Hey all, I hope this post isn't too weird and neurotic for you all but I've been going back and forth for months on my bike setup and it's starting to drive me crazy. I got both of these bikes about a year ago. I got the Gorilla Monsoon first after my old mtb was stollen and shortly after I found the Stumpjumper for really cheap and restored it. I like them both quite a bit but they just overlap in their uses so much. I could go down the list and compare them but at the end of the day they are both rigid atb type bikes, each one with its own advantages and disadvantages. There is also the fact that All-City is shutting down that makes me hesitate selling the GM but I also sort of resent the fact that this is a factor, that the brand name is weighing in on the decision. The All-City is way better at descending on rough terrain and wont be knocked off course by a rock or something but the stumpy is better at climbing because of its weight and gearing. The Stumpy is cheaper to replace parts on and I just think about it less. The GM is soo heavy and slow and it would probably cost another grand to get it to where I would really want it to be to love it without question. I don't know. I guess what I am getting at is I am thinking about selling the GM but am hesistating because a) it is significantly more confidence inspiring going downhill b) because it is now maybe sort of kind of a collectors item and c) it has more capability for being an "event" bike for like group rides and gravel races and that sort of thing. I might regret selling it in the future. For a long while I thought I would just build them up differently but honestly the GM seems somewhat limited because of the 73mm bottom bracket shell as well as its overall design. Not to mention the modern tech on GM costs so much more to upgrade. I think maybe something like a Cross-Check or a straight up hardtail may have served me better. I've seen past threads here in a similar predicament. It seems that with the gravel boom and all the cool marketing that has come along with it it's so easy to end up with two ATBs that do pretty much the same thing. What do ya'll think? What would you do? Sell the GM? Or turn it into more of a fast gravel bike limited solely to mtb component compatibility?
by HomelessVitamin
21 Comments
Sometimes it’s nice to have 2 bikes that fill the same niche. Especially if you are a bike commuter. Might not always have time to fix a flat in the morning or tweak cable tension. But from your write up, it sounds like the stumpjumper is the keeper if you had to get rid of one. If you are attached to both and dont want 2 of a very similar bike, maybe send one of the bikes in a different direction. I have a space horse that I’ve equipped to be a commuter. If I were you, I would do that with the GM. Maybe accept that it’s slow and grab a dynamo wheel, some racks and fenders. Then the stumpjumper is for fun/recreation etc.
The GM is going to get cheaper to upgrade as time goes on, like all things, so if you can enjoy it enough for now and upgrade slowly it’s not as big of a deal.
As soon as you get rid of one the other will get stolen or wrecked. This is science.
Spare bikes fucking RULE. Don’t set yourself up for massive disappointment.
Having said that I’ll take that Stumpy off your hands. Having a spare bike seems so silly 🤪
What upgrades would you want to do on the GM? Wheels?
I’ve read somewhere that more bikes = less problems. So I’d keep both and look into adding a third, cause I’ve also read somewhere that the third time’s the charm.
The GM seems to be more your size and set up more comfortable? I don’t know how your daily use is, but I always keep one bike set up with fenders (and basket, mostly) for commuting and shopping on rainy days.
N -1??? No.
I think you should focus on what will be your third bike.
I lived in a city with hills. You didn’t mention shifting, but I sometimes get fed up with Triples and want to go 1x and be less concerned with all the front ring shenanigans on a bunch up and down riding. I still like my 90s triple chainring cuz it’s cheap and I’m not worried about it. N+1 gets my vote.
Keep them both. Seems like you’re sentimental toward the GM big-time but the $1k you want to put toward it seems tasking.
I see no reason to get rid of one. You have pros and cons for both. AND you have enough space in that corner for them.
Both will survives
The gorilla monsoon is trash, send it to me I can dispose of it.
You get next to nothing fof either bike. It rly doesnt matters what you do. try to sell both and sell the one thats gone first o/
Stumpy obv. Dime a dozen.
I have three bikes that all could be said to fit in this niche. But they all feel different enought to ride that when I switch from one to the other I love the feeling of change, and ultimately I ride them for different reasons at different times. That includes things like different levels of fancy/beat up looking which translates to different levels of being relaxed when I locked them up in town. One has to live on a wall hangar and another in the garden shed, but if I got rid of any one of them i’d miss it.
Could you set one of them up as “fast on roads / light gravel” as possible other to be as heavy gravel / light MTB capable as possible?
Keep all city, 90s specialized is a dime a dozen. If u want them again u will be able to get one pretty easy
If you get rid of one of your bikes what will you do when you need a backup?
Look, I know we’re on the unofficial Stumpjumper sub and all, but if you kill that All~City me and you gonna swap words
Do what I did and make one single speed. Now they have different use cases based on what mood I’m in. Unless you’re strapped for space or cash, I would keep both and make them have different uses.
I vote the stumpy for keeps because to me it looks extremely classic and clean and you mentioned the other bike is slow. If you have the space keep the other bike to take friends or family on rides and then you can give all the attention to the stumpy for possible upgrades
sell the specialized to someone who really needs it