MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
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I have a dilemma.
Currently running a '96 M2 Stumpy which I love, however it's getting a bit long in the tooth and after a long period of indecision have finally decided that disc brakes kick a$$ over vees. So, what do I do? The stumpy frame doesn't have disk mounts (although my forks do) so I have a number of options:
1. Replace the frame with something with disk mounts, get a set of disc wheels and brakes.
2. Get a retro-fit disc mount, a set of disk wheels and brakes.
3. Buy a new/2nd hand whole bike and swap any bits I prefer from the Stumpy.
I don't really want to just fit a disc to the front, as I'd like the additional mud clearance in the rear.
I quite like option 1, but think that it'll probably cost as much as option 3, as I'd probably want to replace my forks for something a little longer travel for the kinds of frame's I'm thinking of (Ragley Blue-Pig, On-one Scandal, Cotic Soul, etc, any other suggestions?)
Each option has pro's and con's, but I can't make my mindup as to what I should do. There's a part of me that would turn what's left of the Stumpy after options 1 or 3 into a retro SS....
Any other ideas....
having been there I'd suggest you get a new bike with discs, bolt thru long travel forks etc and keep your stumpy as a commuter/hack/pub bike
Buy a 2010 stumpy?
option 1, retire the old guy and bring him out in warmer weather so you can reminisce
Number 3. It's false economy to spend money upgrading bits on a 14 year old bike. And if you want to singlespeed it, all you'll have left over is 2 mechs and shifters.
having been there I'd suggest you get a new bike with discs, bolt thru long travel forks etc and keep your stumpy as a commuter/hack/pub bike
+1
1 or 3, 3 if it's practical. You won't want to swap bits off a 14yo bike though!
Option 3. 15 years is an excellent service life, time for something new.
then convert the stumpy to singlespeed for masochistic fun and frolics!
Got a similar issue here, but twice over:
Scott Vail ca.1996, mahoosive 45mm travel forks, no disc tabs at either end. Did consider new frame, forks, brakes, wheels etc. but just transfer over the 8sp drivetrain (most is only 3yo). Or do I just replace a few bits and keep as a hack bike? Or sell it?
Ridgeback 531c Roadbike ca. 1989. BB fused in to frame, 126mm OLN dropouts, wheels that need re-truing every 10km, ye olde worlde downtube 7sp shifters, etc. So... upgrade as hackbike? or sell? Basically there's no bits I could take across to a new frame.
99% of my riding is now on a 2yo Cotic Soul, with the above 2 bikes locked in storeroom.
What condition are the bits in? I think I'd be looking at a whole new bike. By the time you've done Frame, wheels, building and all the odds and ends you won't have accounted for* probably it will work out not much more to get a new bike. You can also get what you want rather than compromising based on what you have. Sell the bits on Ebay, you might make a few quid to put towards the new one.
*Headset
BB
tools
Cables
Some drivechain bits
Grips
Maybe a new stem to get the setup right
Possible a new saddle if the old one doesn't fit
Tyres
If you've kept it since 1996 then you probably love it as it is. Just buy a new bike with all the modern features your stumpy dosn't have - discs, longer travel forks, clearances for big tyres. Keep your M2 as it is supposed to be, and bring it out to play on days when it feels right.
How about adding a [url= http://2btherapy.com/index.php/bikes/brake-therapy-floating-brake-kit ]Brake Therapy[/url] kit to the frame? They have differnt options for taking care of this. Very helpful guys working there helped someone as mechanically inept as me make the conversion. Though in the big scheme of things you will still need new wheels and brakes.
Not dismissing the idea of a new bike, nothing wrong with that, but this option has helped me out with my older Surly 1x1.
STL
At that age I would change for a new frame just for safety sake incase of alloy fatigue. I'm in the same predicament but it's more the wheels, forks and brakes that are ancient. My frame is pretty good so i'm going to get a Boardman pro from halfrauds and rop the nice bits and build a decent bike that can then be sold on and hopefully not lose out too much
I was in the same predicament a few years ago and ended up with a new bike.
Much as I loved my old Marin, I now sort of regret not joining the 21st century sooner - as modern bikes are so much faster, capable and more fun.
Do try out a full-sus as well, if you haven't before.
To be honest I did think that option 3 was probably what the concensus would be. The stumpy had a new drivetrain last year, so that would mostly be usable if I wanted. In fact the bike's a bit like Triggers Broom, with only a few bits that are actually 14 years old (frame, headset, hubs, vees & seatpost spring to mind)
So, next dilemma is what long travel HT to go for and how to slip it past the wife!