[bent^biker]

supposed to be xc but w/e

right now i race/ride mostly downhill and do some "all mountain" trails now and again on my hartail (which weighs way too much). I have been looking to get into a short travel trail rig to do some training and "casual" riding. I put the quotations because even though it may be casual I never like to ride slowly. So now I have the dilema of choosing my weapon. I will be looking at the specialized line up and price is non issue. here are other factors: I don't want to put a whole lot of $$ into this rig because it will not be my primary bike, I just ride up so I can ride down (i don't enjoy climbing), rough terrain is what i live off of, my other rig requires a chairlift.

Right now I am looking at an epic comp or a stumpy comp. I would prefer the epic comp because the brain is simply amazing (I'm a tech geek too), and I really don't think the extra inch will be that big of a difference and this will be replacing my hardtail (which has no rear travel after all). My concerns are that the geo might be a bit to race oriented for me. I was considering putting on a thompson lay-back post, a higher riser bar, and a shorter stem to get a bit more of an all mountain feel. I realize that the epic is intended as a pure race bike but it really seems as if it could be a very capable all mountain rig.

I appreciate the help and gravity addict tolerance.

 

[V-Dub GTI]

I have rode both the stumpy and the epic, I personally bought the stumpy, it seemed more burly to me, and I'm not that little, if you know what i mean. The epic did pedal well though, better than the stumpy, but the rear travel didn't seem as active as the stumpy. If you are wanting to go downhill fast, i would buy the stumpy, I know i love mine.

thats my $.02

 

[bent^biker]

thanks for the input

just as an addon to the orig post....if anybody has their stumpy/epic set up for more of an am type ride I would be interested to see what you did to mod it from stock

 

[Zark]

I ride an'06 Stumpy Expert and ride it on really agressive trails. Here is my list of tweeks to it.
1. Dump the Spec. tires and get some Kenda Nevegals
2. Titec telescopic seatpost, so you can slam it for descents.
My big ring isn't looking good from all the rock hits, but it still works.

This is a trail bike, 4.7" rear. It feels really fast on the trail, but is isn't a freerider/hucker so watch the flat landings and landing sideways.
So just ride the sh*t out of it.

 

[sanjuro]

I have a Kona Dawg, a burly 5 inch travel bike, and I recently bought a ti hardtail.

I set my hardtail in classic XC style, flat bar and bar ends, and I find I descend slower than I do on my Kona, and on the long fireroad descents, my whole body hurts now.

But would I purchase an Epic or a Blur XC? Not much point. It might be more comfortable, but I think my slower descending is due to a tighter geometry than the lack of rear suspension. Yeah, a FS bike is more comfortable, but I can handle some pain.

The Stumpy will seem superlight compared to a dh bike, and you will appreciate the slacker geometry as well as bigger suspension.

 

[FBTMILF]

My friend bought a stumpy for racing xc and i rode it one a few trails and its awesome. Nice and light and fast. I'd defidently recommend it.

 

[V-Dub GTI]

BTW, my stumpy has survived 4 trips to ray's MTB, and 4 days at snowshoe on the downhill side. I jump it ocasionaly, and I weigh 210lbs in gear, the frame has yet to fail. I have done 4ft drops to flat on it to, many times.

 

[bent^biker]

hmmm, logic (and most of you say go stumpy), but the brain is so fricken sweeet. I am hopefully going to be trading in my big ass dh bike for a bit smaller one 6.7" so I'm not sure I would want a 7" bike and a 5" bike. i'll have to think on it a bit more.

I was safety checking (riding around the strip mall) on an epic during my lunch break today and noticed that when I would manual it or go for a j-hop/bunny hop it would have a weird "clunk" in the suspension somewhere (minus the sound, it was just a weird feeling). Is this the brain reaching its threshold and popping and just being different cause the bike is on the ground the whole time and if so is it specific to the epic or would a stumpy do that too? (note: when I just go for a verticle hop (pulling up on bars and pedals equally and simultaniously) it does not happen)

 

[caputo1989]

07 stumpy comes with the brain.

 

[bent^biker]

only from expert up...I don't have that much $$. I'll have to check what 06 stock is left (doubt there are any stumpies).

 

[sanjuro]

hmmm, logic (and most of you say go stumpy), but the brain is so fricken sweeet. I am hopefully going to be trading in my big ass dh bike for a bit smaller one 6.7" so I'm not sure I would want a 7" bike and a 5" bike. i'll have to think on it a bit more.

I was safety checking (riding around the strip mall) on an epic during my lunch break today and noticed that when I would manual it or go for a j-hop/bunny hop it would have a weird "clunk" in the suspension somewhere (minus the sound, it was just a weird feeling). Is this the brain reaching its threshold and popping and just being different cause the bike is on the ground the whole time and if so is it specific to the epic or would a stumpy do that too? (note: when I just go for a verticle hop (pulling up on bars and pedals equally and simultaniously) it does not happen)

From my perspective as a sales guy, people come in all the time and want a bike just like "their hardtail".

But with your technical skills, it is very likely you will overwhelm the brain feature. For example, many riders cannot j-hop at all. They will lift the front wheel and bounce the rear over obstacles. The Brain does a good job there.

Compressing the rear for a hop will overwhelm the Brain. You might be able to tune it out with the Brain Fade.

 

[bent^biker]

what do you mean by overwhelm. And to tune it out I would have to up the threshold correct? I am a spec sales guy too so it would be nice to know about this stuff more in-depth for customers etc.

also, woudn't more proficient riders, even in an xc race setting have to be able to hop obsticals now and then? seems like the bike/brain should be able to handle it.

 

[Zark]

XC racers will sacrifice a lot in the way of the ride to get rid of bob. Brain system removes rider generated movement from activating suspension. The techniques of loading your suspension don't jive with this platform at all since you are trying to preload a hardtail to hop an obstacle.

The Brain Fade feature changes the preload on the inertial weight that turns the shock "off" when its not sensing the bumps. It will make the bike more sensitive to the trail, but to get it to where you can preload it for a hop, you are basically turning the Brain off.....making the Epic's big selling point moot.

Frankly I'm suprised you are interested in the Brain system at all. Most DH'rs shun it. The Epic has twicthy geometry & a suspension design not oriented to "aggressive" techniques.

 

[sanjuro]

what do you mean by overwhelm. And to tune it out I would have to up the threshold correct? I am a spec sales guy too so it would be nice to know about this stuff more in-depth for customers etc.

also, woudn't more proficient riders, even in an xc race setting have to be able to hop obsticals now and then? seems like the bike/brain should be able to handle it.

Keep in mind than there is no perfect bike for every rider. A hardtail guy who can't do a 1 foot drop might think an Enduro SL is squishy. The dirt jumping kid might think a Stumpjumper is fragile. So on and so forth.

The Epic is designed for XC racing. One thing to consider is the more you jump it, the more likely it will break. You don't get a 5lb frame by bulking it up.

 

[bent^biker]

true to that....though this will be primarily for training and I'm not planning on doing huck gnar jumps on it (but hey there are some roots better hopped over) I think i will have to go with the stumpy just because my riding style doesn't really seem like it will jive with an epic. Thanks for all the help.

As for dhers shunning the brain...I am just pretty geeky about cool tech stuff. The brain is almost the perfect solution to pedal bob and would be awesome in a 4x/slalom application (maybe even dh) except for the preload issue. It would be cool to have but it and my nasty habit of going exessivly fast down large hills look to be mutually exclusive. oh well.....stumpy time

 

[bent^biker]

so I wasn't able to sell my dh rig and get the reign x1 like i planned so I will have the led sled with me at the races and whistler....this means I can move on a stumpy. Right now the shop has a baseline 06 on closeout (the red one) I am probably going to pick up. I saw zarks setup but was wondering if anybody else out there would humor me and let me know how they have their stumpies built up for a bit of aggressive trail riding. and would you mind posting some pics?

Thanks for putting up with an ignorant erosion causing downhill outsider

 

[skinny mike]

i just recently picked up a pike for my 05 stumpjumper expert. i have mine set up almost like a mini dh bike. i also tossed on a chainguide, shorter stem, wider bars, shorter cranks, and a bigger front tire. here is my most recent pic of the bike.

i would consider getting a bolt on axle for your rear wheel. a new rear wheel with a 10mm axle is the next item on my list.

 

[Secret Squirrel]

i would consider getting a bolt on axle for your rear wheel. a new rear wheel with a 10mm axle is the next item on my list.

Yep. I tossed a Hadley 10mm thru on my RFX. Makes a world of difference.