In seeing the popularity of the Santa Cruz Bronson (which is
an awesome bike if you’ve read my review) I decided to write up a review on the
2013 Specialized Stumpjumper EVO comp and do a little comparison to the Bronson. I know some people may be as surprised as I
was…maybe even upset..
I rode the Bronson for a while and found I was always
comparing it to my old EVO. One ride, I
ran into someone with an EVO and we switched bikes for a bit as he wanted to
try out the Bronson. While riding the Evo, I
remembered how much I liked that bike.
With the 27.5 wheel craze and popularity of the Bronson, decided to sell
it. I soon found a used Stumpy evo with
26” wheels and bought it.
On the first few rides, I thought I would feel awkward
on the bike and smaller wheel. I put on
a short stem and wider bars and immediately felt at home. I did notice the smaller wheel, but after a
few pedal strokes, was already used to it.
We have some good trails with a lot of variety by our home. They have some really steep climbs, some dirt
roads, lots of smooth single track, some technical trails and a few that are
really rocky. I’ve ridden this bike a
ton locally, in Moab, and St. George and every ride is a blast!
While climbing, the bike feels light and goes up easily. On really steep sections where I felt I was
fighting the Bronson, the Evo scooted up surprisingly well. After long steep climbs, I found I actually had
more energy than I did on the Bronson. You
could feel the mid-sized wheel roll over things a bit better, but the FSR
suspension was so plush, it kept traction and was really enjoyable
climbing. It wasn’t a 22lb racer, but
for a bike with 150mm of travel and 26” wheels, it shouldn’t do as well as it
does going uphill. When the trail was
flat, the Bronson held speed a little easier than the Evo, but I was blown away
at how well it climbs.
Like the Bronson, when you point the bike downhill you see
what the bike was made for. The suspension
was so supple and plush you can just fly over rocky terrain. Where the Evo is a bit more playful and can
hop and play over rocky trails, the Bronson has more of a, “I’m going to plow
over stuff and not even worry about it” attitude. Cornering on this bike, with its low BB and
short stays is so much fun! However, I
think this is where I preferred the mid-size wheel a bit more. If the corner was really loose and rocky, the
smaller wheel had to be guided through a little more where the 27.5 wheel held
the line without too much worry. Both bikes
were a blast going down, but the Evo seemed easier to ride aggressively and
just have fun while the Bronson was a little bit more business. With that being said, on every single Strava
segment, my fastest times were on the Stumpy Evo. Was it the bike or was it because I was just
having a freaking blast? That is a good
question.
After riding many bikes in many different areas, these two
were my favorites. If I had to pick a
favorite bike of all time, it would be the Stumpy Evo for how much fun it is to
ride and how well it handles everything from XC loops to shuttle trails. The Bronson is an awesome bike and super fun to ride, but I would give the edge to the Evo.
It seems every ride, I stopped caring about wheel sizes, latest bikes,
being fast and just had fun riding and that is what it is all about.
So, go ride your bike..
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