Once A Hero
Old School Grand Master
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Collection Bike #6
After a great year of racing on my KHS in 1993 (see here: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=408440), a new sponsor approached me for the ‘94 season, this time the Berkshire Cycles chain of bike shops, and their offering was a bike and kit from their lead brand - Specialized.
Sponsorship began in earnest actually towards the end of ‘93, so a ‘93 model bike was handed to me in advance of the ‘94 models being available, and the model of choice was a modest but decent all-rounder - the Stumpjumper FS.
This was the bike for the pre-season events - some of which were contested in the harshest of weathers. A few changes were made to the standard bike, the bar ends were Dirt Rodz, and the pedals were Onza HOs...which turned out to be a disaster at one of the events where the elastomers froze - either with my cleats in place meaning I nearly broke my ankles trying to clip out, or stopping me clipping back in once out!
The sponsor wasn’t one for letting riders keep stuff, so the FS was handed back when the ‘94 model arrived (separate build thread to come for that one
). So this build was based on having to find everything from scratch. There are some discrepancies between what the pictures of the bike I raced was equipped with, what the bike in the catalogue pic has, and what I could find for sale, so I’ve matched what I can in an attempt to do a catalogue(ish) build.
First off a package consisting of a frame, bars, seatpost and stem was found on eBay - all the way from sunny California. Still has a bit of rust but I’ve definitely seen far worse.
A pair of Future Shock SE forks were found on eBay UK - however they didn’t come with the correct brace, so I ended up buying another really rough pair in order to get the earlier brace. Neither have the clear shock boots that the bike should have but maybe I’ll find some in time.
A further problem was that the steerers they came with were too short, so I sourced another crown/steerer – but that was too long…, and cutting it down would have cut off all the thread, so I had to ship it off to danson67 to be cut and re-threaded to suit my frame.
Steadily all the pieces came together, and with the steerer corrected the build could begin.
This is by no means a garage queen, as it’s the type of bike you can just grab and go for a quick blast on. All parts are in used condition, some more than others, apart from a NOS LX headset. The lifespan of the tyres is going to be short if used too much, the front is sadly really no longer fit for use as the sidewall is failing , and I daren’t put too much power down or skid the rear for fear of the tread peeling off.
So gentle rides it is - and that suits me just fine as it’s a bit low at the front anyway.
Here’s the finished spec and pictures.
Frame: 18” Direct Drive Tange Prestige CRMO Tubing
Fork: Specialized Future Shock SE
Headset: Shimano Deore LX
Stem: Specialized
Stem Cap: N/A
Handlebar: Specialized Heat Treated
Grips: Ritchey WCS
Barends: N/A
Brakes: Shimano BR-M560 Deore LX
Brake Pads: Shimano M System
Brake Cables: Shimano
Cantilever cable hangers: Shimano
Brake Levers: Shimano ST-M560 Deore LX
Shifters: Shimano ST-M560 Deore LX
Front Derailleur: Shimano FD-M560 Deore LX
Rear Derailleur: Shimano RD-M735 Deore XT
Derailleur Cables: Shimano SIS
Cassette: Shimano Hyperglide 12-28t
Chain: Shimano
Cranks: Shimano FC-M560 Deore LX
Crank Bolts: Shimano
Chainrings: Shimano SG-X 46-36-26
Chainring bolts: Shimano
Bottom Bracket: Shimano
Pedals: Specialized Direct Drive Comp with toeclips
Rims: Specialized X23 32H
Hubs: Shimano FH-M560 & HB-M560 Deore LX
Hub Skewers: Shimano
Nipples: Wheelsmith
Spokes: Wheelsmith
Tyres:
Front: Specialized Ground Control S 1.95” (red/black label)
Rear: Specialized Ground Control Extreme S 1.95” (yellow/black label)
Tubes: Rubber
Saddle: Specialized
Seatpost: Specialized
Seatpost Binder: Shimano QR
Weight: 12.26kg / 27.02lbs
After a great year of racing on my KHS in 1993 (see here: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=408440), a new sponsor approached me for the ‘94 season, this time the Berkshire Cycles chain of bike shops, and their offering was a bike and kit from their lead brand - Specialized.
Sponsorship began in earnest actually towards the end of ‘93, so a ‘93 model bike was handed to me in advance of the ‘94 models being available, and the model of choice was a modest but decent all-rounder - the Stumpjumper FS.
This was the bike for the pre-season events - some of which were contested in the harshest of weathers. A few changes were made to the standard bike, the bar ends were Dirt Rodz, and the pedals were Onza HOs...which turned out to be a disaster at one of the events where the elastomers froze - either with my cleats in place meaning I nearly broke my ankles trying to clip out, or stopping me clipping back in once out!
The sponsor wasn’t one for letting riders keep stuff, so the FS was handed back when the ‘94 model arrived (separate build thread to come for that one
). So this build was based on having to find everything from scratch. There are some discrepancies between what the pictures of the bike I raced was equipped with, what the bike in the catalogue pic has, and what I could find for sale, so I’ve matched what I can in an attempt to do a catalogue(ish) build.First off a package consisting of a frame, bars, seatpost and stem was found on eBay - all the way from sunny California. Still has a bit of rust but I’ve definitely seen far worse.
A pair of Future Shock SE forks were found on eBay UK - however they didn’t come with the correct brace, so I ended up buying another really rough pair in order to get the earlier brace. Neither have the clear shock boots that the bike should have but maybe I’ll find some in time.
A further problem was that the steerers they came with were too short, so I sourced another crown/steerer – but that was too long…, and cutting it down would have cut off all the thread, so I had to ship it off to danson67 to be cut and re-threaded to suit my frame.
Steadily all the pieces came together, and with the steerer corrected the build could begin.
This is by no means a garage queen, as it’s the type of bike you can just grab and go for a quick blast on. All parts are in used condition, some more than others, apart from a NOS LX headset. The lifespan of the tyres is going to be short if used too much, the front is sadly really no longer fit for use as the sidewall is failing
, and I daren’t put too much power down or skid the rear for fear of the tread peeling off.So gentle rides it is - and that suits me just fine as it’s a bit low at the front anyway.
Here’s the finished spec and pictures.
Frame: 18” Direct Drive Tange Prestige CRMO Tubing
Fork: Specialized Future Shock SE
Headset: Shimano Deore LX
Stem: Specialized
Stem Cap: N/A
Handlebar: Specialized Heat Treated
Grips: Ritchey WCS
Barends: N/A
Brakes: Shimano BR-M560 Deore LX
Brake Pads: Shimano M System
Brake Cables: Shimano
Cantilever cable hangers: Shimano
Brake Levers: Shimano ST-M560 Deore LX
Shifters: Shimano ST-M560 Deore LX
Front Derailleur: Shimano FD-M560 Deore LX
Rear Derailleur: Shimano RD-M735 Deore XT
Derailleur Cables: Shimano SIS
Cassette: Shimano Hyperglide 12-28t
Chain: Shimano
Cranks: Shimano FC-M560 Deore LX
Crank Bolts: Shimano
Chainrings: Shimano SG-X 46-36-26
Chainring bolts: Shimano
Bottom Bracket: Shimano
Pedals: Specialized Direct Drive Comp with toeclips
Rims: Specialized X23 32H
Hubs: Shimano FH-M560 & HB-M560 Deore LX
Hub Skewers: Shimano
Nipples: Wheelsmith
Spokes: Wheelsmith
Tyres:
Front: Specialized Ground Control S 1.95” (red/black label)
Rear: Specialized Ground Control Extreme S 1.95” (yellow/black label)
Tubes: Rubber
Saddle: Specialized
Seatpost: Specialized
Seatpost Binder: Shimano QR
Weight: 12.26kg / 27.02lbs
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