Last summer we decided to add a bike to our fleet. My oldest son doesn't really like riding, but he was riding a 20 year old SC Superlight with a blown fork. We bought the basic Stumpjumper for $2,500. I decided to try it out and I actually love it. It is heavy, but has a 50 tooth in the back so it climbs pretty well. The only thing that is really noticeable is the fork, my god is that fork terrible. It has the garbage SRAM drivetrain, but guess what it shifts just fine as long as you don't treat it like XTR and shift under power.
My other minimal bike is a 15 year old Salsa el Mariachi. It has a Jones bar and still runs the mechanical disk brakes that came on it (old Avid BB 7's). Last summer I finally replaced the drivetrain with MicroShift and I have some of my most fun rides on that bike. It isn't fast, but there is a joy from riding something that old that just keeps working.
My main bike is a V1 Hightower that has been slowly upgraded over time. I am way faster on it than either of the other bikes, but they each bring joy in different ways. As my son gets more into jumping I have been considering a true minimal dirt jumper.
Feb. 14, 2022, 7:42 a.m. - Allen Lloyd
Last summer we decided to add a bike to our fleet. My oldest son doesn't really like riding, but he was riding a 20 year old SC Superlight with a blown fork. We bought the basic Stumpjumper for $2,500. I decided to try it out and I actually love it. It is heavy, but has a 50 tooth in the back so it climbs pretty well. The only thing that is really noticeable is the fork, my god is that fork terrible. It has the garbage SRAM drivetrain, but guess what it shifts just fine as long as you don't treat it like XTR and shift under power. My other minimal bike is a 15 year old Salsa el Mariachi. It has a Jones bar and still runs the mechanical disk brakes that came on it (old Avid BB 7's). Last summer I finally replaced the drivetrain with MicroShift and I have some of my most fun rides on that bike. It isn't fast, but there is a joy from riding something that old that just keeps working. My main bike is a V1 Hightower that has been slowly upgraded over time. I am way faster on it than either of the other bikes, but they each bring joy in different ways. As my son gets more into jumping I have been considering a true minimal dirt jumper.