19) 1995 Specialized Stumpjumper FS

SPECS

Status:  Sold
Designed in California, Handmade in Japan
Size: ​​18"/46cm
​Weight: 11.8 kg / 26 lbs
Frame: Tange Prestige Double Butted Cr-Mo
Fork:  RockShox Judy XC (Completely rebuilt with SRP Steed Springs)
Groupset & Brakeset:  Shimano Deore XT (upgraded to V-brakes)
Wheelset:  Araya TM-801F rims on Shimano Deore XT Parallax hubs with Maxxis Pace 26x2.1 Tires

BEFORE

I saw this bike advertised on FB Marketplace about an hour's drive from my house.   The Stumpjumper was a legend, so I thought it might be worth checking out.  This one had been very well loved and needed a lot of work but the bones were great and it had a nice groupset that would clean up well.  One of the best things about it was that he also had a Brodie Dynamo for sale (see Blog #20) and his neighbour had a Holdsworth (see Blog #21).  It was a great day!

AFTER

The frame was scratched and rusty on the outside and it had a botched job of removing the cantilever brake hanger from the seat stay but fortunately, there were no dents and the tubing was clean on the inside.  I sanded down the botched hanger and chose a GM paint called Fine Silver Birch and straight black decals to give it a classy look.  I made every decal with Photoshop and Cricut except for the Direct Drive decal that I bought from Velocals.com. 

The fork rebuild was a challenge.  There wasn't any oil in the damper cartridge and the elastomers were useless.  I bought a cartridge rebuild kit and replacement springs from specialtyretroproducts.com.  It took me a while but in the end, the Rock Shox Judy XC not only looked great but it worked really well, too.

The crankset and the seat post were beaten and scratched but lots of sanding, buffing and polishing made them more beautiful than when new.  The rest of the groupset cleaned up quite nicely and I replaced the LX front derailleur with an XT to match the rear mech.  The bike came with mix-matched wheels on LX hubs.  I had a beautiful set of wheels with near new looking rims and beautiful polished aluminum Deore XT Parallax hubs that I was saving for a build of my own but in the end, I felt they were destined for this bike.  Another lucky score was the Specialized saddle that I came across last summer.  It really finishes off the bike perfectly.  I'm sure happy with the way this turned out and I know that someone is going to really enjoy ripping up the trails on this 90s classic.