Men's Stumpjumper Expert 29

The new Stumpjumper Expert 29 is so in touch with the trail, it actually feels more like an extra body part than a bike. This miracle machine has the ability to transform every trip from just a ride' into a transcendent, trail-smashing experience.

The aim of the new Stumpy was clear from the start; build a trail bike that might as well be telepathic, communicating directly with its rider at every turn. The recipe for a bike with that sort of feeling has one key ingredient: stiffness. We optimised the design, layout, materials and shapes of the bike in pursuit of this one single goal.

To make a 20% more efficient bike, we subjected our prototype Stumpy frames to a mountain-specific stiffness test and Finite Element Analysis. That led us to the biggest areas for improvement, and shone a light on something pretty interesting. It transpired that our Large and X-Large frames needed a tad more front end stiffness, while our Medium and Small frames were already pretty darn close to optimal. The result One of the lightest trail frames available on the market, plus that essential 20% more.

You'll no-doubt have noticed the new-look Sidearm frame design, which surprise, surprise came about in our hunt for a stiffer Stumpy. The Sidearm helps to keep the three points where the rear and front ends are connected feeling supper locked-in, at the same time as shaving about 100g off the back-end bike weight. This reduces the amount of flex in the frame when the rear suspension is called into action.

Further enhancing the suspension performance, we've tricked out the rear shock and fork with our custom Rx Trail Tune. We use Rx Tune to make each bike land smack bang in the centre of the spectrum for adjustment, evening out the inconsistencies that arise from varying frame, rider and wheel size. We also matched the characteristics of the suspension between different wheel sizes, so this 29er will deliver the same linear suspension as other models.

The 2018 Stumpy dispenses with proprietary standards and gets back to good old rideability. We've returned to a threaded bottom bracket and we're now using standard metric shocks so you can throw on any aftermarket rear shock you like. We've made internal cable routing a breeze, with full tubes to guide your wires into place eliminating those long, often infuriating sessions in the workshop.

Our SWAT box gets a sleeker revamp, with more space and better integration into the frame, while the clever Flip Chip feature lets you tweak the geometry of the frame itself offering a 6mm drop/rise in BB height, as well as a half-degree change in head tube angle. Oh, and there's room for a 3.0 tyre now too.

Full SRAM GX1 drivetrain teams with the German brand's Guide R disc brakes, while RockShox handle the suspension fore (150mm) and aft (140mm). Roval Traverse Carbon 29er wheels complete the build package.