Baby 1997 Stumpjumper M2

I don't know where the idea came from, but at a certain point a few weeks ago, I decided to try 700c wheels on my Stumpy.
Last year I bought a cheap nineties CyclePro racer with an Exage Motion groupset. The frame was too big and got sold on, leaving me a collection of parts gathering dust. Perfect!

I was originally thinking of keeping the Maguras and googled a solution for the larger diameter rims. Seems like the only way to do this is to buy an adaptor offered by a couple of companies. Two hitches; they're not cheap, and they look kinda clumsy. I want a minimalist build. But during my search I found someone that had used road calipers for running 700c on an mtb. So simple it didn't even cross my mind...

So after a quick mock-up to check that it was possible, I took the drill to my Stumpy frame. Also the rear of the ready-drilled P2s was widened to accommodate the long collar found on road calipers. The pads were a bit high due to the long P2s, so I filed down the slots that the pads screw into, so they didn't touch the tyre.

The rear axel needed changing from 126mm to 135mm. A trashed XT hub produced a suitable axel and spacers. The wheel needed re-dishing (is that right?) to centre it.

Amazingly everything fit together with little trouble. It's fully built now and waiting for it's first outing tomorrow Pics to follow...

A quick photoshoot on the way to work!

Felt a bit long-legged to start with, but after the initial strangeness it ended up being simple, smooth, fast and fun.
Even my quick-fix gearing worked a treat. The original wheels had a 6-speed screw-on cassette which I kept. The spacing is wider than 7/8-speed, so an STI unit was out of the question. Instead I found an old left side thumbie at the bottom of my parts bin – turned it back-to-front and mounted it on the right side.

Really liking the look. Reminds me of the BMX racers you get for younger kids.

(Needs a longer chain though! )

That frame makes me feel funny in my swimsuit area. Not sure I like the current incarnation as much as the last but it's a thing of beauty, no doubt.

Love it... bikes that evolve with the rider, and for different uses are top of my list....

Genious use of the road calipers... will remember that one



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Loving it.

It's an optical illusion bike...

you keep looking at the frame then the wheels then the frame then the wheels....

<not serious on> Paint the frame in wood-tone (or 'wrap it') to complete the "Designed by Robert Stephenson" effect. <not serious off>

Cool as a penguin sauna

And

That looks completely chuckable, impressed!

Thanks for the kind words gents!

Although I'm a sucker for Azonic bars I think I'm gonna swap them for something a bit narrower, something just doesn't feel right with them now.

Really digging the thumb shifter too, can't remember last time I used these! Now I understand the devotion some people have to them.

Hmmmmmmmmm...

...got me thinking now about my original '97 Lava Dome that's still knocking around; have some spare 700C wheels and road brakes too :?

Love this!

I'm doing something similar to an old Scott - 700C wheels but with MAFAC Racer centre-pulls, and it will have a Campagnolo triple groupset and drops once it's finished. This is it in its current form:

@ We_are_Stevo: Do it!

@ Rich34: Looking good! Post it up when you're finished. Wondering about drops for the Stumpy too.