Specialized Stumpjumper

A passionate young bike enthusiast from California, Mike Sinyard, decided that after graduating from university in 1974 he would sell his van to fund a cycling tour of Europe. While on this tour he stumbled upon a woman in a youth hostel in Milan who had a few connections in the Italian cycle manufacturing industry. He arranged to meet with these manufacturers and they somehow agreed to allow Sinyard to sell their bike components back in the U.S. With high-end bike parts in short supply, Sinyard knew that he was onto a winner, especially with the current popularity of cycling in the U.S. at the time. This was the birth of Specialized.

Sinyard and his new Specialized brand were a huge success, selling an incredible amount of European bike components to the hungry American bike shop owners. Encouraged by his success, Sinyard decided that instead of just supplying imported bike components, maybe it was time for Specialized to manufacture their own.

First came on the production line came the  Specialized touring bike tyre in 1976, followed by the first foldable clincher tyre in 1978 and then Specialized introduced their first complete bikes, the Allez road race bike, and the Sequoia Touring bike frame. Specialized as a brand were growing fast, but it was in 1981 when Specialized completely changed the cycling world when they introduced the very first Mountain Bikes to the public, which they had named the Specialized Stumpjumper.

The Specialized Stumpjumper moved cycling away from the roads and pavements and put them on uneven surfaces like trails and hills. Specialized originally produced 500 Stumpjumper Mountain Bikes in 1981, which sold out remarkably quick and it didn’t take long before other bike manufacturers jumped onto the popularity of the Stumpjumper and started designing and producing their own Mountain Bike models for the following year. Specialized’s loyalty to the bike shops by only selling Specialized products in the bike shops had paid off, with the bike shops showing their loyalty in return by consistently recommending Specialized products to their customers.

Specialized have continued to produce the Stumpjumper, which has been just as popular over the years  as it was on its original creation in 1981, with such Mountain Bike legends as Christoph Sauser and Ned Overend making the Specialized Stumpjumper their mountain bike of choice.

Todays Specialized Stumpjumper Mountain Bikes are completely different to the original Stumpjumper , having evolved so much that Specialized have created a front suspension hardtail mountain bike version of the Stumpjumper and also a full (front and rear) suspension Mountain Bike named the Stumpjumper  FSR.

The Specialized Stumpjumper has been widely regarded as the very first mountain bike, and this has been disputed by many, but what is for certain is that the Stumpjumper has had a major influence on all Mountain Bike designers and manufacturers ever since its creation and has made a huge contribution to the popularity of the sport of mountain biking.