ALLISON MANN

(aka Allison’s 2012 RACE BIKE)

I am super pumped to be on such a sweet bike for this race season.  I have been super pumped to be on my race bikes the last 3 years as well, but this one is slightly different – I have to learn to how to ride it!

My review is coming up later, but let’s start with the basics.

If you want to skip ahead to the review, feel free.  I got a bit off track, as I’m wont to do.  It’s my blog, my rules.

Justin and I got mountain bikes in August 2005.  He’d ridden a bit as a teenager and in college in the early 90s (hey don’t look at me, I was like 12), but I’d stopped riding my bike when I was 13 and the state enacted the helmet law for anyone under 18 (hey, I was 13 and didn’t want to wear a helmet, sorry, I am fully in favor of helmets for EVERYONE now).

We had rented mountain bikes one time, in January 2004, and rode them at a little loop in the San Diego mountains.  And now I will throw myself under the bus

Yup. That was me, riding around on a rental bike in 2004.  Glorious!

I hated it.  My sitbones (we didn’t have cycling shorts) hurt for 2 weeks, and I promptly said I had no desire to ride a bike ever again.  Of course, I barely had the balance and ability to turn in a circle in a neighborhood on a bike at that point, much less enjoy a trail ride.  But, it’s like riding a bike!

A year and some later, Justin and I were at my mom’s house for my sister’s birthday in early July, and Justin, flipping channels, put on Le Tour de France.  ”Why are you watching stupid cycling?  You don’t even know anything about it.  It’s a dumb sport.  How boring.”

Cue 2005 OLN Cycling intro music (that’s as close as we’re going to get) and after reading up on the Tour, Lance, and getting moderately interested and involved, I wanted to ride like Lance! Unfortunately for me Justin had been hit at least twice riding on the road as a teenager, so we weren’t getting sleek fast and colorful road bikes to traverse the tarmac.  No, instead we were getting mountain bikes.  Dirty, loud, trees, weird smells… scary animals, rocks.  Meh.

And, here we were with my new steed (his bike had to be ordered)

Yup, kool-aid.  In 2005.  I got a Stumpjumper FSR Expert Disc bike and Justin wound up with an Enduro Expert as well.  Such newbs!  I think it took me 2 hours to ride 4.5 miles.  I use the term “ride” loosely, since even though this is the easiest ride location ever, I walked anything that wasn’t flat, straight, or smooth.  No joke.

At least we had cycling shorts at this point.

Not too long after we started riding every weekend!  And, I sucked.

That’s me, in 2005, one foot in the pedal, one foot on the dirt, tri-poding down a fire road.  Sure it looks rocky and steep and all.  I assure you it was TERRIFYING.  I mach down this now.  What?  There’s a rock?

Justin always had skilz, which did not help my confidence

But, we went on trips (Sedona, Bootleg Canyon, Gooseberry Mesa, JEM Trail), and had fun.  Just looking at that list of locales one might surmise that for a rank beginner with a) no aerobic fitness, and b) no cycling history or trail skills to speak of that I was wildly out of my element and in over my head.  One would be right.

Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

I learned fast (look where you want to go, not where you don’t – eyes out at least!) and I had no problems covering myself in pads.

Safety first!

OK, enough with the backstory already.  What’s the point, Ventura?!

Only this!

I started out on a full suspension, and by large that’s all I’ve ridden or raced extensively.  Even the Dos Niner with its plush soft-tail ness is more supple and forgiving than a hardtail on its own.

Many, many people suggest that new riders (women included) start out riding hard tails because it will teach them to ride the bike and be a better trail rider.  This doesn’t necessarily mean they will be a happier or healthier trail rider, just that they probably will pick up skills that starting on a full suspension makes unnecessary.  I am not judging.  I don’t know, I only started with a full suspension, so that is the only experience I can draw from.

I loved my bike, and I thoroughly loved moving up to Justin’s Enduro (despite its extra weight I felt like it “climbed” better in many regards than my Stumpjumper).  But, then I got the Dos Niner, and naturally at 8lbs lighter than the Enduro, it climbed way better!  But, descending it obviously didn’t have 6″ of travel.

We went through a vast period where we raced some XC locally at the Sport level, and also did a LOT of downhill and shuttle riding.  I gained a bunch of weight (try 30lbs!), but we had a blast, went on some wicked trips, and basically enjoyed ourselves.

Then in late 2008 I for whatever reason decided to get serious about racing XC bikes.  And, in January 2009 took possession of my first ever Specialized RACE BIKE.

Cue new bike in front of couch pic!

And, I’m spent!

That bike changed my life.  No, seriously.  I really felt it upped my game coming from a mix of the Dos Niner and Canzo 29.  It was amazing.  My first pro race was the Fontana National and I got 10th.  How could it NOT have been magic?  I was in love.

Specialized didn’t have a large 29er fleet back then.  As a matter of fact, they didn’t even offer the Stumpy HT in S-Works 29.  At the time they had a Marathon and a Comp hardtail.  How times have changed.

But, I loved that bike.  I raced and rode it in a LOT of places.

In 2010 I couldn’t wait to get on the latest iteration of awesome race bike.

New race bikes!

Justin had been on the 2009 Stumpjumper 26″ hardtail, and found that he felt faster and much less fatigued on the 26″ Epic full suspension than on his hardtail, so he got my hand-me-down 2009 Epic and loved it.  He had a great season going in 2010 until he hurt himself.

I had a great year in 2010, getting 8th at Nationals and going to World Championships.

STELLAR.

I had it set up to be on the 2011 S-Works Epic, cause it’s what we knew and felt good with.  We both thought it was the best race bike for us for 2011 due to multiple factors.

I loved it, just like 2009 and 2010.

If you’ve read my blog more than once, you know all about 2011.

So, let’s just move on.  I had a few good races on my 2011 and was stoked to have it. Sadly, it didn’t get to perform at the level it probably should have.

And, as you may or may not recall from recent posts… starting in November when I went back on my 2009 bike, with refactored fork, I started crashing.  A lot.  I had a big crashing problem, injuring ribs on both sides of my body, my knees, my elbows, my shoulder, and then my hip, and probably everything twice.

We thought it was just me.

Then I tried a 29er Epic, as I noted a few days ago, and then went back to my Epic 26″ full suspension with cockpit revisions (wider flat bar and shorter stem, then wider flat bar and normal stem), and eventually tried the highly touted Stumpjumper 29er hard tail. And it wasn’t horrible. Since we determined that the hardtail probably wouldn’t set back my descending THAT much, that’s what I settled on.

Viola.

And, I am totally stoked on this bike.  2 rides, and sure, I’ve crashed twice, but I’m also going a LOT faster than I was in November and December while I was struggling, and I’m loving its climbing prowess.

Basically, it’s an awesome bike.  I felt in 2009 when I got on the Epic, my first ever real race bike – carbon fiber, super light, awesome components, etc., that it was a game changer for my racing.  And, I feel like the Stumpjumper 29er will be the same this year.

I do need to learn to ride it (it is a hard tail afterall, and years of full suspension riding have left me probably a bit lazy and unskilled).  But, this ride will up my game no doubt.

It’s light and nimble, takes flight well, and feels solid, like my Epic always did.  I don’t feel like the wheels are slow to accelerate or turn, and on the test bike 29ers I had no issues with switchbacks, at least climbing-wise.

The bike stock out of the box basically, with Garmin mount, pedals, Fast Trak front tire, and slightly heavier stem came in under 20lbs, without even really trying.  Race trim it might be a little lighter, but I’m stoked where it’s at.  No issues there.

Justin won’t be putting together another race bike build video like last year.

Right away getting on the Stumpjumper Comp 29 I felt like it climbed very “clean”ly.  Justin I think better expressed the term I’m looking for in that it is “predictable”.  There’s less wheel spin and activation from the rear suspension (the Brain suspension IMO is awesome and I’ve loved it since day 1, more on this shortly), which I didn’t realize was ever an issue.  I cleaned one of two really steep loose climbs we have locally last weekend without any trouble what-so-ever.  The 2nd one was messy, and I spent more time on the mess lines than the clean line that was totally climb-able.  So, the bike handled about 90% of it as long as I kept turning the pedals, eventually I just couldn’t concentrate enough on pedaling and attempting to get back on the clean line.  I’d bobbed myself around like a bowling ball with bumpers too much and eventually just had to put a foot down.

The bike is super responsive and takes small kicker jumps really well.  The Stumpy Comp 29 did as well, but the Epic Comp 29 seemed a bit loaded down.

I actually noted lifting the bike over a no-moto’s allowed rail on Sunday that the front end was heavier than the rear.  WEIRD.  (For me, anyway).

But, it climbs like a goat.  It just keeps going as long as my legs will turn the pedals.  It is very predictable in that you know there’s going to be a bump if you’re going over rocks or ledges, and the rear tire just rides over it if you keep spinning.  No issues with traction.  I definitely feel climbing steep tech stuff the traction is improved, either due to the lack of suspension or just in terms of adding the tire contact patch.

One thing new for 2012 is the Brain adjustment at the top of the fork leg (instead of the bottom as had been the case 2009-2011).  Many people are really excited about this fact.  I may be the only one that isn’t.  Justin assures me that when left in the “off”, “middle”, or “on” position, the fork works exactly like the Brain fork always worked.  Set and forget (that’s what I did with the adjuster at the bottom, unless we rode Noble Canyon, then I would turn the Brain OFF for the descent).  However, I can’t do that now.  It’s there.  The adjuster knob.  It’s right in front of my face, within easy reach.  So I mess with it CONSTANTLY.  This may or may not cause issues in races because I’ll turn the Brain on for climbing, then realize too late (I’m out of habit/practice with the knob after 3 years of set and forget) that I need to open it back up for the descent.

If this is the worst I can say about the bike, life ain’t too bad.

Descending it feels more stable and confidence inspiring for me.  I’ve had some concerns cornering on my 26″ bikes, but the 29ers just feel really stable and predictable, and don’t give out as much.  That is, until I hit the front brake and crash myself.  It happens.

The lighter carbon-wheeled S-Works version of the Stumpy 29er hard tail doesn’t plow through big thick rocky terrain quite the same way that the Epic 29 Comp did, but that was to be expected.  It still holds its line, holds its own, and gets the job done.

I know that with some time on this bike I’ll gain valuable climbing and descending skills and confidence, and have no doubt that at the end of the season will be a better faster mountain biker overall than I am now.  I’ll have to refine and hone some of those skills I either never learned or have since forgotten to get there, but that’s all part of the process.

So, that’s my review.  Until next time.