Stevens has two big new mountain bike updates in store for 2017 as they take their aluminum marathon cross-country Jura and all-mountain Whaka up a notch with all-new, all carbon frames. The bikes, filling out the middle of Stevens’ trail riding portfolio, shed weight building on the geometry and tech of the current top-end alloy models. Both bikes will be available at multiple spec levels, and both also provide a more affordable version that sticks with the carbon frames, rockers, and seatstays, but swaps in alloy chainstays to keep costs down. Take a closer look below the fold…
Stevens Jura Carbon Team
The Jura gets four new carbon models to fill out the top of Stevens’ marathon cross country family, with frame weights starting at just 2020g for a painted 18″ frame. The four-bar suspension design and modern trail geometry stays the same as the alloy models, just in a lighter package. That means they keep the same short chainstay, long reach and slack head angle, plus improved power transfer stiffness. One small update, the carbon bikes do get a small tweak with 1° steeper seattubes to allow for a slightly more forward position for climbing (or not with an offset seatpost.)
Like all of their full-suspension mountain bikes the carbon Juras are all Boost, with 148 spacing out back and 110 forks.
The bike takes the longer travel cross country 120mm route with a focus on marathon racing and all around trail riding, although Germany’s top finisher in the recent Elite XCO World Championships raced it against many shorter travel bikes. The Team bike gets a stealth gloss-on-matte black finish and is peppered throughout with Stevens’ trademark references to their Hamburg hometown where the bikes are designed and engineered.
The carbon Juras get fully mostly internal routing (excluding that bit under the BB), including for remote dropper seatposts, with modular stops for electronic and mechanical setups and single or double drivetrains.
Front derailleurs are all direct mount, with sideswing routing for mechanical actuated ones. Under the bottom bracket Stevens has a new battery box for easy to access internal Di2 power. The three bikes with carbon chainstays get built-in chainstay and anti-chain suck protection and modular ports for internal routing of the rear derailleur.
The 7000€ top all-carbon Jura Carbon Team with XTR Di2 that we had a chance to weight a couple of weeks ago came in at 11.26kg/24.8lbs complete, pretty much on the nose for Stevens’ claim. Following Stevens’ variable sizing concept the new carbon Juras will mostly roll on 29″ wheels for better rolling (18″, 20″ & 22″ frames.) Only the smallest 16″ bikes will get sized down to 27.5″ wheels for a more appropriate fit and handling.
Besides the top XTR bike, a second Jura Carbon ES Di2 version will also be available with an electrified XT setup for a slightly more manageable 5000€. The comes the Jura Carbon ES that still uses the full carbon frame, and with a mechanical XT group will sell for 4300€.
A more affordable version of the bike – the Jura Carbon, with an aluminum chainstay assembly and the rest of the frame in carbon – is said to add less than 500g to the frame weight, and will sell for a more reasonable 3000€ in a complete build with an XT/SLX double setup. In addition to the new carbon bikes a couple of alloy Juras carry over for 2017 as well.
Stevens Whaka Carbon Max
The 150mm travel Whaka trail bike gets the carbon treatment as well. Its new all-carbon frame is even said to weigh just 1925g, making it lighter than the 120mm marathon XC bike.
The carbon Whaka also takes the four-bar suspension and most of the recent trail geometry updates from its alloy sibling, plus some more moves in that same trail direction. The carbon bikes get slightly higher bottom brackets for improved clearance, plus a slacker 66.5° head angle for improved descending. The toptubes even grow a bit to help them climb even better (especially with the Max’s longer fork.) The carbon frame also let Stevens trim the chainstays down to 430mm for a more agile feel. It also gets built around Boost spacing, but here will be 27.5″ only, unlike the aluminum bikes which are also offered in shorter travel 29er guise.
Like the Jura, the top-level 6000€ Whaka Carbon Max gets a Di2 setup, here by way of an XTR 1x with a light Race Face Next SL carbon crank. The carbon Whaka also gets a boxy headtube with full mostly internal routing and modular cable stops. Like the Jura the carbon Whaka also includes an integrated internal battery box under the bottom bracket to get that low center of gravity.
The Whaka Carbon Max 1x Shimano setup comes standard with an e*thirteen TRS+ chain guide, although a double build is optional. This top bike also bumps up travel in the front to 160mm with the Fox 34 Float Factory fork, while all other builds stick with 150mm of fork travel.
The new all carbon bikes were developed to broaden the Whaka’s range even more. The new bike improves stiffness for more predictable handling on the descents, and with the light weight of this top-level Max bike it will certainly go up the hills even faster.
The complete Whaka Carbon Max weighed in at just 12.14kg/26.8lb on our scale.
The all carbon frame also comes in the mechanical XT double-spec’ed Whaka Carbon ES for 4500€.
Again a more affordable Whaka Carbon version of the bike uses an aluminum rear end, this time with an alloy seatstay & chainstay assembly, coupled to the carbon frame and rocker. Weighing just under 600g more, that helps Stevens get the price down for the Whaka Carbon at 3300€ with an XT/SLX double build. All of the alloy Whakas, including regular and plus-sized bikes continue over for 2017 also.
In small updates to the alloy Whakas in the family, the 27.5″ bikes all move to Boost forks (as do the enduro Sledges; the 27.5″ forks weren’t yet available in Boost spacing this time last year), and the Plus bikes get a new spec with 2.8″ Schwalbe Nobby Nic tires and Sun Ringle Duroc 40 wheels.
