Hot News: Specialized launches 27.5-inch Stumpjumper
Specialized enters the mid-wheel size fray with Stumpjumper FSR Expert Carbon EVO 650B
After quietly launching 27.5-inch tires last month, Specialized did the same today with their first Stumpjumper FSR Expert Carbon EVO 650B.
Specialized ended months of speculation by launching their first 27.5-inch-wheeled bike—the Stumpjumper FSR Expert Carbon EVO 650B—on the company’s website today. The last of the major manufacturers to jump on the new wheel size, a launch was anticipated around next month’s Sea Otter Classic festival, but the company appears to have pulled the trigger sooner than later.
While other big players like Giant and Trek made big commitments to 27.5 in their 2014 product introductions at trade shows last year, Specialized preferred to promote their existing 26- and 29-inch offerings rather than jump on the mid-sized bandwagon. Late last month the company added tires to their website, signifying a shift in thinking, which was confirmed when photographs of a 650b Specialized purported to be that of sponsored-athlete Curtis Keene briefly made the rounds last week.
The Stumpjumper FSR Expert Carbon EVO 650B appeared on the company’s website today.
The $6,500 bike looks like a banger with 150mm of rear travel, FOX’s Float CTD Factory Kashima shock with AUTOSAG, a 150mm-travel RockShox Pike RC fork and a SRAM XO1 1×11 drivetrain with custom carbon cranks. It also features Shimano XT brakes, a Roval wheelset and Specialized’s Command Post IR internally routed dropper post.
Though the company has yet to release info on other models it’s a safe bet this is the first of many 27.5ers they’ll roll out this year. Also likely—a line of Roval 27.5-inch aftermarket wheelsets and more models of tires.
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