She's a frankenbike, for sure, cobbled together from old and cast-away parts resurrected from several other long-gone and broke-down bikes. Neither pretty, nor vintage, nor especially cherry, she's nevertheless a really good bike: reliable, simple, fun, and, with the big wide On-One Midge dropbars and old Shimano barcon bar-end shifters, XTR low-pro cantis, and the last of the XT 5-bolt cranksets, she's a hoot to ride, too...
Set up this way, ol' Stumpy is also kind of an homage to Charlie Cunnigham's Indian. I'll never ride a Cunningham, much less own one. But I've got this bike which bears some resemblance to the old Indian and, I gotta think, maybe even rides a bit like one, too.
For certain, it will always be my go-to bike in the early weeks of spring, when the world is puddle-wonderful, as the trails clear of snow, when all the small creeks are flowing.
UPDATE: May 2022
She's a mullet-bike now! Thanks to several cast-off parts a friend donated to my no-kill shelter for old bikes, the Stumpy is now sporting a 29" front wheel, Fox F29 fork, Avid BB-7 disc caliper and a sweet old Thomson stem. Looks great, rides better!
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