# Specialized StumpJumper M2 Dilemma



## Gilgamesh76 (May 17, 2013)

Hello!

*A couple disclosures about me...
*

I was really into racing during the early to mid 90's.
Family/Work/Life shifted my priorities and I do not race; just hit the trails whenever possible
I am not technical at all when it comes to bikes!
Have a special place in my heart for my Stumpy!
Don't have a large budget to allocate to my bike right now

*A couple of things about my Stumpy...
*

I think it is a 1993; not totally sure
All original parts except the fork, seat, and stem/bar
Judy SL Fork (I think it is worn out)
P.O.S. generic adjustable stem
Answer HyperLite Bar
XT Rear / LX Front
Brakes aren't that great (LX and is more than the pads)

Please help me with my dilemma!! My bike either needs to retire or get updated a bit! I don't need a pro upgrade, but I can feel its age.

*Questions:
*

Is this bike worth investing into this bike?
If so, what should I do to it?
Is it worth trying to get the Judy SL refurbished?
If I replace parts (stem, rear XT, fork), how do I know what size to get? (not savy at all with the mechanical end of bikes but can learn)
Is my bike still cool???!! 

Thanks for any thoughts you may have! This is a great forum!

-Ryan


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## CYCLEJCE (Nov 2, 2010)

Sweet stumpy! That stem should be on a hybrid, not your M2... I too am curious about a Judy rebuild as I have an old XC in the garage. The least expensive option would be a rigid replacement. Cable inners, brake pads, and a good greasing/cleaning and she'll be back in action! Judging by the hitch hiker coupler on the seat post, it's been downgraded to sidewalk duty.


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## Uncle Grumpy (Oct 20, 2005)

Gilgamesh76 said:


> [*]Is this bike worth investing into this bike?
> [*]If so, what should I do to it?
> [*]Is it worth trying to get the Judy SL refurbished?
> [*]If I replace parts (stem, rear XT, fork), how do I know what size to get? (not savy at all with the mechanical end of bikes but can learn)
> [*]Is my bike still cool???!!


Welcome! Here's my 10c worth, other will chime in with their own views and by the end of it, you'll have a dozen differing points of view and be no better off. 

1. Yes. It's not a crap bike and you like it. So why not throw some coin at it. By all means, take a look at current hardtails with a Shimano SLX spec (as a starting point) and see how much they are selling for as a comparison. It also depends on what's flogged out on it.

2. As a starting point, new cables and outers, new brake pads if they're worn, check the rims for excessive wear, check chain for stretch and chainrings/cassette for wear. Lose the awful stem. Replace fork. New tubes and tyres if the tyres are worn. Also check bottom bracket and headset for bearing wear. Hubs as well.

3. Not sure. Sorry, I'm not familiar with the guts of those forks and what's available for them.

4. I'd keep the rear derailleur. Stem I'd change. 1 1/8" threadless stem with 25.4mm bar clamp is what you need. The length and rise is a personal thing based on your geometry. Fork, you'd need something with a similar axle to crown height and similar travel. These days, good luck. Even 80mm forks are damn hard to come by.

5. Is the bike still cool? Haha, that's a personal thing. People here love those, and others couldn't care either way. I admit to being in the latter but my opinion shouldn't matter. What matters is the bike brings you pleasure and you can get it on the road for not a lot of money.

It sure looks clean and well looked after. Good luck with it!

Grumps


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## jimPacNW (Feb 26, 2013)

Yes, fix it up and keep it! -cool bike!

A couple of you said 'new cables'; why?? he didn't say they're bad; lube the cables and if they're slick they're slick. If they're not slick and the cables themselves are smooth, replace the housings (the insides of the housings get not-smooth after a LOT of shifts). Are you guys in the cable business?
Your elastomers are shot in your Judy: For a 'spring' those use stacks of foam cylinders, they turn to dust over time. Unscrew the top from either side and you'll see. I have that same shock and about 2 years ago it got low like yours is (mine lasted a lot longer than most). I got some spring inserts off ebay (the Kronos spring kit), carefully cleaned out the elastomers and replaced with the greased Kronos springs, I like that shock with those. I would not replace that fork. 
Your brake pads can be toast without showing any wear: they can harden over time which makes them work poorly and wear a lot on the rims. 
I agree about measuring the chain for stretch, if it's not too bad you can just replace the chain (8 or 9spd will work, that's an 8spd derailleur?). Buy a 30mm/12" metal ruler at your local tool store for $5, 25.4mm is 'new' (the links will line up at 25.4mm, you'll see), 25.5mm is still ok, replace at 25.6mm. If the chainrings show wear replace them too, - the teeth will be slightly deformed by the pull of the chain.
Good stems are cheap for that bike, new or used.
Your derailluers are likely fine, those old xt and lx derailluers often last a long time, I have one those xt rears on my 'winter bike', it works great.

Get used to searching youtube for repair help, parktool.com has a lot of great mechanic info too. Bikes are simple, you will have to buy a few tools, but you can figure it out.


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## Uncle Grumpy (Oct 20, 2005)

jimPacNW said:


> A couple of you said 'new cables'; why?? he didn't say they're bad; lube the cables and if they're slick they're slick.
> 
> Are you guys in the cable business?


Yes, my name is Frederick Jagwire III, I have a vested interest in this. 

If they're fine, sure, leave them, but replacing cables and outers as a matter of course is cheap enough and then you know they're minty fresh and good to go for a while. Not having seen the bike first hand, I can't say for sure but it's just a suggestion of something to look at and figure into the equation.

I've seen a lot of people whinge about their derailleurs "shifting like crap" and I say "just change the cables" and they go and buy a new derailleur (normally the next model up from what they have) and have the shop install it and then say "see it's right now" not realising that the shop changed the cables and cleaned out the shifters as well.

Grumps


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## Gilgamesh76 (May 17, 2013)

Thank you Unlce Grumpy for taking the time to respond in such detail! This helps a lot in determining what to do! This bike is "family" and I would love to get it to a point where it is enjoyable to ride again. I think with your opinions, that will be possible! Thank you!


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## Gilgamesh76 (May 17, 2013)

CYCLEJCE said:


> Sweet stumpy! That stem should be on a hybrid, not your M2... I too am curious about a Judy rebuild as I have an old XC in the garage. The least expensive option would be a rigid replacement. Cable inners, brake pads, and a good greasing/cleaning and she'll be back in action! Judging by the hitch hiker coupler on the seat post, it's been downgraded to sidewalk duty.


YOu caught me!  Yes, she does see sidewalk duty now and then. I do take my son on a tag along on the mountain bike trails (he is 6) and have gotten some strange looks. He loves it though!


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## jimPacNW (Feb 26, 2013)

He did say he's on a budget, - I'm admittedly just really cheap! 
Most of the time the 'shifting like crap' thing can be fixed by: shifting into the largest rear cog, then without turning the cranks shift all the way the other way which loosens the shift cable a bunch, then pull the rear cable housing out of the braze-on thing on the chainstay, then you can slide the cable housing away from the derailleur. run a rag over the exposed cable, you can do the same thing at this point with the housing up near the shifters too. I usually use Finish Line grease with teflon, I have also used Lock Ease graphite lock lube, it is super viscous and will flow down into cables (like if you can't get the front loose, or on a front brake cable where the end is a little too messed up.
On my old bike the parts are from '91 (xt ii thumbshifters), it was getting hard to shift about a year ago, I finally bought some new xtr cable housing, and after putting the new housing on I was overshifting all the time in the rear because it moved so easily!
I finally had to replace the derailluer on that bike because a stick bent the body, -if they don't get bent derailleurs can last a LONG time. 

Oh, you unscrew the black part on the top of those shocks, the red/silver part is just microadjust. I have read that the regular Judy xc's more commonly get a leak in the oil cartridge and those are a lot more expensive to replace. Like stated above, it would be hard to find a proper length shock new for that bike (distance from axle to lower race), all the newer shocks would raise your front end and it would handle different, -probably not an improvement, -another argument for fixing the Judy SL (which was expensive, and I believe is still considered to be lightweight).


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## Gilgamesh76 (May 17, 2013)

jimPacNW said:


> Yes, fix it up and keep it! -cool bike!
> 
> A couple of you said 'new cables'; why?? he didn't say they're bad; lube the cables and if they're slick they're slick. If they're not slick and the cables themselves are smooth, replace the housings (the insides of the housings get not-smooth after a LOT of shifts). Are you guys in the cable business?
> Your elastomers are shot in your Judy: For a 'spring' those use stacks of foam cylinders, they turn to dust over time. Unscrew the top from either side and you'll see. I have that same shock and about 2 years ago it got low like yours is (mine lasted a lot longer than most). I got some spring inserts off ebay (the Kronos spring kit), carefully cleaned out the elastomers and replaced with the greased Kronos springs, I like that shock with those. I would not replace that fork.
> ...


Thanks Jim for the feedback! Should I try to find elastomer replacements or go the spring route you did? Not sure what is best. If I go the Kronos spring route, is there a specific kind for the Judy? I'm not afraid to take mine fork apart, just don't want to break something though and end up forkless! Will I need other stuff as well for a rebuild such as oil, tools, etc? Sorry I'm so clueless! I'm excited to give it a go though!


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## jimPacNW (Feb 26, 2013)

If I were to do it again I would do the Kronos springs, they feel really good to me in that fork. search ebay for 'Judy sl' and they'll come up, they have different springs for your weight, - I'm not affiliated with them.
If I remember correctly I just unscrewed the top caps and got as much of the elastomer dust out as I could (do it outside, it is messy), greased and dropped the springs in and screwed the caps back on. Maybe gently use pliers over a rag to get the tops loose?, and a probe of some kind to get the elastomer bits out. You can take them apart now and have a look. 
They recommend 'judy butter' for grease, the finish line with teflon worked fine for me.


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## Gilgamesh76 (May 17, 2013)

jimPacNW said:


> If I were to do it again I would do the Kronos springs, they feel really good to me in that fork. search ebay for 'Judy sl' and they'll come up, they have different springs for your weight, - I'm not affiliated with them.
> If I remember correctly I just unscrewed the top caps and got as much of the elastomer dust out as I could (do it outside, it is messy), greased and dropped the springs in and screwed the caps back on. Maybe gently use pliers over a rag to get the tops loose?, and a probe of some kind to get the elastomer bits out. You can take them apart now and have a look.
> They recommend 'judy butter' for grease, the finish line with teflon worked fine for me.


Springs and butter are on their way! Thanks for the suggestion! Hopefully that will put some life back into the fork. How much butter do I add when I install it? I'm guessing just make sure everything is well grease, but not globs of it...right?

I'll replace the stem as well. It looks like finding a short length by high rise will be hard. I'm guessing I should replace the bar from a straight to a curve.

Someday I'll invest in a new bike, but it isn't the top of the priority list...well at least the mrs.'s list!


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## THE ARS (Sep 14, 2011)

You're not necessarily looking for a short stem, it's going to come back to you as it gets higher.


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## Surfnrad (Apr 27, 2013)

*Similar dilemma*

I don't mean to hijack your thread, but rather continue it since I've got a similar situation and hope to get similar advice. 

Hoping to get the best bang for the buck, back in about 1995 I bought a used M2 S-Works Team bike. The frame had a click, and Specialized sent me a new replacement. So the frame is a 1995 I think and the components 1993 or 1994. Living in Florida, it hasn't gotten a ton of use. I changed to road slicks when I found myself using it on pavement primarily rather than buying a roadbike in addition to it. Years down the road now, my daughter is getting into offroad biking and I'm riding some trails. I bought a cheap second set of wheels so I can easily switch between road and offroad. Probably was a waste, since they are quite a bit heavier and I'm not on pavement so much anymore. The bigger issue for me now is that the front shocks are worn out. The local shop said rebuilding would cost the same as buying new, but hard to find the right dimension fork nowadays for that frame. He recommended simply buying a new bike. So, do I sell this one and use the money to invest in a new one or do I make some repairs and upgrades and keep this one? If I can fix the fork, I'm fine with keeping it. Does anyone know for sure what spring kit to get for this? I could probably use a new saddle among other things and would appreciate any recommendations about whether to keep or sell and what to replace on the bike without getting too pricey.

front and rear derailleurs - Deore XT
brakes - XT rear, XTR front
fork - Future Shock? 1993 or 1994?


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## oldskoolwrench (Jul 12, 2012)

Surfnrad said:


> I don't mean to hijack your thread, but rather continue it since I've got a similar situation and hope to get similar advice.
> 
> Hoping to get the best bang for the buck, back in about 1995 I bought a used M2 S-Works Team bike. The frame had a click, and Specialized sent me a new replacement. So the frame is a 1995 I think and the components 1993 or 1994. Living in Florida, it hasn't gotten a ton of use. I changed to road slicks when I found myself using it on pavement primarily rather than buying a roadbike in addition to it. Years down the road now, my daughter is getting into offroad biking and I'm riding some trails. I bought a cheap second set of wheels so I can easily switch between road and offroad. Probably was a waste, since they are quite a bit heavier and I'm not on pavement so much anymore. The bigger issue for me now is that the front shocks are worn out. The local shop said rebuilding would cost the same as buying new, but hard to find the right dimension fork nowadays for that frame. He recommended simply buying a new bike. So, do I sell this one and use the money to invest in a new one or do I make some repairs and upgrades and keep this one? If I can fix the fork, I'm fine with keeping it. Does anyone know for sure what spring kit to get for this? I could probably use a new saddle among other things and would appreciate any recommendations about whether to keep or sell and what to replace on the bike without getting too pricey.
> 
> ...


Exactly what is the problem with the fork? Does it hold air pressure? If so, then the fork just needs to be serviced, the oil replaced, and the shock pumped up to proper pressure. If you're looking to replace it, you might be able to find a used shock on Craigslist or the Bay. You have a 1 1/8" threadless steerer tube so you're standard in that regard; it's just a matter of finding the right fork at the right price.


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## Surfnrad (Apr 27, 2013)

Thanks for the quick reply. I have no idea how to maintain or service the shocks. Shocks basically compress as soon as I get on the bike, then go back up when I get off it. How do I check if it's holding air pressure? Do I disassemble it? If I disassemble, do I risk breaking some kind of seal? The shop said that the price for them servicing it wouldn't be worth the cost -- is that true? Is it something I can do myself? Is there a way to know too, what model shocks they are? I'm pretty sure they're Future Shock 1993 -- is that similar to the Rockshox Mag 10 or Mag 21?


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## oldskoolwrench (Jul 12, 2012)

Surfnrad said:


> Thanks for the quick reply. I have no idea how to maintain or service the shocks. Shocks basically compress as soon as I get on the bike, then go back up when I get off it. How do I check if it's holding air pressure? Do I disassemble it? If I disassemble, do I risk breaking some kind of seal? The shop said that the price for them servicing it wouldn't be worth the cost -- is that true? Is it something I can do myself? Is there a way to know too, what model shocks they are? I'm pretty sure they're Future Shock 1993 -- is that similar to the Rockshox Mag 10 or Mag 21?


The Future Shock is very similar in design to the Mag 21, and is serviced the same way. You can do it quite easily with the correct tools.

The first thing to do is to get a Rock Shox Mag 21 Service Manual:

https://www.mtb-kataloge.de/Bikekataloge/PDF/Manuals/mag21.pdf

Second... before you go through the motions of servicing the fork, try this:

1) RE: your photo # 3 --

https://fcdn.mtbr.com/attachments/v...ed-stumpjumper-m2-dilemma-img_0850_resize.jpg

See the small Phillips screw in the middle of the black knob? Get a #0 Phillips screwdriver and remove that screw. That exposes the air valve.

2) Find a 'ball inflation needle'; the little pin that fills up basketballs, footballs, etc.
You'll need a Schrader hand pump with a gauge for this, too. Wet the inflation needle with water and stick it into the middle of the knob. You should feel your pump react if there's air in the valve.

3) You'll just need a pump or two, or when the gauge reads between 38-42 PSI. Then, pull the pin out of the top of the knob and replace the little Phillips screw. Repeat the process for the other side.

If you feel or hear air escaping from the top of the knob then that's a sign that the air valve is shot... the chances of finding replacement air valves are pretty slim, so the next course of action is a different fork.


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## Surfnrad (Apr 27, 2013)

oldskoolwrench said:


> Second... before you go through the motions of servicing the fork, try this:
> 
> 1) RE: your photo # 3 --
> 
> ...


Thanks so much! I didn't know that there was a valve hole hidden beneath the screws. I didn't have a ball pump with a gauge on it, so I used my tire pump with a ball needle. The air is still holding after a week, so the shocks seem to be fine after all. 

The shocks feel a bit too stiff now. Maybe the air pressure is a little too high. I had some trouble getting the pressure set just right. I'll try bleeding off a bit of air, but wonder if I'll take off too much. I'll see if I can find another pump that could be more precise.

Could you please tell me about those adjustment knobs with the + and -? Are you supposed to turn them to a certain position before pumping the air into the shocks? The knobs are a bit stiff and I don't want to force them. How far should they be able to turn? How much impact should they have on the shock pressure?


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## Bugdozer (Dec 6, 2013)

For my 30th b-day, I got a 1993 Stumpjumper M2, replacing my 1987 Schwinn High Sierra. In 1996 my daughter was borne so ended my regular riding and all racing. Recently I started riding again. Changed the oil in the fork, cleaned and lubed everything and it rides like new. I'll be looking for a new bike next year sometime but for now, my old trusty M2 gets me where I need to be, quick quickly at times.


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## peter85 (Mar 7, 2017)

Hey Guys,

I'm looking at an older Stumpjumper M2 Comp to buy, I've dug around the forum a bit and on the Google but figured I'd chime in here for a second opinion: What do you guys think?

Parts look mostly original, Judy shock, etc, but I'm not sure it wasn't repainted. Do the decals look on point? I noticed a lot of Stumpjumpers say "Stumpjumper" on the downtube and "Specialized" on the top tube, but this one is different - any cause for concern?

Pic attached, I have more from the seller in case anyone has a particular point to look at. I'm supposed to go see this bike on Friday (I hope) and was wondering if you folks have any advise about stuff to check out. The bike will be to have fun on, go around town and play with.

Thanks!


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