MarkusT 

Hi All!
I picked up this bike with a bum front Future Shock. Taking it off I see the headset has sealed tapered bearings top and bottom. Can I use any threadless shock up front or will the headset bearings need replacing? I have a RockShox Silver 30 I was thinking of using.

Thanks for any feedback!

Mark

merziac

Pretty sure you might want to check with the MTB guys too.

Plenty here may have thoughts as well, but..........

wesmamyke

Firs thing check if it's 1", specialized held out pretty long there. Not sure what year my purple/green aluminum Stump Jumper is, but it's still 1"

Threaded, or threadless? If it's 1" and/or threaded you don't have many options. Even the cheap RST forks with steerers you can swap are long gone.

Any marking on the headset? The only headset I've seen with bearings like that are American classic threaded headsets. Same weird fiber reinforced bearings seals.

2cam16

I doubt you'll be able to fit your Silver 30. Isn't that a 1-1/8 steerer? The '94 Stumpy is a "1. At least mine is. Threadless but I have Chris Kings on it.

MarkusT 

Hi, it is a 1 1/8” Aheadset threadless headset.
Thanks!

2cam16

Then it's probably not just a Stumpy but a Stumpy FS or not a '94.

tricky 

I think 2cam16 is onto something here. @MarkusT can you send full pics of the bike?

MarkusT 

Hey Tricky, yes, it's a 94 Stumpy M2 FS. The bike is on the stand apart, but I'll get some pics posted later today.
Parts on it:
*Coda suspension seatpost
*XT shifters, brakes & FD
*RD has no label but the color looks like an STX RC
*Specialized Future Shock (stripped canti stud hole and leaking oil)
*rear wheel was replaced at some point
*Titanium stem
*8 spd SRT500 twist shifters (never seen melted rubber grips before!)

My plan is to just set this up a a nice paved/hard pack trail runner.

Thanks!

tricky 

I believe the Future Shocks were rebranded Rockshox. If the headtube is indeed 1 1/8", then you should be able to just reuse the headset. You can slide the steerer of the RS Silver (I'm not familiar with that fork) into the old headset to verify that it's a fit. If yes, take the crown race off of the old fork, swap it over to the new fork, install and Bob's your uncle.

tricky 

btw, is the Future Shock the carbon version? Post a pic of that too! Those are cool. I haven't seen many pics of them.

2cam16

There you go! It's an FS. Just remember a more modern fork may throw your geometry off if it has more travel.

krakhaus 

All of the M2's are 1-1/8", that headset should work fine. The Future Shock has Mag 21 internals, so you should be able to find some seals and do an easy rebuild if you wanted to. Especially if it's the carbon FSX. Those things were really nice.
You could also easily heilcoil the canti post, and it would probably be better than new.

MarkusT 

Thanks for the feedback All!
Here are some pics. Shocks aren't Carbon, unfortunately. I've pulled the top plugs off and there certainly isn't much to the guts!

MarkusT 

Thanks Krakhaus. I've never done a shock service. I have a RockShox manual and it looks like special tools are required. 2Cam16 brings up a good point. If I'm going to use it as a paved/hard pack rider, maybe I'm better off sticking with a lower travel fork, like the original. I'll look and see if I can find a seal kit for a Mag21 and see what I might be able to do. Worse case is maybe my local LBS can do it. Is there a newer vintage shock that has more available parts?

Thanks!

sloppy12

Do you have to keep the shock? I would swap it out for something like a surly ECR fork. doesnt sound like you really need a shock for the use case.

MarkusT 

Thanks Sloppy12, thought about that to. The ECR doesn't come in 26" and isn't suspension corrected, I believe.

sloppy12

Whats your axle to crown?

MarkusT 

The original fork, fully extended is 16.5" - 42 cm.
Thanks!