Some Classic Wrenching

Some bicycle mechanics lust over the latest and greatest.  I must admit I often fall victim to this myself.  There is almost nothing as gratifying as working on the latest wonder bike.  Operating the unbelievably crisp and responsive shifting. Felling that sweet nectar of hydraulic fluid smoothly compress and move pistons with even the lightest squeeze of the brake lever.  No strange noises.  No crude manufacturing.  No guess work.  Perfection to be admired for sure.

But there are other aspects of mountain bikes that should be equally be admired... that not of progress, but of origin.

A dusty relic of a bicycle was rolled into the shop the other day. Covered in filth, neglected, over sprayed with possible house paint, sun worn tires.  A double diamond derelict.  A lost soul with not much to offer in it's current state but a hint of blue and a rather large upstanding set off bull moose handlebars. But there was something different about this particular ride.  For under all that grime was hiding a 1984 Specialized Stumpjumper in almost all original dress.  No obvious upgrades but bone stock.  It appeared to even have the original chain, brake pads, foam grips and now destroyed tires.

I didn't realize this at first glance and had to do some research to figure it all out.  Seems that Specialized only began making production bikes in 1982, so this model was only the 3rd year a factory MTB could even be purchased by general society.  In other words, a mountain bike could now be ridden by those who could not actually build there own.

The shop ticket simply stated "overhaul with slime tubes".  No recognition of the prize to be worked on, no symbolism or notation separating this bicycle from the other countless cobwebbed atrocities I had brought back to life before.  I was actually going to have rewarding experience with this one.

First task was the removal of the horrific speckled white over spray spattered all over the rear triangle.  Luckily, some alcohol removed the offense and I started to see the factory blue come back around.  With some cleaning and then application of Pedro's Bike Lust, the blue hue really began to represent.  Luckily the rest of the bike showed no signs of corrosion.  All the aluminum was pristine and as I opened up the headset and bottom bracket there was zero evidence of rust or contamination.  In fact, the grease was still blue in color and probably was first applied during initial assembly at the factory.

I didn't take any before and during pics but did take some after.  A few highlights that can't be seen was the all aluminum headset (besides races).  What made this unit even cooler was the fact that the upper cup sleeve was drilled before pressed into the frame to shave ever gram possible.  The brake levers have a rubber boot that surrounded the hinge mechanism and long leads wrapped around the bar and clipped onto a pin on the back of the lever. Overall the bike was in great shape but the extra effort of the overhaul really came up with an "as new" creation.  Like a quick time travel back to 1984.

Sure was a fun test ride (or maybe two... had to be sure it was working well)

Check out the fierce stance:

The control center:

Maximum chainstay length:

Sweet crown:

Way, way pre-HG drivetrain:

:

Rear derailleur with no outer cage:

Tommaselli moto levers (with cover):

Suntour friction thumbies:

Front derailleur with a few extra links:

Parting shot:

The specifications:

• Model: 1984 Stumpjumper
• Frame: OS Double Butted Cro-Moly
• Fork: Double Butted Cro-Moly    
• Rear Derailleur: Suntour Le Tech
• Front Derailleur: Suntour Le Tech
• Hubs: Specialized sealed
• Rims: Saturne X32
• Tires: (replaced during overhaul)
• Brakes: Shimano Deore XT
• Brake Levers: Tommaselli Racer
• Crank: Specialized 26/36/46
• Pedals: Suntour 
• Shifter: Suntour thumb
• Handlebar: Specialized X-2+2 aluminum 
• Freewheel: Suntour NW 13-30
• Stem: Slingshot alloy
• Color: Blue  

Although some of this info I already knew, I did find out the details of dates and figured out which model I had in my stand by grazing through the info provided on MOMBAT.org (Museum of Mountain Bike Art and Technology).  In fact, I got distracted with a few articles on parts I actually owned in the past.  Has me thinking of doing a little BLOG entry on the origins of my passion with mountain bikes.

Stay tuned....