So I used to have lots of bikepacking minded bikes over the years (Ogre, Krampus, Rooster) and then, 2 years or so ago, turned my attention to allmountain (…#ENDURO BRO…) riding and bikes.
This week went on a 4 day, 250km, 4000m vertical gain bikepacking trip with a friend and went with my Stumpjumper Evo 29 (160mm fork, DHFs front and rear, Hucknorris insert in rear, heavy-ish DT enduro wheels). Felt somewhat compelled to try so after seeing Lael Wilcox on a Stumpjumper at the AZT300. It being my only MTB also helped…
Complete, absolute surprise. The bike felt so much more stable and planted under the load than any other bike (Surly LHT included), so so comfortable all day long and the tyres and wheels just kept asking for more punishment. Yes, it was slower on most of the climbs than say, my old Ogre on paper thin 2.4 Ardents as well as on the pavement and fireroads but the overall comfort, solid feel and fun on the descents more than compensated for that.
And don’t even get me started on the brakes, the Codes made stopping my 98kg plus gear as easy as it gets.
The only thing I would do differently:
– Would go with a faster rear tyre, like a Aggressor or something, without insert. But that was the setup I had at the moment.
– I need to get a proper dropper post compatible saddle bag, my solution was less than ideal.
I know lots of people will start lecturing “guys, don’t buy an AM/Enduro/long travel tail/whatever bike for bikepacking, that’s stupid” but that’s not the point of this post. What I mean is that if you already own a long travel bike that you feel comfortable to pedal and climb with, don’t feel shy to try it on different scenarios.
If your bikepacking trips include proper gnarly climbs and descents and you’r on the heavy side, it might even come as a perfectly adequate choice
