Specialized Stumpjumper

History

Specialized started to produce the Stumpjumper in 1981, making it the first mass-production mountain bike. The first Stumpjumper was produced in Japan and was based on a design for a custom-made bike originally marketed by Tom Ritchey, Gary Fisher and Charlie Kelly. Specialized's founder Mike Sinyard has explained that the company's aim was to "make a bike on a production basis but as though it was a custom bike". The first Stumpjumpers had welded steel frames because the lugged and brazed frames that designer Tim Neenan wanted to use were not available at the time. The original bike had a modified BMX stem and handlebars based on Magura motorcycle handlebars. The bike was equipped with 15-speed Suntour ARX GT gears, originally designed for use on road bikes, and the Stumpjumper also featured Mafac cantilever brakes and a TA Cyclotourist chainset, both designed for touring bikes. It had no suspension. The bike weighed just under 30 lb.

After the first production run in 1981, around 500 were imported to the United States over the course of the next year. |orig-date=1999

An original Stumpjumper is displayed in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. A limited edition reproduction of the original Stumpjumper, featuring modern components and named the Stumpjumper Classic, was produced in 2007 to mark the bike's 25th anniversary. It was available for US$1,300.

Present day

Specialized continue to produce the Stumpjumper, which, like mountain bikes in general, has evolved significantly since 1981 and seen iterations in full (front and rear) suspension and hardtail (front suspension only) options, with the former named the Stumpjumper FSR until the Stumpjumper line-up became full-suspension only.

Use by professional riders

Professional mountain bikers who ride Stumpjumpers include Christoph Sauser and Ned Overend. Overend won the 1990 Mountain Bike World Championships – the first ever event of its kind – on a carbon-fiber prototype Stumpjumper.

References

References

1. (1 August 1992). "Reinventing the wheel". The Economist.
2. Ruibal, Sal. (22 March 2006). "Still shredding after all these years". USA Today.
3. Rosen, Paul. (2002). "Framing Production: Technology, Culture, and Change in the British Bicycle Industry". MIT Press.
4. (2005). "Bike for Life: How to Ride to 100". Marlowe and Company.
5. (2003). "Mountain Bike Madness". MBI Publishing.
6. Hewitt, Ben. (2005). "Bicycling Magazine's Mountain Biking Skills: Skills and Techniques to Master any Terrain". Rodale Press.
7. Overfelt, Maggie. (20 May 2008). "King of the mountain bike". CNN Money.
8. Eng, Sherri. (26 September 1994). "Mountain bike founders still cycling". Calgary Herald.
9. "Stumpjumper Classic". Specialized Bicycle Components.
10. Rogers, Seb. (7 March 2009). "Specialized Bicycles Stumpjumper Comp HT (09)". BikeRadar.
11. "Christoph Sauser Wins in Cederberg, South Africa aboard his Stumpjumper". Specialized Bicycle Components.
12. "Stumpjumper FSR Expert". Specialized Bicycle Components.