Parental Advisory: This thread now contains disturbing images of a modern bike parts nature.
December 12, Decals:
The Hardrock hasn't seen a lot of action this year. I did manage to re-instate the Judy T2s using an old donor pair, and I finally finished the decals. Homemade and printed myself - the quality is reasonable, although I doubt they'll be all that hard wearing.
Also ditched the Blackspire tensioner - while it looked good, it wasn't really up to the job and it did gradually slip and lose tension.
Also added a nice wide Azonics bar, plus an era correct stem of a Rockhopper.
September 09 v2.0 build:
I killed the Judy T2s, so I picked up a pair of new carbon forks off ebay (with correct 425mm C-to-A). Also picked up a cheap 'S' logo sticker for the head tube, but it's peeling already
Put on a set of skinny 1.8 XC Pros, and a de-anodised (and then badly polished) old EA50 stem. Also put the original bars back on, and dumped the Singleator for a Blackspire Stinger chainguide thingy that sits on the BB and acts a tensioner - much neater! Also replaced the saddle, as my fat ar*e was wearing it down far too quickly
Original June 09 build:
What's original: Frame, cranks, seat pin and QRs.
What's period: Rockshox Judy T2s, Specialized Prolong Revolution saddle (both of these were on the '98 Stumpy).
What's modern: Everything else. Bontrager Duster rims, Continental Leader tyres. Shimano disc brakes (Deore rear, LX front). Specialized stem, bars and grips. Shimano SPD M324 pedals.
Single Speed: Specialites 32t 74mm BCD chainring. 16t Gusset cog. Surly Singleator.
Tooling about on the street, it feels quite nimble compared to my modern GT. Front end is a lot lighter too. Need to take it for a proper burl up a hill though.
History & How it used to look
My first mountain bike (or can I count my Grifter?). Bought autumn 1998 after moving to northern California with my work. Picked it up for less than $200 in the LBS closing down sale, which 6 years later when I moved back to Scotland was still in business and having that very same sale. Here it is 11 years later running the most cost effective weight weenie inner tubes and tyre combo known to man.
I used it as my daily work bike for just over three years. I ended up sticking some slicks on as well as a pair of LOOK roadie pedals *cough cough* for my 15 mile a day round trip commute. Legs of sinewy steel developed, although I had increasing difficulty seeing them over my expanding gut fuelled by huge American portions, beer and a lack of willpower - like all the best football matches, my BMI was a tale of two halves.
Anyway, I ran the bike into the ground - the only maintenance I did was lubing the chain and replacing them when they snapped, as well as the usual tyres/tubes/brake blocks. Utterly reliable though. Also ashamed to admit that I hardly ventured off-road with it at all, although the times I did were livened up by roadie clipins. Anyway, I eventually developed a nasty '70s Mercedes habit (hey at least it was retro), which meant cycling to work died a slow dealth.
Fast forward to 2004, when I moved back to Scotland. I put on some new tyres and got back on the bike in an attempt to shed the 3 stones I'd gained in the States. Trundled along the nearby canal paths and up the local woods occasionally, with the road clippies making for some frequent 'TIMBERRRR!' moments as I tipped over into the mud, feet still firmly held in the pedals. Finally retired it last year, and moved into the 21st century with a new GT.
I'd been thinking about doing something with the frame for a while, although finally started doing something about it last month. My daughter and assorted tools made short work of the initial stripdown, and after spending a week trying to get the BB out and watching the splines beginning to strip, I resorted to using the pole of my clothes whirlygig dryer as a breaker bar on my adjustable spanner - the BB tool was held firmly in the splines by a G clamp, and hey presto, one loud bang and cloud of rusty dust later and it was off.
As you can see, the original paint and decals were pretty shabby, so the frame was taken to the local powdercoaters for a strip and new coat. Decent job, not a perfect finish, but he protected all the threads and tubes reasonably well.
Obviously this isn't going to be a restore to it's original state. Almost everything's knackered, and it's not exactly a rarity. And of course its now a lovely white. Still in two minds about decals - I like the clean white of the bare frame, but I think the gold 'S' logo with the black outline would look good, and a bit of wordplay with the 'Hardrock' wouldn't go amiss.
So I'm going to give single speeding a go, always quite fancied trying that. I'll go with a suspension fork up front instead of rigids - I'm already falling to bits and my body doesn't the additional encouragement. Ultimately it's going to be a mix of modern and old. I'll definitely be re-using the seat-pin as well as the original cranks, and as funds allow I'll pick up whatever appeals in the For Sale forum, trying to use Specialized parts where I can and avoiding eBay when possible.
I've just picked up what look like a very tidy pair of 98 Judy T2s from Harryburgundy, so they should be a pretty close match for the c-to-a of the original forks. And I can still fit discs to them. I'm going to try popping a disc on the back too with the help of an A2Z adaptor (thanks jez-4-bikes-max). Got a nice modern Spesh stem and bars from wynne.
I've got a few other bits and bobs coming down the pipeline, and I'll update as it comes together... But like I said at the top, I don't think it's going appeal to the purists
December 12, Decals:
The Hardrock hasn't seen a lot of action this year. I did manage to re-instate the Judy T2s using an old donor pair, and I finally finished the decals. Homemade and printed myself - the quality is reasonable, although I doubt they'll be all that hard wearing.
Also ditched the Blackspire tensioner - while it looked good, it wasn't really up to the job and it did gradually slip and lose tension.
Also added a nice wide Azonics bar, plus an era correct stem of a Rockhopper.
September 09 v2.0 build:
I killed the Judy T2s, so I picked up a pair of new carbon forks off ebay (with correct 425mm C-to-A). Also picked up a cheap 'S' logo sticker for the head tube, but it's peeling already
Put on a set of skinny 1.8 XC Pros, and a de-anodised (and then badly polished) old EA50 stem. Also put the original bars back on, and dumped the Singleator for a Blackspire Stinger chainguide thingy that sits on the BB and acts a tensioner - much neater! Also replaced the saddle, as my fat ar*e was wearing it down far too quickly
Original June 09 build:
What's original: Frame, cranks, seat pin and QRs.
What's period: Rockshox Judy T2s, Specialized Prolong Revolution saddle (both of these were on the '98 Stumpy).
What's modern: Everything else. Bontrager Duster rims, Continental Leader tyres. Shimano disc brakes (Deore rear, LX front). Specialized stem, bars and grips. Shimano SPD M324 pedals.
Single Speed: Specialites 32t 74mm BCD chainring. 16t Gusset cog. Surly Singleator.
Tooling about on the street, it feels quite nimble compared to my modern GT. Front end is a lot lighter too. Need to take it for a proper burl up a hill though.
History & How it used to look
My first mountain bike (or can I count my Grifter?). Bought autumn 1998 after moving to northern California with my work. Picked it up for less than $200 in the LBS closing down sale, which 6 years later when I moved back to Scotland was still in business and having that very same sale. Here it is 11 years later running the most cost effective weight weenie inner tubes and tyre combo known to man.
I used it as my daily work bike for just over three years. I ended up sticking some slicks on as well as a pair of LOOK roadie pedals *cough cough* for my 15 mile a day round trip commute. Legs of sinewy steel developed, although I had increasing difficulty seeing them over my expanding gut fuelled by huge American portions, beer and a lack of willpower - like all the best football matches, my BMI was a tale of two halves.
Anyway, I ran the bike into the ground - the only maintenance I did was lubing the chain and replacing them when they snapped, as well as the usual tyres/tubes/brake blocks. Utterly reliable though. Also ashamed to admit that I hardly ventured off-road with it at all, although the times I did were livened up by roadie clipins. Anyway, I eventually developed a nasty '70s Mercedes habit (hey at least it was retro), which meant cycling to work died a slow dealth.
Fast forward to 2004, when I moved back to Scotland. I put on some new tyres and got back on the bike in an attempt to shed the 3 stones I'd gained in the States. Trundled along the nearby canal paths and up the local woods occasionally, with the road clippies making for some frequent 'TIMBERRRR!' moments as I tipped over into the mud, feet still firmly held in the pedals. Finally retired it last year, and moved into the 21st century with a new GT.
I'd been thinking about doing something with the frame for a while, although finally started doing something about it last month. My daughter and assorted tools made short work of the initial stripdown, and after spending a week trying to get the BB out and watching the splines beginning to strip, I resorted to using the pole of my clothes whirlygig dryer as a breaker bar on my adjustable spanner - the BB tool was held firmly in the splines by a G clamp, and hey presto, one loud bang and cloud of rusty dust later and it was off.
As you can see, the original paint and decals were pretty shabby, so the frame was taken to the local powdercoaters for a strip and new coat. Decent job, not a perfect finish, but he protected all the threads and tubes reasonably well.
Obviously this isn't going to be a restore to it's original state. Almost everything's knackered, and it's not exactly a rarity. And of course its now a lovely white. Still in two minds about decals - I like the clean white of the bare frame, but I think the gold 'S' logo with the black outline would look good, and a bit of wordplay with the 'Hardrock' wouldn't go amiss.
So I'm going to give single speeding a go, always quite fancied trying that. I'll go with a suspension fork up front instead of rigids - I'm already falling to bits and my body doesn't the additional encouragement. Ultimately it's going to be a mix of modern and old. I'll definitely be re-using the seat-pin as well as the original cranks, and as funds allow I'll pick up whatever appeals in the For Sale forum, trying to use Specialized parts where I can and avoiding eBay when possible.
I've just picked up what look like a very tidy pair of 98 Judy T2s from Harryburgundy, so they should be a pretty close match for the c-to-a of the original forks. And I can still fit discs to them. I'm going to try popping a disc on the back too with the help of an A2Z adaptor (thanks jez-4-bikes-max). Got a nice modern Spesh stem and bars from wynne.
I've got a few other bits and bobs coming down the pipeline, and I'll update as it comes together... But like I said at the top, I don't think it's going appeal to the purists
