jdeane4

I purchased a 2007 Specialized Stumpjumper Classic a few years ago while Specialized was running them as closeouts. At the time, I purchased the bike for the components (XO shifters and rear derailleur and XT crankset/front derailleur). Lately, the bike has sat in the corner of the bike room collecting dust. I changed a few things on it to make it fun for riding at the beach but now that I live in Tennessee, I don't travel to the beach very much anymore. I have been thinking about trying to save up some money to purchase a Surly LHT but funds are pretty tapped right now. So, what are your opinions of making this into a dedicated touring bike? Do you all think the frame geometry would provide a stable touring platform?

FKMTB07

Yes. Old mtb's (and new ones built like old ones) make great touring bikes.

jdeane4

My only concern is that the geometry may make the bike too sluggish.

Bekologist

i have a stumpjumper classic set up with friction thumb shifters and a 9 speed drivetrain, love it. I bring it out on group trail rides for a little retro effect.

I toured on 80s mountain bikes in the 80's. I say go for it!

fietsbob

The Trip should not be a race.. with those slack seat angles the weight shift is off your arms, and onto your backside..
Which is A good thing .. steering stability will let your attention drift towards looking at the scenery.

my winter bike is one of the old ones. the stability, is a good thing
when the road is Icy and the studded tires get installed..


it is fitted with dirt drop stem, Mustache bars, old campag strada brake levers , minus hoods,
and sturmey drum brakes, inside Snow cat rims ..

S-T ratchet bar end shifters and a 7 speed freewheel, triple crank... deore mechs.

though I ride the 2 with the IG hubs more now. so the studs never got removed when the thaw happened.

shorthanded

i have an '88 rockhopper that i've got tricked out with fenders, panniers, etc-- and it's been a fantastic light tourer and commuter. i REALLY need to get around to swapping over to drop bars to finish the job at some point-- but the advent of a rando bike has made progress kinda cease . regardless-- they're SUPER comfortable- just not super agile like some of the best tourers. compared to my wife's '85 univega gran turismo-- it's just as comfortable-- but she is a bit sluggish. on chipseal and dirt roads though.. 26x1.5 paselas are TOTALLY the ticket.

guess it depends what you need out of a bike!

alaska joe

I converted my 1983 Stumpjumper Sport to a touring bike in 2007. Last year I rode it cross country, Boston, MA to Newport, OR. It worked well, except for the crappy Mavic rear rim that split on me out West, which was not the Stumpjumper's fault.

The relaxed geometry makes it very stable with a load and at speed. The only issue is that the front wheel can tend to "flop" a bit when going very slowly. You just need to concentrate on holding your line at slow speed.

As with any 26 inch wheel, especially if a wide tire is used, it will be slower than a 700c bike, but for loaded touring this isn't much of an issue in my opinion.

Go for it!

Deanster04

I rode my 1983 Stumpjumper sport as a MTB for years on the logging roads in Oregon and Washington. I finally bought a Scapin hardtail in 2001. I converted it into a touring/townie bike. It is perfectly stable and a lot of fun to ride. It would be a perfect touring bike...a little heavy but very reliable. My current touring bike for long distance is a Ritchey Breakaway Cross bike for the ability to pack in a case and take on planes...2.5 weeks in the Alps last summer. Send a pic of your bike by PM would love to see it. Don

hyakuyen

I`m converting an early 80s mtb to a touring bike but am having second thoughts about its ability to handle low-riders on the front. It has really slack angles, 68 degree head tube and 70 for the seat tube, and combined with only 50mm offset gives it extremely high trail, over 70mm I think. Given that 90% of my touring will be slow I`m just wondering if it will end up flopping too much. So, I`m going to borrow some racks and panniers and test it out before I go ahead. It may be that the other factors such as long wheelbase, chainstays etc might reduce that effect.

That Stumpjumper Classic is a great looking bike btw.

AsanaCycles

that bike totally rocks.
I'd look at some Old Man Mountain racks
and/or frame bags from the likes of Carousel Design Works, etc...

LeeG

Load up any bike and it becomes sluggish. The important part is making sure the gear is secure and can't flop around. Put the right tires on and your motor will move it as well as anything. My $.02 is that it's a great choice if the hand grip positions are comfortable. Those bars are great for tying stuff onto and the frame has lots of room for frame bags.

LeeG

One benefit with low riders is that you'd be able to shift the pannier weight back in line with the steerer tube, maybe that will negate any wheel flop problems? A Tubus Tara rack where the horizontal tube extends a bit behind the fork and panniers that have adjustable clips would be the way to experiment.

jdeane4

What size tires would you all recommend? I was thinking of getting some Schwalbe Marathon 1.5 tires. Should I go to a larger size?

djb

I have a Rockhopper that I used for years as a commuter and have used Specialized Nimbus 1.5 tires on it. There are various Nimbus models, I did switch to another version of the Nimbus that had a coloured sidewall--probably is the Armadillo version, more protected, and it cured the problem I had with the regular version of getting flats when they got worn down a fair amount (I am someone who hardly ever gets flats, so it was worth it for me getting the Armadillo version for less hassle)

these 1.5 tires can go to 80psi

as others have said, 26 wheels will be slower a bit than 700s, so I would go with the 1.5s rather than wider, and keep the pressures at the max in any case (I imagine 80-85 are the max for that tire size) and when touring, it is completely worth spending the extra money on tires that have kevlar or whatever protection to reduce the chance of flats.

you may want to do some searches on whether those Schwalbes are the ones that are super hard to get back onto a rim, Im not sure but seem to recall reading that.

Oh, how is that seat for spending a whole day sitting on that saddle? Tires and such are one thing, but if your seat is murder on the keester, your day isnt fun, no matter how many miles you have covered or how fast.

tcs

Here's mine, which I bought in July, 1982.

For dirt and gravel road touring it's really very nice. Pavement, not so much.

djb

tcs, gotta love those Bell helmets. I never had one but they were still around 20 yrs ago when I got my first helmet (a Specialized if I recall correctly)--which had a bit more ventilation but not a heck lot more. This summer I was given a new helmet by a friend and its amazing how much more ventilation it has than my old one which might be 10 years old. The old one is still alright but for really hot days, its neat how the designs are much better now, especially the strap designs for holding them on properly. (and probably making a huge diff on them protecting heads just cuz they are postioned properly)

both yours and Jdeans bikes look in great shape, jdean--this is a big plus for what you want to do, cuz at least its a good sturdy bike in great shape. If you do ever tour on it, it is worth getting a bike mechanic to go over the wheels/spokes and properly tension things up, a real good measure to do when extra weight is going on the bike (pretty cheap too to get done by someone who really knows wheels)

oh, TCS, fascinating quote from teh German cycling magazine.....interesting little snippet isnt it? Ominous.

alaska joe

I'd think 1.5 is more than adequate for paved road touring. No reason to go wider unless you'll off on dirt or gravel a good bit of the time. I have Marathon XR's on my Stumpjumper, which they don't make anymore, but which work out to 2.0, I think. I got these for mixed road/off-road riding and their bombproof reputation.

skilsaw

I'd recommend the 1.5 tires. I put Schwalbe Dureme 2.0 tires on my 26" touring bike yesterday. Adjusting the fenders to avoid rubbing the new tires anywhere was tricky.

Bekologist

here's my stumpjumper classic. i just need to change the wheels back to something more classic.

This one should hopefully become my Upper Michigan touring bike that i will leave at camp and ride based from the yoop.

Quite sandy on the roads dere dontchyaknow.

Paul01

I have an an early 90s KHS no suspension Montana Comp converted to a touring, errand, bad weather and city bike with the addition of a rear rack and some 70 psi tires.

jdeane4

Thanks for all the advise! I am not waiting on fenders and tires which have been ordered. I have also decided I will put a rack on the rear but I will also use a trailer on occasion. I have already changed the saddle to a Brooks B17 and will also change out the bars to some Mary Bars with a 130mm stem with a 25 degree rise. I'm hoping this setup will make for a comfortable bike. I'm looking forward to getting out on a trip this fall!

AsanaCycles

the only issue with Mary Bars is that the nifty curves do not provide much in the way of usable space to clamp things to.

djb

how are you finding the B17? Have you ever had a Brooks before? Do keep in mind that small positional changes make a real diff in how it is. Mine took only about 150k or 100 miles to break it in so it was fairly comfortable (in the sweaty hot of summer though, might tiake longer in the cool)

only noticed now that you are not lacking for bikes!

mikerr

Jdeane, I think your 'Stumpjumper' will make a useful tour bike with the changes you are making.

As an alternative to On One Mary bars, I'm using Thorn Comfort bars on my Surly LHT.

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/thorn-tho...ack-prod12228/

They also come in silver.

For a rear rack, Tubus are very good.

Skilsaw, how are you finding the Schwalbe Dureme tyres, are they worth the fairly high cost?
At the moment I'm running Pasela 1.75'', but was considering a move up to Dureme 2'' at the next tyre change.

Mike

griplimited

NOS in 07? Could you explain more on that? I'd normally search CL for these just for the fork alone. Looking forward on this.