First Look: Specialized's Limited Edition Stumpjumper Inspired by Pemberton, BC

Sep 27, 2019
by Mike Levy  
Specialized Pemberton Edition Stumpjumper

If you were to drive about thirty minutes north of someplace called Whistler, you'd end up in the small town of Pemberton that's home to 2,500 people and some of the best riding British Columbia has to offer. With the release of their $7,520 USD Stumpjumper Pemberton LTD Edition with both 27.5" and 29" wheels, it seems that the crew at Specialized are a fan of the town's rocky and technical singletrack as well.

So, what the heck makes it worthy of the Pemberton name? Rather than use the slacker and lower EVO frame, Specialized took the standard, 140mm-travel Stumpjumper platform and ditched the air-sprung rear-end for a coil-sprung, four-way adjustable Fox DHX2 shock.

There's a 150mm-travel Fox 36 Elite fork with the Grip2 damper on the front of the bike, although I have to point out that the Stumpjumper Pro model costs $6,320, or $1,200 less, and comes with the Factory-spec, Kashima-treated Fox 36 with the same damper...
Specialized Pemberton Edition Stumpjumper

There are some other differences as well; carbon cranks on the Pemby-inspired bike versus alloy on the Pro, and four-piston brakes from Magura rather than SRAM stoppers, but both come with the same carbon Roval wheels. Smartly, the Pemberton bike gets a GRID casing tire on the front wheel, but a sturdier 'BLCK DMND' casing tire on the back - Pemberton is full of sharp rocks, so many locals take a similar approach to tire choice.


Specialized Pemberton Edition Stumpjumper

The geometry is identical, and while there are a few other minor differences, the most notable seems to be the more adjustable, coil-sprung shock on the Pemberton'd bike. So, what do you make of it: Does this limited edition Stumpy make sense or not?

Regions in Article
Pemberton

Posted In:
Reviews and Tech First Looks Trail Bikes Specialized Specialized Stumpjumper


Author Info:
mikelevy avatar

Member since Oct 18, 2005
2,032 articles
Report
Must Read This Week
Thank You For Everything, Pinkbike
75503 views
Pole Bicycles Has Filed for Bankruptcy
52187 views
[UPDATED] Final Elite XC Results & Overall Standings from the Mairiporã XC World Cup 2024
41950 views
First Ride: The Sub-$600 RockShox Domain and Psylo Forks
41640 views
Staff Ride: Matt Beer's NZ MTB Rally-Spec Ibis HD6
40145 views
Tree Root Pierces Harriet Harnden's Foot at Round 1 of the British National Downhill Series
37668 views
Review: Race Face's Era Chainring Uses Steel, Carbon, & Aluminum
27771 views
First Ride: Fox's New Transfer Dropper Post - Adjustable Travel, Up to 240mm of Drop
26372 views
Sign Up for the Pinkbike Newsletter - All the Biggest, Most Interesting Stories in your Inbox
PB Newsletter Signup

111 Comments
  • 171 1
 Seems to have taken more inspiration from Whistlers housing prices. #gouged
  • 4 0
 Ramen!
  • 3 1
 @waffleShirt What we are talking about? How much is Whistler more expensive compared to similar places in Canada?
  • 11 1
 @pakleni: on a m2 basis for housing my place in Whistler is approx 22% higher than Vancouver. Both are in "suburbs ". Van is about 25% higher than the rest of Canada urban median

Property tax is 35% higher than in Van.

Cost of groceries is about 30% more than Van.

Wages for equivalent jobs is between 20 - 30% less.

Pemberton isn't so far off. I can only speak for housing but Pemberton prices for housing is close to Van prices.

Economically Whistler makes very little sense. Pemberton is symbiotic so the same goes for it
  • 4 0
 @leelau: Thanks for a better summary than I could possibly provide.

Maybe we can get a Whistler edition bike that comes with extra features like the fear that the bike might get sold without any notice so it can be rented on AirBnB.
  • 129 0
 If everyone that lived there put in $3 each, they could all share the bike
  • 4 0
 HA
  • 11 10
 Gang bang!
  • 2 0
 Soup kitchen
  • 1 0
 Ha ha ha yes
  • 87 1
 The residents of Pemberton should sue Specialized for cultural appropriation
  • 150 1
 Next year Specialized will sue Pemberton and they’ll have to rename the town...
  • 2 1
 No one sues Specialized!! That's big S's job!
  • 3 1
 Specialton
  • 51 0
 "and ditched the air-sprung rear-end for a coil-sprung, four-way adjustable Fox DHX2 shock."

But that's the real kick. At $10k CAD, it is actually a perfomance elite shock (only low speed compression and rebound adjust), and as mentioned, the PE 36, which does still have the same damper as the factory, but with black stanchions. Gotta love the GX cassette too on the $10k bike...
  • 6 1
 Very weird, they used the Factory DHX2 in the picture (you can see Kashima on the shaft and it has the 4-way adjusters) but the spec sheet has Performance Elite, which as you point out is only LSC/LSR on the DHX2/X2.
  • 3 0
 @gramboh: The Performance Elite DHX2 still runs the same shaft. It's actually a Ti-Nitride, not kashima coating. You can see it is on the black adjusters, which is only low speed like this www.pinkbike.com/photo/17180410
  • 7 0
 @gramboh: but is there kashima on the balls?
  • 23 0
 @LuvAZ: kashima is stored in the balls
  • 3 0
 c'mon dude - it has Pemberton in the name.
  • 25 1
 GX anything on a $10,000 bike. One of my biggest pet peeve's, insulting!
  • 43 0
 Has nothing to do with Pemberton. At all. I guess it says the word "Pemberton"
  • 37 3
 Yeah this is pretty embarrassing. I live in Pemberton and I don't know anyone who rides a Specialized. Certainly not gonna be winning over any of my cohort with this dummy manoeuvre.
  • 7 0
 It would be more comparable to Pemberton if they called it the Pemberton Real Estate Edition.
  • 8 0
 @myfriendgoose: it’s in no way designed to be bought by you or your cohort nor anyone in pemby. It’s to sell to folks who want to tell their friends they have something different and those who want a coil sprung stumpy and don’t want to buy a new shock.
  • 4 0
 @bonfire: You could just buy a Stumpy Pro, buy a coil shock and sell the air shock on it, then you would have something different regardless of what Stumpy you were being compared too. Plus you would have some extra $ to spend on an trip to Pemberton. And everybody there would be like, "Ohhh is that the Pemby Edition?" and you would be like, "Hell no!"
  • 43 0
 10k for a fox elite fork? Go f*ck yourself specialized.
  • 17 1
 At least you get a...GX cassete?!
  • 27 0
 Inspired by the marketing department knowing that Pemby is soooo cool (and not Morgan Hill).
  • 26 1
 Carbon cranks on a Pemby inspired (sharp rocky technical) bike?
  • 15 0
 How about, rather than a Pemberton Edition, S should do a Darrington Edition with a generous percentage of proceeds going to PNW trail building / advocacy organisations. That's a bike I'd be willing to pay a bit more for. Just an idea.
  • 18 0
 hmmm... so is this for flatlands "shredders" to show they're BC AF?
  • 13 0
 maple syrup and back bacon AF
  • 11 1
 Nah...I need at least 165mm for the trails here in Toronto!
  • 12 0
 I've got chromag socks btw
  • 5 0
 Ripmo AF
  • 5 0
 #speshyroast #selfinduced
  • 12 0
 So $1200 USD gets you a coil vs. air shock, Magura vs. SRAM brakes and a carbon vs. alloy crank? A challenging ROI scenario at best. But hang on there BC Cowboy.......it's the PEMBERTON EDITION! At least a $500 value in the name alone.
  • 14 0
 If it was a true pemberton bike it would more likely be a chromag.
  • 1 0
 Truth!
  • 4 1
 Or a giant reign
  • 12 1
 Wrong. A true Pemberton bike is a horse
  • 2 0
 Dyke laps
  • 2 1
 Tacoma?
  • 6 0
 Notice at the bottom of the article "Region": Pemberton........ So as bikers do web searches for the region of Pemberton they also get info about this bike........at a discount to specialized.
  • 8 0
 How about a head-to-head with the Downieville edition they also just released, see which bike is better?
  • 6 1
 i really like the green of the downieville edition. they should release a stumpy with geometry numbers between this normal stumpy and the evo model. the normal one is too steep and the evo is too slack or extreme for my likings. oh yeah and make an alloy version in that green. but the prices speci wants to have for their rigs is ridiculous.
  • 9 1
 why does this exist Also didn't we decide the stumpjumper platform isn't progressive enough to effectively use a coil
  • 10 0
 Because this is what the people of Pemberton ride on lunch breaks.
  • 3 0
 @Dnik: just wait for the Pemberton LR edition...
  • 6 0
 This is a money grab. Buy a second hand ripper at a quarter of the price and you will be happier.
  • 5 0
 Man you'd hate to buy a Stumpy Pemberton, and go on a riding vacation! You'd need a separate bike for every destination!
  • 3 0
 So.....overpriced with some off component substitutions BUT WAIT-THERE'S MORE!!! It's also a really, really ugly color. This bike has all the winning.
  • 2 0
 140-150mm is not enough for most pemby riding imo. Looks like Specialized blowing out old models before they change platforms. Rovals are a bad choice too. I speak from exp, way too stiff for here.
  • 1 0
 @solf: www.vitalmtb.com/product/guide/Frames,7/Forbidden/Druid,27121#product-reviews/3648
  • 1 0
 @mtnbkrmike:
Oooooh I'd go a druid. But I'm in the 2 bike game then. Hopefully soon I'll come get one.
  • 1 0
 And they're in Squamish. Not pemby.
  • 1 0
 @solf: Yes. Squamish, not Pemby. I thought it might be close enough. I have a Druid. I think it’s fair to say that it is an over-achiever, travel-wise.
  • 5 0
 Knock $4k off the price for starters. Fuking Specialized LoL
  • 5 0
 #Costaton
  • 1 0
 What you didn't order the Metallic Pea? Davenport! Bring Mr. Griswald's car back. And while your at it, find another Black Diamond tire for the front, or another Grid for the rear.
  • 5 0
 y tho
  • 3 0
 HAHAHA......HA.....HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA the PRICE!!! Im starting to hate MTB, we arent all dentists.
  • 3 0
 Cool. Guess Fox is making the 210x52.5 now. Sweet
  • 4 0
 Buy a 210x55 and install a 2,5mm spacer. Thats what Fox does on the Evo models atleast.
  • 8 1
 @NotNamed: I would rather a 210x54 with two separate 0.25mm spacers that are then spaced with a 0.5mm spacer, way better midstroke support.
  • 2 2
 Pemberton Edition: Because this bike is comparable to the rest of the Stumpy line up as Pemberton is comparable to the rest of BC. More expensive and pretty much unobtainable but pretty freakin sweet.
  • 2 0
 $7500us for something with Elite? Oh, but has some tough house brand tires.

No. It doesn’t make sense.
  • 4 1
 Shame the geometry is from 2013
  • 3 0
 I love pemberton. Always wish I could stay longer when I visit
  • 1 0
 F*#k Ya!
  • 2 0
 The linear rate of this bike is really not suited to a coil shock out back. Plus that price is just nuts.
  • 2 0
 Cool. Now they should make an air-conditioned E-Bike inspired by Tampa Florida.
  • 5 3
 Just got a Kona Process 153 for 3500.00
  • 15 0
 Where's Process, how is the riding there?
  • 3 0
 @dockboy: Nicer than Stinky but not as dangerous as Stab was...
  • 3 1
 These prices are absurd this is nice moto money
  • 2 0
 Spesh is turning in to an over priced niche brand
  • 1 0
 Always has been. Good bikes but ridiculous prices.
  • 2 0
 @mate1998: They used to be more common thru the 2000s, now seem more interested in flogging bikes with flash paint jobs & bad components.
  • 5 3
 @zyoungson: that's the santa cruz model
  • 2 0
 In Pemberton, you don't need functional brakes.
  • 2 0
 A "Stellenbosch" edition Epic would have made more sense...
  • 2 0
 A Cape Epic Epic.....
  • 1 1
 @Augustus-G: is the epic not named after the cape epic already?
  • 1 0
 @SonofBovril: Good question. I'm not sure, quite possible. Or, it could be named after the Epic Series or just epic rides in general. Google was no help and the Specialized site makes no mention of the Cape Epic other than the fact that it has been ridden to victory there innumerable times.
  • 2 0
 still looks like orbea knockoff
  • 2 0
 Where is the potato paint job?
  • 1 0
 a reliable source told me Spec will launch a Pemberton Kenevo addition shortly!
  • 1 0
 Have anothe THC infused brownie Specialized. You’re clearly not baked enough
  • 1 0
 So do a portion of the sales from this bike go towards the Pemby trails or trail-builders?
  • 2 1
 Thanks to Specialized for paying attention to our little town.
  • 4 7
 Blck dmnd casing are a total joke, bought them and loaded them full of holes on the first day I used them. Then took them back for a trade out and they shredded in a race run the next weekend. Specialized tires are to be avoided by aggressive riders!
  • 5 3
 *specialized tires are a joke. There's a reason they're the cheapest. Flimsy casings and narrow footprints suck.
  • 1 0
 Color matches the grey silty soil of Pemby
  • 1 0
 It must make financial sense...so why ask the question?
  • 2 0
 Nice colour.
  • 1 0
 2,500 people in Pemberton....right...
  • 2 0
 what a dumb bike
  • 1 0
 Magura FTW
  • 1 0
 Salt Lake edition
  • 2 4
 No dw link yet?
Below threshold threads are hidden







Copyright © 2000 - 2024. Pinkbike.com. All rights reserved.
dv65 0.041446
Mobile Version of Website