# Intro: 1993 Stumpjumper M2 FS



## mikelikebike (Apr 29, 2008)

I'm hoping to hang around here a while and learn from you guys how to rehab this bike.

I recently bought a 1993 Stumpjumper on a sentimental impulse. It's been years since I had my last mountain bike, a 1991 Rockhopper Comp, I bought when I was in middle school and which was stolen in high school.

I bought the Stumpjumper on Ebay, and it did not arrive in the promised "great condition." So far, I've discovered that both shifters are not working, one of the skewers came bent and without an end nut, the frame has several large blemishes and any number of small blemishes which did not show up in the auction pictures, one of the inner tubes came with a hole in it, the headset was loose, the front fork is soft (Manitou SXe) and can surely use some rehab, and in general the bike was very dirty. It has clearly been used, but not very well cared for. I would describe the condition as average or decent, perhaps.

So, after all that, on to my questions:

1) Is there a place to source the shifters? They are 7 speed Deore LX rapidfire, integrated with the LX brake levers. If they cannot be sourced easily, what is compatible as a replacement in terms of modern parts (everything seems to be 8 and 9 speed now).

2) Can I easily upgrade to a 8 or 9 speed drivetrain? What would be involved Crank, casette, shifters, derailleurs? 

3) What else should/can be upgraded?

4) Why the hell is the saddle so hard? It's was clearly designed as some sort of sadistic joke. What's a good comfortable saddle?

I'm reading and learning, but I appreciate the input as I get up to speed.


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## KDXdog (Mar 15, 2007)

Must ....post.....pictures.....

You bought the bike on ebaby, why not look for parts there also?

8 speed is better for your bike. 

Basic parts needed: Rear shifter, rear cassette. 8 speed chain. And patience to adjust it all to work properly.

Welcome aboard!


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## Rumpfy (Dec 21, 2003)

Depending on how specific you aim to be with your resto, you should have little trouble sourcing the parts you need.

The nice thing about vintage is that you can generally get parts pretty cheap...often better than original spec for the bike. Like KDX said...search eBay for what you need. 

Other upgrades for safe trail use: 
1) fresh brake pads, well adjusted brakes
2) new tires/tubes

From there:
Maybe a new stem and some riser bars. Lighter seatpost. Different fork if this one is too soft.

As for saddles...they are very much a personal preference thing. We can only suggest what we like...nothing more.


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## CS2 (Jul 24, 2007)

Most Deore rear derailleurs can handle the upgrade to 8/9 sp easily. If the bike is spaced at 135mm, it probably is. The swap to 8/9 is even easier. A new cassette hub is about $20.00 on eaby + shipping. Now you can put on any 8/9 cassette. That plus a new chain and shifters and you're in business. Good luck and post some pics.

Tim


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## cegrover (Oct 17, 2004)

Shifters are a personal preference item as much as anything. If you have non-working 7-speed, I'll say your most reliable alternative (vs. going to 8- or 9-speed) is to find 7-speed thumb shifters. They'll work forever and aren't too hard to find - probably not 'correct' for a 1993 bike, however.

Another choice is to look for a good set of new or used replacements - 7-speed/cantilever units (LX, DX or XT) aren't usually too expensive, but it depends on your perspective. You should probably avoid the first-gen rapidire units - you'll know then if you see them, as both buttons are thumb-actuated and therefore on the rear of the shifter. I personally like using those, but they are absolutely not as reliable as the later ones.

If you go with thumbies, you'll need different brake levers (unless you get REALLY lucky and find adapters...not likely). Levers can be found pretty cheaply, just remember that levers for v-brakes will not work properly with cantilevers.

Other items:
- As previously stated, Ebay is likely your best source, especially for things like 7-speed shifters. Shops (local and online) will have 7-speed cassettes, chains, etc.
- 8-speed may take less upgrading than 9-speed, as the chain width is the same as 7-speed, which means your chainrings won't have to be replaced. This all depends on hub spacing, though.
- 8-speed is generally more reliable then 9-speed (IMHO).
- You may want to replace the fork or have a shop look at it. Sometimes, rebuild kits for older forks pop up on E-bay, also.
- What saddle was on your Rockhopper? I had a 1991 also, and it was a turbo - not the hardest saddle in the world, but not a 'comfort type' saddle, either. Just depends on what you're used to...


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## Dhorn33 (May 3, 2005)

I assume when you say the shifters aren't working that you push the trigger to upshift and it dosn't move? If that is the case I have had several bikes like that over the years and every single one of them I was able to get working perfectly by lubing the inside of the shifter with some WD40 or Tri-Flo or your favorite spray lube. They get gummed up if they are neglected - but they are also easy to fix. Give that a try.

The rest of the stuff is pretty easy. 

Tighten the headset and maybe even take it apart, clean it and regrease. If it is missing bearing or something then you can buy a new headset at any shop or on Ebay.

Inner tubes cost a couple bucks so just replace the bad one?

Seats are a very personal preference anyway so if the one that came on it doesn't work then just try a different one. An alternative that doesn't add any extra weight to your bike is to get a nice pair of padded cycling shorts. These are great!

Try taking the shock apart, clean it up and relube everything with Slick Honey or Judy Butter. If the cartridge is bad or the elastomers have disintegrated then you may want to look at finding some speed springs or Englund Air cartridges - or just replace the entire shock. I bought a 95 Stumpjumper last summer on Craigslist that had a Judy FSX that the entire stack of elastomers was toast so I replaced all the insides with the Englunds from DeeEight (Thanks!) on this board and it works AWESOME!

I gather from your post that you may not be all the comfortable or knowledgabel working on bikes. There is no better way to learn than to dive in and start wrenching! You may need a few specialty tools - but you should be able to get them at your favorite local shop. Good luck!


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## mikelikebike (Apr 29, 2008)

*Thanks*

This forum is great. Thanks for all the help.

I will get pictures this weekend. Not too much to look at at this point.

So far, I have cleaned and lubed, tightened the headset, bought new inner tubes and adjusted the brakes and derailleurs. I have held off on buying new parts for the moment, as I have not been able to discuss the condition issue with the previous owner. My expectation is that he should refund a part of the purchase price; if not, I will return the bike on principle.

The problem that I mentioned with the rear shifter is not that it won't shift, it's that it there only seems to be tension for up shifting intermittently, and then, if it will upshift, it will only shift up to the third cog; after that, there is no longer tension on the button - as if has reached the top of the cassette. It seems like the mechanism is broken.

I am not uncomfortable working on a bike, just unfamiliar with the mechanics and all the details upkeep, as well as, obviously, component compatibility. I am reading, learning the mechanics, and figuring out the interchangability of parts. A lot has changed since this generation of bikes/parts.

Thanks again for the help.


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## themanmonkey (Nov 1, 2005)

Flush the shifters out with solvent or WD-40 as listed above repeatedly and then flood the shifters with a heavy weight lube. Sometimes the springs break and sometimes they just get stuck.
Good luck.


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## mikelikebike (Apr 29, 2008)

Here are some pictures, finally:



















Haven't done anything yet - I haven't had the time - I just stripped the Manitou stickers off the fork. Up next is basic maintenace - which it needs a lot of. New tires, brake pads, seat, and maybe a new drivetrain if it turns out that the current is beyond rehab.


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## sgltrak (Feb 19, 2005)

If you are getting new tires, you could PM me and I'll get rid of that front one for you.


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## NoFiller (Jan 27, 2016)

*1993 FS rebuild*





















Not sure if these photos will pop up but here is my 1993 Stumpy FS rebuild. Found the frame from a shop in Santa Monica for cheap and had it shupped to the EC. Looked like the bike had been swapped of its original LX parts and rebuilt with some cheaper Shimano compinents. I started with a fresh powdercoat for the fame in a silver fleck a touch brighter than the original Specialized silver/grey. Build up included:

-New BB
-Swapped out original black LX M560 crank for silver XT M739 crank
-Swapped our LX M560 front der for NOS XT M737 front der
-Cleaned and serviced rear casette (7-sp)
-Swapped out XT M730 rear der for a gently used XT M737 rear der
-NOS Rock Shox Mag 21!!! new seals and serviced
-Swapped corroded black LX M560 cantilevers for genty used silver XT M737 cantis...new red Ritchey pads, Ringle mojo cable hangers
-Swapped out Alivio (not orig) shifters and brake levers for rapidfire NOS LX M560 shifters/levers (they were the only 21 speed shifters that had gear dial indicators...I could not source XT shifters for 21 gears with a dial indicator).
-New cables and housing
-NOS Shimano XT 1 1/8 threaded headset replaced original Spec headset
-NOS Specialized Team CroMo stem (original stock)
-NOS Specialized Rockbar (original stock)
-Salsa Pepperjack grips, Onza barends
-Swapped in gently used Specialized X23 wheels. Serviced LX M560 hubs that came with the wheels. Panaracer Pacela gumwalls for local cruising. ---Panaracer Smoke/Dart gumwalls on older X23 wheelset that came with frame for non-pavement
-Decals from a guy in Brazil. Literally the only guy still making these early 90s cro-mo Stumpy decals.

Thanks again to the crew at the Ride shop in Charleston for the finishing touches and tuneup to bring this ole steel beauty back to life!


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## Rumpfy (Dec 21, 2003)

Kudos on the rebuild effort! Personally, all mountain bikes need knobby tires, but depending on it's intended use, I understand not running them. Sounds like you have them on hand for dirt use. 

I'd suggest that seatpost to be turned around immediately. It's in backwards. At least the cross chaining is low low and not big big.

Nice to see it was kept pretty era correct too. They just look more right that way.


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## watts888 (Oct 2, 2012)

At first I thought, who the heck resurrected a zombie thread with an obscure suggestion to replace the fork elastomers. Pleasantly surprised it was a legitimate post.

Cool looking bike. I never liked the gumwall tire look, but to each their own. Serious cross-chaining going on. Just had to get that perfectly horizontal chain and derailleur picture though.


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## NoFiller (Jan 27, 2016)

Yeah the low-low crosschain was the bike just idle for a bit with least tension on derailleur cables. Pedals added after photo


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## NoFiller (Jan 27, 2016)

Imho nothin screams 90s mtb like gumwalls. Bike came with worn yellow Panaracer Fire XCs that went well with the decals but the gumwalls looked better than an all black Michelin tire i tried on


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## NoFiller (Jan 27, 2016)

The skinny Pasaelas on the bike are just for local cruises. The Smoke & Dart setup brings the ground beef when needed.


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## RogueRadio (Dec 7, 2015)

Damn thats a loooooong stem!


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## TheEpeter (Feb 6, 2017)

*Just picked this one up*









...and I know basically nothing about them. Or bikes for that matter. I barely remembered enough not to fall off when I rode it the first time today. I'm in love. :thumbsup:


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## Wooderson (Jan 9, 2006)

I used to have that silver and yellow stumpjumper, it will always be remembered as my favorite bike, by far! Thanks for the trip down memory lane!


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## watts888 (Oct 2, 2012)

Great bikes, and worth the parts needed to get it running great. Tons of tricks to get them running with little to no parts needed. If you have tech questions or something doesn't seem to work right, ask away.


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## colker1 (Jan 6, 2004)

mikelikebike said:


> Here are some pictures, finally:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


It looks so well balanced. Try to stay w/ those cantilevers and find someone who can tune them. Thumbshifters are like swiss watches and will work forever. I vouch for wtb classic saddle. stx or something they were called. Tires are better now: bigger but l still light giving more traction and absorbing shock. I like 8sp... it´s solid and you can find cassettes, chains still. If you can do the move. That bike looks really good. Well done.


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