S-Works Stumpjumper 29er

Although I have said that I intend on saving my S-Works Stumpjumper for racing, I couldn't resist taking it out for a short, easy spin on the home trails this morning.  I was out for about an hour total and less than that rolling-time.  The trails were a mix of cold mud and snow/sleet/ice covered.  While this usually isn't the strong point of a hardtail XC bike with light tires, the extra traction of the 29" wheels and balanced handling of the Stumpjumper's geometry was key to the bike's solid performance in less than desirable conditions.  Although the bike is very similar to the 2011 and 2012 models, I can notice the added stiffness and reduced weight the S-Works level frame offers.  In fact, when building the bike, the weight difference in just the bare frames was noticeable between the '13 Expert and '13 S-Works simply by holding the frames in each hand.  That's impressive...

Of course, it doesn't hurt that the bike looks incredible...