Starting a thread as this is my next project. Got this freebie frame from one of our close neighbors. Cousin left it with him and it has sat in his garage for ages. Gave it to me and now my next of many mtb's.
The day I got it:
IMG_1648 by 2cam16, on Flickr
After parts and frame cleaning:
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Today I mixed three colors of Tamiya paint and came up with a close enough color:
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After the touch ups dried, I sprayed a few coats of clear and it is now baking outside in my natural oven during a heatwave:
IMG_2334 by 2cam16, on Flickr

So far, so good!

I like vintage MTBs; this bike looks great. Vintage MTBs by and large do better with rigid forks as they're fine all around bikes.

If I was ever gonna get a MTB, A stump jumper would be the one. Looks great.

Thanks all!

Nice stumpy in excellent condition. I had one, it's a very stiff frame. I also have that fork,
It's very light but very prone to flexing. The elastomer bumpers may be done but I remember seeing kits online.

Thanks! Actually this Rockshox only has springs. No elastomers. The springs were rusty so I soaked them overnight in Evaporust. Got all the rust off but they seem to be too stiff with not much rebound at all. Not sure if it was the type of spring installed or just from age and rust. I'll run it that way and it doesn't work out, I'll install the stock fork.

In a bit of a dilemma here. I was planning on installing a set of v-brakes on this bike but just noticed the cable guide for the rear. It curves slightly around the seatpost. Looking at the angle, I'm not sure if a v will work as the tube/noodle will have a kink in the cable before entering it.
brakes by 2cam16, on Flickr
I may just have to go to cantis.

if you have housing guides on the top tube, you can just ignore the wrap around and go straight to the noodle. if not, problem solvers makes an adhesive-backed housing guide that allows you to zip tie the housing onto the frame. it's not the most elegant, but it does work.

Good to know. Unfortunately there's only one cable guide and it's up forward. Thanks!

Test fitted a few parts today. Going with STX/Deore components. I'll have to wait until I come across some cantis as the v-brake plans are just about scrapped. Or I can just switch the V's with one of my bikes that has cantis and the correct cable guide in the rear for the V's.
Thinking of going yellow grips and yellow cable housings.
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I bought what I believe is a 1994 Specialized HardRock for my son this spring. The old cantis were shot and I considered switching to V-brakes until I discovered that same (or very similar) cable guide wrapped around the seatpost.

I stuck with cantis because of that, for what it's worth.

Thanks for the pictures and story of your Stumpjumper. Great looking bike!

Interesting that the 1992 and earlier Specialized models didn't have that canti brake noodle. If you wanted to run V's maybe you could run full length cable housing and use the top tube cable clamps you see on 70's road bikes with few braze-ons?



I have an Indy XC fork from '97 and it firms up considerably in the cold. You probably won't have that problem in Cali though!

Thanks! Glad to know to I wasn't the only one with the idea.

That's a good idea,Clang. I'l look into it and see if it's feasible. Much as I don't want to run a full housing, I may have to if I want to use my V's.

Well what do you know. Good thing I checked my parts bin before taking some brakes off one of my Hardrocks. Found a few cantis.
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It's looking great! You're going to love the ride - Stumpy's are the best climbers out there. I personally would stick with the rigid fork I guess it depends what you're using it for.

I haven't ridden enough to know if they're the best, but my '92 does feel very lively on the uphills. I'm afraid I don't have anything that really qualifies as a climb. Mine is Tange Prestige; is OP's frame the same?

Thanks devinfan! Yeah I thought of going back to stock fork but since it came this way, I'll try this out first.
[MENTION=303587]Duer[/MENTION]uote- It has a "Direct Drive Prestige" decal on the seat tube so maybe?

Well it's all done and I like my choice of yellow contrasting parts. Test ride is next week.
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Slick!

Thanks!

Took it out for it's first spin today. love the bike. As always with smaller frames, very nimble. One problem though: I think 3 of my highest gears are worn. It was skipping under load from 6 to 8 with any chainring combo. It was perfect on the stand but not on the road. Will go through it one of these days.
IMG_2817 by 2cam16, on Flickr
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I believe that the elastomers are original in that fork. They tended to wear out quickly, especially for larger riders and a spring replacement was/is common. They sell stiffer springs for heavier riders so the stiffness may be due to the fact you have a spring rated for a heavier rider.

Didn't think about that. All good with me.