Matchy matchy FTW!
I still think your approach is a bit like putting lipstick on a pig, but this from a guy that runs 1,500 g xc-ish wheels on his Slash......
But at least they're 30 mm iw!
That’s the interesting bit. The Stumpy Evo, when it was first released for 19/20, was pretty much right in line with where Transition was headed. At 495 reach (flip chip in high position), it sits between what most companies position now as L/XL.
I am 6’2”, decent ape index, and I found it to be a little long, probably because stack height is so low and I seem to be stuck right between L/XL for most bike current bike specs. 35mm rise bars, 32mm stem fixed my discomfort on the Evo. So I have a frame that fits me perfectly, is 1/2” lb heavier than a Spur frame but has the SWAT compartment, and will be spec’d like those bikes are spec’d. Rear travel is longer, but the base shock is only 210x50 so it’s never ridden like a longer travel bike.
Head angle is still slack (the current Evo has 3 degrees of adjustment to do the silliness I am doing here), but otherwise it doesn’t really look different than a current gen Stumpjumper that Spesh reoriented to “trail”.
My honest thought is I’ll either just like it full time on the 140mm Fox 34 or it won’t have made any real difference so why bother, but I figure I can sell the parts I bought and maybe lose $150 total. Buy a new bike and put yourself in a different no-man’s land and you eat thousands selling. It’s really all about the rear linkage, isn’t it?
Anyway, riddle me this. Fox says the axle to crown on the Fox 34 29 140mm is 547mm. Hayes says the axle to crown on the axle to crown on the Manitou Mezzer 27.5 170mm is 574mm. They look identical unless I am missing what “axle to crown means”. The extra length of the Mezzer is all below the axle.
I’m happy about this since Stack will stay up with the 140mm, but can’t really explain it.