But you don't really give a shit about that, you want to hear about the FUGLY STUMPJUMPER. Back story: an old colleague, let's call him Bob, is a vintage MTB guy with lots of connections, and he loves to wheel and deal. I've long been pondering a vintage MTB project along the lines of a big BMX restomod - take an old Zaskar, Stumpjumper, Homegrown, etc. frame and put some cruiser bars on it, one fucking speed, and some big ol' fatty slicks and use it to bounce off the curbs on the way to and from the bar. He knew about this daydream of mine and found himself in a situation wherein, in order to buy the really nice Stump he wanted, he also needed to buy a really ugly Stump frameset that nobody in their right mind would want. But he knew about my daydream...
Fast forward a while, and he shows me this thing:
Somewhere under that marbletastic truck bed liner is an early 80s Stumpjumper. I'd like to learn how to nail the year down, so you if you know your early Stumps, or know somebody who does, let me know in the comments.
I'm nearly finished with phase one of the project - I just want to swap the tires out for something even fatter, and it'll be finished for now. Future phases will include all of the following:
- Doing something with the finish. A relief carving of the name on the down tube? Maybe. Just strip the lugs so they can shine through? Maybe. Despite its ugliness, somebody put a shit ton of time into this finish, and I want to respect that while making it my own. Plus, it looks awesome. In its own fugly way.
- Gears?
- Drop bars? The geo on this thing would make for a pretty fine off-road touring rig.
Anyway, more pics to follow. Now go ride your bike.
