Spesh Stumpy vs Hopper

DonnyStumpy

Hi giuys,

I have a 2008 Spesh Stumpy Expert. Recently we swopped bikes among the riding group and I rode a 2007 Spesh Rockhopper for a while. The steering on the Hopper seemed much quicker, lighter, and the bike felt more flickable on the trails than mine.. Someone else rode both the Hopper and my Stumpy and said the same about the Hopper, saying my steering felt "slow" by comparison( the cheeky T*** getting back on his £200 Halfords jobbie).

Both Spesh bikes are not modified ( except mud x tyres on the Hopper). Does anyone know why they differ in steering feel like this and can I do any changes to mine to make it more like the Hopper?

And no I dont wanna part ex. for a Hopper!!!

Thanks
Simon

The Northern Monkey

geometry? stem length? bar legth?

RealMan

Try going for a flat bar instead of a riser, maybe slightly narrower as well, or getting a shorter stem.

DonnyStumpy

Thanks for the replies Gents, I shall look into those ideas. The stem of the hopper is much shorter than my bike, but I dunno about the geometry, if its different.

Simon

RealMan

Probably be the stem.

jayson

The stumpy is a more racier bike than the rockhopper, its slightly more upright angle wise than the hopper with a longer top tube all of which affect how the bike will feel along with the stem length/rise and bars.

If u want to lighten up the steering fitting a shorter stem is one way of doin it but go too far and u will un weight the front wheel which in turn will afect how the bike handles.

The 'hopper is designed more as a fun bike whereas the stumpy is more race oriented but both can be used for either it all comes down to personal preference.

supersonic

They actually have the same top tube length - at least for the 19 inch, and the 17 inch the hopper is longer! The only major difference is the head angle on the stumpy is 0.5 degrees steeper.

bregante

agree that it will probably be a stem / bar combination thing. I always swap my stems for shorter ones for the same reason.