The headline to the Specialized Stumpjumper launch is that there are three models of Stumpy this year – 29r, 27.5 & 27.5+. But the truth is it’s actually four. The Rhyme is a Stumpjumper designed for women (in fact if you strip it down the frame is identical to the Stumpy). It has narrower 720mm bars, a womens’ specific Myth saddle, a shorter 350mm Command Seatpost plus a custom tuned women’s specific Fox shock. The range spans extra small (With appropriate 165mm cranks) to size medium, so no large sizes. Other than the shock and contact points all angles and lengths are identical to the standard Stumpjumper with the exception of the XS model, which has a ‘more rad’ 66.5 head angle. They stop the sizes at medium, so no large ladies here please. But then the spec of the Stumpy and Rhyme are so similar that tall ladies could just opt for a Stumpjumper over a Rhyme anyway.
One factor we really like is the appreciation that it’s not just blokes who may be interested in the top end models. Specialized haven’t stopped at the mid range for this bike but gone right through to provide the keenest of women (along with their associated deep pockets) an ‘almost’ top of the line Expert level carbon model for £4500. It’s not always the case that a manufacturer will allocate beyond the mid range to a women’s specific model. That said, the refreshingly gender neutral colour scheme coupled with the XS sizing will appeal to the smaller men and even very VERY privileged kids.
It’s interesting to note that although the Rhyme is available in the new 6Fattie (27.5+) size, with Boost 148 rear and ‘standard’ 27.5 size with 142 rear, there’s no women’s specific 29r.
Those actual specs..
RHYME 650 XS S M
Stack (mm) 587 590 599
Reach (mm) 369 388 414
Head-Tube (mm) 95 95 105
Head-Tube Angle (deg) 66.5 67 67
B-B Height (mm) 335 335 335
B-B Drop (mm) 18 18 18
Trail (mm) 108 104 104
Fork Length (full) (mm) 542 542 542
Fork Rake/Offset (mm) 42 42 42
Front-Center (mm) 663 677 706
Chain-Stay (mm) 420 420 420
Wheelbase (mm) 1082 1096 1126
Top-Tube (horiz) (mm) 539 558 587
Bike Stand-Over (mm) 719 737 743
Seat-Tube (mm) 386 396 430
Seat-Tube Angle (deg) 74 74 74
Handlebar (mm) 720 720 720
Stem Length (mm) 45 60 60
Crank Length (mm) 165 170 175
Seatpost Length (mm) 350 350 390
And the prices…
- RHYME FSR EXPERT CARBON 650B – £4500.00
- RHYME FSR COMP CARBON 650B – £3000.00
- RHYME FSR COMP 650B – £2200.00
- RHYME FSR EXPERT CARBON 650B 6FATTIE – £4800.00
- RHYME FSR COMP CARBON 650B 6FATTIE – £3500.00
- RHYME FSR COMP 650B 6FATTIE – £2500.00
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“custom tuned women’s specific Fox shock” – can someone please explain that to me?
It’s been tuned for a lighter rider
I guess that makes sense, but shouldn’t that be the case for smaller mens frames too?
The mens’s frames only go down to size small. The Rhyme goes down to XSmall. The thinking is that for a given size of stumpy and rider height a female rider is generally going to be lighter than a male rider and so the shock is tuned to allow the female rider to access the same range of shock stroke as the male rider under the same conditions.
Mind you the women’s sizes only go up to medium so if you are a tall lady then you need to opt for a large Stumpjumper, with it’s not-for -ladies tuned shock… Oh its’ all so confusing!
Ooh and it ćomes with the lunchbox too!
So, just wondering. What is the reason manufacturers are moving away from making geometry changes for womens bike? i.e Bronson/Rubion and Rhyme/Stumpjumper being same geometry.