts. Yes, they look a bit incongruous, but then supplies of decent-quality five-speed screw-on freewheels, square-taper cranks and friction thumbshifters are best described as "limited".
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