Mountain Biking - Upgrade advice.. old parts and older frameset

I've been thinking about upgrading my bike, partly because i think it's a bit small for me now, and partly because i want real suspension

The bike a 1993 Specialized Stumpjumper with a rigid fork and a Softride stem. I love the frame. It's a japanese built triple butted Tange Prestige cro-mo frame with investment cast seat collar and other bits. The fork is a specialized direct drive cro-mo. There are really only two problems with the frame:

1. i'm just a hair under 6' tall, and the frame is 16.5". I'm used to it, but a LBS guy just pointed out to me that i should probably be on about a 19" frame with my height. My torso is long too. I bought the bike when i was 13 years old, which explains the size!

2. it dates from the days before front suspension was standard, and thus the head tube angle won't work well with a fork. Also, the steerer is 1", so pretty much nothing modern will fit in there anyway.


The obvious solution is to buy a brand new bike. However, there are a lot of upgraded parts on the bike, and it seems like a waste to dump them.

The drivetrain and brakes (except for cranks and bb) are 1996 Deore XT. Not long after i put this stuff on the bike, i pretty much stopped riding until now, so the stuff is grungy but in good working order, and lightly used. A new bike with an XT drivetrain is _expensive_.. seems like they are usually well over two grand.

So.. is it a reasonable idea to buy a new frame and fork, plus the necessary extra bits like headset, stem, seatpost and bb, and keep the drivetrain, brakes, seat, wheels, etc?

Or is that stupid?

I was wasting time at JensonUSA and for fun filled up my cart with a Zion steel frame (ever heard of them?), Fox RL 80mm fork, a cane creek sealed headset, some cheap alloy stem, and a thomson seatpost, and it came to a bit over $1000.

Is this a better idea than buying a new $1000 bike?

I don't really care about 9 speed vs 8 speed, and i'm still blown away by the awesome power of V-brakes (over cantilevers) :p .. My front wheel has an old style skinny hub (pre suspension era), so maybe i'd need a new front hub though.. hmm...


Anyway, sorry 'bout the long post.. Just wanted to see what you guys thought. :)

-robin

I don't know... the current stumpjumper is awesome. That Zion frame would make a really nice singlespeed setup, or even one with gears. Are you alright with your drivetrain stuff? I think XT equipped bikes cost so much because they have other nice crap on them as well...

Just get like a Sram cassete and derrailuer and such, get the high end ones if you feel like it. Get some FSA V-drive cranks, they probably don't weigh much more than the shimano ones, and you'll have a hard time breaking them.

As i said, i think my drivetrain is pretty good as is. Maybe the cranks could be replaced.. since new bb's are integrated with the cranks.

Here's my 'fantasy' shopping card from JensonUSA:

http://bobobox.net/~bobo/ars/cart.png

Crazy or not? ;)

I think you'd be better off with a set of FSA cranks, or Race Face if you can't find those. The V-drive are about $130 with chainrings, or I got my 3-ring set for $100 on ebay.

That stuff sure adds up quick... you could put together a nice urban/DJ bike with the Steelhead frame (while it was in stock) for about that much, or less.

Thanks for the advice about the cranks..

I guess i should say what kind of riding i want this bike for. NOT dirt jumping or loading dock jumping.. XC riding and some commuting with slicks.


BTW - i just saw this. Holy crap! It seems like an unbelievable deal: http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/motobecane_fly_team.htm

Never heard of that company though.. is it french?

Buy a new bike, swap what you want, put remainder on the old frame and sell cheap?
Or seach out a larger vintage chromoly if that's your bag.

I ride an old ritchey chromoly tange logic. Supa-smooooth.
A 7 spd drive can be cool =very few chains snap.

A fork with a disc tab would be good, trial often runs only disc front, so an old xc frame would do.
Going to stay rigid fork? It's all the rage these days.

Go ride new mtb geometry and see what you might want to buy or build.
If someone is selling off a cool frame cheap, you can-do. A 'real' wheel is 150-200$....you need 2.

The stuff is the bb, headset and of course the seatpost =new.
Maybe a new lever\brake with a suspension fork.
The drive if new is useful. The stem if 1 1/8 threadless clamp style.
I like to build and I like old frames so....