1993 Rockhopper Sport Re-re-build

zannderson

Retro Newbie
I've been lurking long enough to know that folks here are most fond of period-correct builds, but I don't have the patience or the wallet to source components. This is a rebuild of a bike I already rebuilt once. In its first life, it would have looked like this (not my pic):

04-3.jpg

I got it as a frame and a few parts, stripped it, and had it like this for a while:

IMG_20150428_111027.jpg
IMG_20150505_123558.jpg

You can see how durable my paint job was :/. Fast forward to now, I'm doing most of my riding on my Raleigh MTi1000, and I found an opportunity to build this bike back up and give it away to somebody who needs a good steed. Parts will be a mix of stuff from the 90s, and I'm repainting it purple with a - mostly - white fork. Here's the work I did today to add my own touch to it:

IMG_0200.jpg

IMG_0199.jpg

Needs a little cleanup before I put clear over it, but I'm also fine with the "hand-drawn" look as that's part of my personal art style. I was planning on putting a parallel design on the other leg, but now I'm debating just doing the one, I think it looks kinda cool that way.

More to come as I get the frame stripped and painted and get parts ready.
 
I finally got around to painting the frame and putting on the decals. The Rockhopper decal is not the right font for the '93, but I'm not worried since it's just a fun build. Sadly, I realized after applying the clear that I'd missed getting color on a good chunk of the top tube. Not sure what I'm going to do with that situation.

IMG_0261.jpg
IMG_0263.jpg IMG_0264.jpg IMG_0265.jpg

The fork turned out...just ok. I learned some things for the next time I do something like that. Overall I'm stoked with the colors and how the decals came out - I had a neighbor make them with a vinyl cutting machine. I just need to decide if I'm going to sand off some of the clear and mask the decals to try and fix the problem on the top tube...

I've also decided to go with a 1x setup for this build since I really enjoy the "restomod" thing, and the person this goes to will probably enjoy the simplicity. Here's a before and after of the SLX derailleur and shifter I'll be using:

IMG_0207.jpg
IMG_0208.jpg

More updates to come soon.
 
Well, I did not wind up posting much along the way, but it’s all built up now so I might as well post some pics…
F58C80FA-3301-46E7-A09E-4019D79C50B7.jpeg

9479B7D6-5330-45A4-AA11-09912B8890D6.jpeg

2DB9D65B-9E53-4BBB-84A5-398D92898B44.jpeg

4B6B6413-B241-4154-AB01-822EC31D61C7.jpeg

I am really pleased with how it turned out, although I may try to find more raw aluminum parts or strip more down since I was really wanting to lean hard into the silver color and mainly have the tires and saddle as the only black. As it is, I’m really happy and loving how it rides.
 
Last edited:
Nice, recently picked up a cheap 1993 in red with yellow decals, looked great after I started cleaning it, but further inspection the left chainstay had lots of holes!
Win some lose some!
 
Nice, recently picked up a cheap 1993 in red with yellow decals, looked great after I started cleaning it, but further inspection the left chainstay had lots of holes!
Win some lose some!
Dang! The red and yellow is one of my favorite liveries from that era. Those bikes really pop.
 
Back
Top