Over on the blue social network Graves has posted up a pic of the bike he just won Round 5 of the Enduro World Series on. And it’s not your usual Stumpy.

For a start it’s the 29 inch wheeled Specialized Stumpjumper, as opposed to the more traditionally enduro favoured 650B Stumpy, or even the 650B Enduro.

Graves’ posting has turned into a real talking point. And it has some genuinely fascinating little titbits and advice mixed in there too.

Pic: Jared Graves/Facebook

Over to you Jared…

(We’ve left Graves’ mispellings in as it kinda adds to the homely ‘chatting away’ vibe!)

“Bike check!! Not the most glamorous pic I know, but it’s the best side on pic I have, and I’m trying to keep it real! A lot of people are asking about my bike setup so here we go….

“Frame: Large sworks stumpjumper29

>>> Specialized Stumpjumper FSR Comp Evo review

“Fork: rockshox Lyrik 160 mm @ 97psi, 3 bottomless tokens, 51mm offset.

“Rear shock: Rockshox superdeluxe @ 212psi. (One off prototype yoke to fit shock at this stage)

“Rebound: best described as slow.

“Wheels: roval traverse fatty sl.

“Tires: specialized butcher grid 2.3 front and rear. 26psi front, 28psi rear

“Drivetrain: full sram eagle X01, 36t chainring, 170mm cranks.

“Brakes: Sram guide ultimate levers, code calipers, metallic brake pads, 200mm G2 rotors.

“Bars and stem: renthal 35mm fatbar, 750mm wide, 20mm rise and 50mm apex stem.

“Chainguide: mrpbike carbon SXg.

“Pedals: htcomponents T1.

“Saddle: specialized phenom ti rails.

“Seatpole: specialized command post, 125mm drop.

“Thanks also to stagescycling for the power meters for training.

“Main numbers…

“Head angle: 65.9

“Bottom Bracket: 340mm

“wheelbase: approx 1180mm

“Rider specs: 178cm and 81kg.

“I think that’s about it, hope some find that helpful…”

Video: Pro Bike Check: Curtis Keene’s Specialized Stumpjumper 650b

Comments can be useful

The pic generated lots of comments and questions from an unusually thoughtful and invigorated audience.

Some were wondering about why he chose to run a Large size as opposed to the Medium that Specialized’s height chart suggests would be better for him.

Jared Graves replied: “Large frame is a far better fit for me, perfect actually, bigger bikes allow you to move your body around the frame better, which equals more control all around.”

>>> Size matters: why we’re all riding bikes that are too small

Other people were asking what steered Graves towards the Stumpy instead of the Enduro?

Jared Graves: “mostly geometry. The Head angle with a 160mm fork is actually slacker than the enduro, The stumpy frame fits me slightly better, The BB is lower. And the 135mm travel, while not always enough travel for racing on the really rough stuff makes up for it on the smoother pedally sections/stages. A fast bike is all about balance!”

He elaborated: “every 10mm in fork length will get you an extra .5 degree in the head angle, Plus as the website specs go, the bike comes with a Purgatory rear tire, which is slightly higher volume than the 2.3 Butcher I used, which accounts for approx .2 degree at the head angle, then the custom yoke could be a touch shorter, but dont quote me on that. all I know is that I measured the HA with 2 different angle finders and it came to 65.9 on both”

When asked about his choice of G2 rotors instead of Centreline rotors (see? told you the audience was thoughtful!) Graces explained: “theres a little more surface area on the G2 for potentially slightly more braking power, Being new to SRAM this year I started using them on Curtis’s feedback. And I like them a lot.”

The inevitable key question of 29 vs 27.5 came up.

Jared: “I instantly loved the high speed stability of 29, while modern bike geo doesnt negatively effect the handling, so it was almost a win/win. the only downside of 29 is I find that with DH casing tires, there is a lot of weight at the outside of the wheels that negatively effects quick handling. I find the point of a tire becoming slow and weird handling (in the front atleast) to be at about 1200 grams. It doesnt necessarily mean its a bad thing, it just takes some time to adjust.”