[dalessit]

I decided to get back on my mountain bike after a few years of having it in the basement.

It is a 1999 Specialized StumpJumper Comp.

I have replaced a few of the obviously worn parts and bike seems ready to go except for the shocks, Manitou SX

I have tried tried adjusting the Compression Damping and Rebound Damping, but it still just seems to have way too much travel. Even with everything tightened down when I put my weight on the handlebars it seems to bottom out, there is some resistance but not as much as I would expect

Honestly when I was riding the bike regularly I never knew that you had to oil it... yeah dumb but thats my excuse.

Is it even worth trying to fix them? I was pricing new shocks and they would seem to cost more than my 1999 bike is worth.

 

[ScottW]

If you're happy with the bike I would suggest taking the bike to a good shop and have the fork rebuilt.

 

[Rock Climber]

I have a 2000 Stumpjumper with the SX-R (same fork but with rebound). I noticed the same thing with the fork that no matter what I did it didn’t change the riding characteristics especially the bob of the fork when I climbed (or on the road). I bought a cheap ($500) used full suspension bike off cragislist, and I noticed a huge difference. The bike is so much easier to ride and I can do things I could never do on my hardtail.

But If you really like the bike, I would probably lean towards getting a new fork over a rebuild, because the problems you describe seem to be a problem with the fork design and not due to a malfunction.