Thanks for this review and you thoughts shared w/ Chris Hall on the downtime pod cast on this bike. It really helped in deciding which bike to get! Have been riding the evo comp for a few weeks now and it’s been perfect for this 47 year old dad of 4 kids. Keep up the great work!!!
Thanks for another brilliant video. This is a crucial topic. Many riders struggle with the question of whether to get a carbon bike or an alloy bike. No one before has answered this question as brilliantly as you have in this video. Using, virtually, the same bike with nearly identical specs, makes the comparison clearer and more accurate. Riding them side by side, with another rider, in the same conditions, makes for a fair comparison. Most commenters ride a bike and comment at the end of the ride. You give us real-time comments which adds a great dear to our understanding of what you are experiencing on the bike. Brilliant. Simply brilliant.
I would have liked to have seen a proper summery at the end. Too long winded for my liking and you kept cutting off your friend when you asked him his opinion.
its no big deal though is it with a lifetime warranty on the frame? what did they do with your cracked frames? did they give you a knew bike or just replace the frame?
They considered them crash replacements (ie user error) and offered 30% off a new frame. They let me keep the second frame as long as I disposed of it.
Damn bro what did you do to them? I had a carbon Stumpjumper 2019 model and thrashed it for years with no issues. Sometimes I would have a big rock flick up off the front wheel and hit the down tube but never did any damage.
👏 Brilliant video. This is a massively useful video for many of us looking at both bikes. I would love to see more of you two doing comparisons. Mullet link vs normal on the Stumpy Evo, or steep setting vs slack/normal setting or steep vs regular stumpy would be what I would love to see. Great content!
The thing for me is an alloy bike is more durable and less prone to unrepairable damage in a crash. And also I think the alloy frames have better resale value as there's less concern about hidden fractures in the alloy frame compared to a carbon fibre frame.
I believe carbon has a lifetime warranty for original customer only. Hearing that carbon repairs are affordable, but down time and repair costs should be a factor favoring aluminum if you can only have one bike.
Interesting to here yourself and Ryan’s thoughts on the frame materials. Myself and some friends have just been upto Stainburn this morning and I was riding my Levo carbon comp and when I rode my mates alloy Levo back to back on the same trails I couldn’t believe the difference on how the two could feel so different. Glad I bought the carbon now 😉 Great video but wouldn’t expect anything less 👍
@@GuyKesTV I was amazed mate. Great bikes and enjoying riding again when I’ve time. The customer service has been exceptionally good from the Harrogate Specialized concept store so the back up is fantastic aswell which is always good to know.
@@GuyKesTV is that true, never ridden a carbon Ebike for any time. I had assumed, with the motor power, the difference was negligible. Interesting. I’m currently weighing up the Levo Alloy VS Carbon.
Hey Guy, as a Yorkshireman living in Virginia USA I haven't heard the phrase "vinegar strokes" for a long time....show's I'M paying attention.Love your channel
Good Video Guy...Thanks!. Part of me wonders how dependant bike reviews are on the manufacturing tolerances of MTB suspension products. I have felt big differences in suspension quality when swapping between forks and shocks that should have been comparable, and I have wondered if it the different tightness of bushings and seals just from manufacturing tolerances has more impact than anything else. I also wonder if this is why sometimes you see big differences in how reviewers find the same bike. I have seen one reviewer call the suspension plush whilst another calls it lacking in small bump compliance.
👏🏻 Love the STEVO however my carbon frame cracked from a rock kicked up by the front tire. Bummer but as you mentioned $300 repair and it was back in business.
@@robsprimallife Well as long as you were happy with the repair then all good. My mate damaged his Carbon Enduro frame (had it on a building site, a scaffold plank fell on it) and insurance has accepted the claim. Still not finalised but it sounds like they are going to give him the full price that he paid for the bike. He could have it repaired but then you lose the lifetime warranty on the frame so better to get a new one.
You were running tubeless and tubes. You had different cranksets. You also had different cassettes. This is fine if you are comparing these two models as equipped from the factory. But this is not a carbon vs. alloy frame comparison. For that, you need the same exact setup with the frames being the only thing different between the two. I'm not convinced that there would be such a significant difference in feel if both were identically equipped, but for the frame material.
Hey OOC yes you're totally right, if you wanted to purely isolate the frame material differences then you'd have to use identical spec bikes. However the idea here was to compare the Carbon version of the bike and the Alloy version of the bike and apart from tubes V tubeless they are both as equipped from the factory. Based on my experience I'm pretty confident most of the significant differences in feel and weight are attributable to the frame material not the component changes.
Really interesting vid Guy, and obviously looking at a pure performance point of view. Do you think media ought to start considering environmental impact too? Carbon is an amazing material, but it puts 3x as much CO2 into the atmosphere compared to aluminium construction (and steel is lower than both. Jus sayin ;-)), and maybe that would be a consideration for riders? Be interested in your thoughts on that
I built my first bike this last winter. I live where we get get extreme cold winters. I bought a stumpy alloy evo frame and built it with full xt and dt swiss 511 wheels. I'm curious to see how it does against the older version of my carbon stumpy. Not much fairness in contest older one no adjustable geo and had 27.5 wheels.
Love your videos and all of your feedback! I am having a difficult time deciding on alloy or carbon frame. I ride rocky trails and am worried about cracking the carbon frame, either by falling or flipping up a rock and it hitting the frame. I have always ridden on alloy frames and have had no issues at all. Due to this concern, should I stick with alloy?? Or, are carbon frames much stronger these days to where I shouldn’t be concerned?
Sorry for the delay Jeff. it's a bit of a weird one as yes carbon frames will crack, while alloy frames will dent. If you look through the comments on this video you'll see a few people who have cracked their carbon Stumpy's too. However what a lot of people seem to miss is that there are lots of people doing really good solid repairs on carbon now whereas if you ding a heat treated alloy frame there's nothing you can do. Sorry that probably doesn't help much, apart from pointing out that carbon is a lot less disposable than people assume.
@@GuyKesTV Thank you...I really appreciate your feedback! I understand here are trade-offs with everything. I really like to consider the pros & cons. Keep up the great reviews!!
Feel timid for carbon as I ride a lot rock routes that fling stones and a crash here and there into rocks, boulders, and trees. AL handles it just fine but thinking i'll kill C frames in no time. For me the big questions is if people riding C are going through frames alot with cracks, snaps, and breaks ?
Thank's for the very informative comparison. It would make me struggle if I hadn't decided for the ALLOY already two months ago, and being basically very happy with it. A topic coming to my mind when watching the lots of uphill sections in your video is, that CARBON has a 52 sprocket vs the 50 on the ALLOY. I wonder if this alone eventually has a significant impact on "uphill-feeling". Did you swapped wheels? All my investigations are confirming that a 52 sprocket will not work with the NX derailleur. Does it? Indeed I'm very close to nail my decision on ordering an alloy wheelset (Newmen or DTswiss) and GX 10-50 cassette for my ALLOY EVO. Having my wheels on a balance (tubeless ready to ride f=2322 / r=3076g) and comparing the numbers to a lighter wheelset (calculated) is giving potential to reduce the weight for an impressing total of 720g (for ready to ride tubless wheelset). Funny enough this investment in weight saving is about half of the surcharge going from EVO ALLOY to CARBON. But I assume it is seriously worth it ... :-)
Sorry for late reply, yes we did swap the wheels, but the slopes at Stainburn aren't really steep enough to justify the 50/52 cog so the main noticeable difference was in the weight of the cassette on the suspension response. I'd definitely say the lighter wheel upgrade is worth it, that'll really bring the bike alive.
Tip for next head to head?‼️ Same bike, same frame, but two sizes. Say you ride S4 regularly, but you'll take out S5 and tell us what you feel. Great compare 👌 thanks
@@GuyKesTV ❤️ that's awesome. I recently was deciding between S4 and S5 size SJ Evo and short ride around the shop on S4 I felt that I have tendency hitting shifters with my knees when making U turns or sharp 90deg. Turns. I felt lot more comfortable on S5..., But... After talking new bike on trails, it feels huge 😁. Truth is, I come from old school hardtail with shorter rear and steep head angle, which was easy to do manuals with or manouver corners. I realize that it'll take some time getting used to 👌😉
Great content as always! My reference is a 2017 stumpjumper expert 135/150mm travel. Will the comp carbon climb as good or even better? I really need some new geo for the downhill section as its short reach and steep head angle feels like its holding me back but i rather not sacrifice as much going uphill!
To be fair, change the tubeless wheels and cassette and do a short review. Should be a noticeable improvement then... 136kg weight clearance from specialized, more then the carbon version :)
I can’t decide over the alloy stumpy or a mondraker supperfoxy. Can’t find a single review on the mondraker. Have you got any knowledge that could help me? Thanks
What sizes are you riding? I have a 2022 Evo comp Alloy in S3. I am about 5’7”. I was contemplating the S4 sizing tbh as I like to jump a lot and it’s super steep where I ride. But I’m happy with the s3
I was the opposite when I bought mine. I'm also 5'7", for reference. I was contemplating S2 as I thought the reach jump from my shorter travel trail bike would be too drastic. Bike shop expert insisted I would fit an S3 better. After a few rides, I'm glad I took his advice and got the S3.
TBH if you have the money to buy a Pro, you have enough money to put whatever brakes you want on there. You could even ask the shop if they will do a deal to swap out the brakes at the time of purchase. My mate did that when he bought his enduro. I swapped out my SRAM brakes with Magura MT7 but that was after purchase.
My new levo is supposed to have a 190 mm manic dropper, but when I measure the drop, it is 7 inches, which is 178mm, wth? The s5 has a 170mm , so I don't think they put the wrong one in. I don't know why they say it is 190 when it's 178mm.
@@Willmeachum ya I suppose I can upgrade to 1up , just would think an s6 that is supposed to fit riders to 6'8" would have a 200 mm come with it. Not a 178.
Ok very interesting but now I wonder what the difference would be if you got the weight on the alloy equal to the carbon. You could use the money you save for lighter components on the alloy.
You could maybe save a few hundred grams with carbon bar, cranks etc. with the £800 difference but going for the carbon frame is definitely the smartest way to save weight. But yes, it would be interesting to compare them rigged that way.
Specialized were doing a sale a month ago (think it's still going) that put the Carbon bikes (I got the Carbon Comp off that deal) only AUD$500 more expensive than the equivalent alloy versions. Needless to say, I reckon you'd be spending more, even just bringing the Alloy Comp to the same spec level as the Carbon Comp (NX-GX), not to mention you won't even get close to matching weight or ride feel.
You don't go wrong with both. Best way would be a frameset, if available. Comp. Needs at Least a gx upgrade kit and maybe some wheels. Suspension is good enough for a later tuning. Elite version is almost Ready out of the box... Worst part are also the wheels
Theres a full Epic Evo review on my channel if you search it. Basically though you’d be skipping around a lot more (lighter, flexier) and wouldn’t be going as quick through the rocks (shocks and tyres) but you’d be flying on the climbs and smoother flow trails.
I would never buy a s-works, money to performance is outrageous compared to more affordable specs. That is for my opinion. If someone has the money for s-works then go for it.
@@schlicss Couldn't agree more. It's a shame some bike manufacturers don't either sell frames or sell them at a decent price or at least not the top model.
@@alabaster4263 If your carbon frame hits a tree at 20 plus miles on the trail you best believe your gonna have to wait to do said trail again on new bike day and you can take that to the bank.
@@GuyKesTV I've been told by Cascade Components that the mullet link is less progressive than the stock link. Curious if you notice the difference in suspension
