This being a potential only bike is music to my ears. I bought a Stumpjumper (the basic alloy cheapest suspension thing in the shop version) for my son a couple years ago and after riding it a couple of times discovered that the modern geometry makes for an amazingly versatile bike. Over time it has become my main bike. My other bike is a V1 Hightower that is better for jumps, but lags in all other situations.
Where the Stumpjumper fails is at the bike park. Something like this that could take the bike park and normal all mountain riding sounds perfect for what I need these days. I always sit and spin so hearing that is the preferred climbing sounds good to me. My out of the box upgrades mirror yours I wouldn't even bed in the pads on those brakes. We have been working on getting all our bikes on Shimano for brakes and drivetrains. The new heavy but cheap Shimano stuff is great for this and would be a first winter upgrade.
The one thing I don't do is upgrade wheels. I have a spare set and have employed a see if I can destroy the cheap wheels approach. So far again I have been amazed at how capable a modern mountain bike is, even the cheapest version.
Jan. 8, 2024, 6:55 a.m. - Allen Lloyd
This being a potential only bike is music to my ears. I bought a Stumpjumper (the basic alloy cheapest suspension thing in the shop version) for my son a couple years ago and after riding it a couple of times discovered that the modern geometry makes for an amazingly versatile bike. Over time it has become my main bike. My other bike is a V1 Hightower that is better for jumps, but lags in all other situations. Where the Stumpjumper fails is at the bike park. Something like this that could take the bike park and normal all mountain riding sounds perfect for what I need these days. I always sit and spin so hearing that is the preferred climbing sounds good to me. My out of the box upgrades mirror yours I wouldn't even bed in the pads on those brakes. We have been working on getting all our bikes on Shimano for brakes and drivetrains. The new heavy but cheap Shimano stuff is great for this and would be a first winter upgrade. The one thing I don't do is upgrade wheels. I have a spare set and have employed a see if I can destroy the cheap wheels approach. So far again I have been amazed at how capable a modern mountain bike is, even the cheapest version.