SPECIALIZED STUMPJUMPER EVO ELITE £4,500

Specialized reintroduced the Stumpjumper Evo last year, and naturally it built it from carbonfibre. With an independently adjustable head angle and bottom bracket height, sidearm design and SWAT down tube storage for your gubbins, the black stuff was always going to be easier to work with to create the complex shapes and cups needed. And at the time of launch, back in October 2020,

Specialized said it had no plans to bring out a more budget-friendly alloy version of the bike – a shame for those of us with less cash to spend, but we kinda understood where they were coming from.

Roll on 12 months, though, and here it is after all, an alloy Stumpjumper, in new Comp and Elite models at the lower price points of £3,250 and

£4,500 respectively. This isn’t some stripped-down Evo though, missing half the tech advancements pioneered on the carbon bike. Nope, the new alloy build has it all – adjustable geometry, six sizes, and even the SWAT door, something we never believed possible in anything but carbon but now made from hydroformed aluminium.

Don’t look at the new Stumpjumper Evo Elite as a budget version of the carbon bike then, although it is a lot cheaper than the £9,500 S-works model. With a full Fox Factory build and SRAM GX build, it’s more a premium bike for those who prefer metal.

Just like the carbon bike, the alloy Stumpy has 150mm travel and 160mm fork, and a similar leverage rate to the carbon bike – small-bump sensitivity, mid-stroke support and compliant

BOOK CLUB

The Downtime Podcast has teamed up with yearbook publishers Misspent Summers to deliver a new Print Journal covering the whole gamut of mtb. Episode 1 is 164 pages, with images from the likes of Sven Martin. £20+P&P (two episodes), misspentsummersshop.com

LUBICROUS

What to get the rider that has it all this Christmas? How about Muc-off’s new Ludicrous AF Oil, as used by Tour de France racers. It offers superlow friction, works down to -20°C, and costs the same as a bottle of 1982 Chateau Mouton Rothschild. £49.99/50ml, muc-off.com