It's taken a while to get this build started, but finally I've made the time to begin the resurrection of a once very lovely 1990 Stumpjumper.
I picked up the frame and forks in very used condition about 18 months ago. I don't know anything of this particular frame's history, but it has evidently done some miles on the trails, with a fair collection of minor scuffs, scrapes and a few tiny bubbles of surface rust here any there. However, there's not a single dent on it and everything is straight and true.
BITD a friend brought himself a brand new 1991 Stumpjumper Team in dark blue with yellow stickers and XC Pro throughout, which I always thought was such an amazing bike that looked fantastic. I always wanted one, but secondhand ones eluded me. I saw 'my' 1990 Stumpjumper frame and forks for sale and couldn't resist the chance to use it as the base for a build of something at least close to the Team spec - even though the 'base' Stumpie that year had a Deore DX groupset.
It's sad in a way that you see great bikes stripped to their component parts and sold off in bits, but then that also generates the chance to create new builds and to bring stripped frames back to life. I paid the same as about 20 coffees for the frame - pretty good value I think for the start of a new fast light machine which will take me off road, on road and cruising around the city with a grin on my face!
I thought it was black in the photos before I bought it, but the patina of 30 years of service had dimmed the kind of dark plum metallic pearl colour which lay underneath. It has red flecks in it in the sunlight and after some decent elbow grease and some Autoglym polish it has started to look pretty nice and gleams in the sunlight.
I've been gradually collecting parts for it, aiming for XC Pro, but having to make some compromises here and there due to the rarity and cost being asked for some parts. I'll do a spec list as the build progresses, but parts so far have come from Italy, Germany, UK and USA. A recent move to Australia has meant the wheels have been built near Sydney!
What I'm struggling to find is a front mech, ideally XC Pro, but a good XC Comp will do - 28.6mm dia. At the moment, my parts box has an M735 XT I could use for the time being, but longer term it just won't do.
I'm also struggling to identify the correct diameter of seatpost. I thought it should have a 26.8mm but I tried one in the seat tube and it's too tight to fit. I tried measuring it with a caliper, but get a different answer every time. Possibly a 26.5?? If anyone can tell me definitively what size it should have, I'd be grateful. If someone then has a decent black seatpost in the right size, or even better still an XC Pro seatpost - I'd be pleased to hear. Thanks in advance!
I few pics below of where it started and I have now got to. More updates soon!
I picked up the frame and forks in very used condition about 18 months ago. I don't know anything of this particular frame's history, but it has evidently done some miles on the trails, with a fair collection of minor scuffs, scrapes and a few tiny bubbles of surface rust here any there. However, there's not a single dent on it and everything is straight and true.
BITD a friend brought himself a brand new 1991 Stumpjumper Team in dark blue with yellow stickers and XC Pro throughout, which I always thought was such an amazing bike that looked fantastic. I always wanted one, but secondhand ones eluded me. I saw 'my' 1990 Stumpjumper frame and forks for sale and couldn't resist the chance to use it as the base for a build of something at least close to the Team spec - even though the 'base' Stumpie that year had a Deore DX groupset.
It's sad in a way that you see great bikes stripped to their component parts and sold off in bits, but then that also generates the chance to create new builds and to bring stripped frames back to life. I paid the same as about 20 coffees for the frame - pretty good value I think for the start of a new fast light machine which will take me off road, on road and cruising around the city with a grin on my face!
I thought it was black in the photos before I bought it, but the patina of 30 years of service had dimmed the kind of dark plum metallic pearl colour which lay underneath. It has red flecks in it in the sunlight and after some decent elbow grease and some Autoglym polish it has started to look pretty nice and gleams in the sunlight.
I've been gradually collecting parts for it, aiming for XC Pro, but having to make some compromises here and there due to the rarity and cost being asked for some parts. I'll do a spec list as the build progresses, but parts so far have come from Italy, Germany, UK and USA. A recent move to Australia has meant the wheels have been built near Sydney!
What I'm struggling to find is a front mech, ideally XC Pro, but a good XC Comp will do - 28.6mm dia. At the moment, my parts box has an M735 XT I could use for the time being, but longer term it just won't do.
I'm also struggling to identify the correct diameter of seatpost. I thought it should have a 26.8mm but I tried one in the seat tube and it's too tight to fit. I tried measuring it with a caliper, but get a different answer every time. Possibly a 26.5?? If anyone can tell me definitively what size it should have, I'd be grateful. If someone then has a decent black seatpost in the right size, or even better still an XC Pro seatpost - I'd be pleased to hear. Thanks in advance!
I few pics below of where it started and I have now got to. More updates soon!
