Specialized Rockhopper

[JLF]

1996 Specialized Rockhopper. One owner and all original except tires. The originals rotted as this bike has low miles (hard to believe when my 1930’s Shelby’s still have their original rubber).

Original California bike shop sticker still intact. This was in my friends shed and it came home with me today. Maybe not ‘vintage’ but definitely a classic?

I don’t know much about this era of Mountain Bikes, but I do know how much fun my 1950 Monark Klunker is to ride, so I’ll put a few miles on this. Feels lightweight too, full cro-mo frame and fork.

Any Specialized experts among the CABE fraternity?

As a fun project I swapped out a bunch of titanium and carbon fiber bits I had in my bike stash. I’ve already knocked 2.96 pounds off and plenty more to come. Maybe convert it to a 1x drivetrain. Maybe return it to stock and sell. Not sure yet.

 

[fattyre]

FYI- Check your crank arm #'s. Shimano had a huge recall back in the late 90's. Cranks were prone to just breaking in half. I've seen two that broke.

VOLUNTARY RECALL - FC-CT90, FC-M290, FC-MC12 CRANKS | SHIMANO INFORMATION & NEWS | SHIMANO BIKE-US

To Build Closer Relationships between People, Nature, and Bicycles. We believe in the power of cycling to create a better world as we move forward. We inspire all people to enjoy our products in their everyday lives and where they take them.

bike.shimano.com

 

[JLF]

Thank you @fattyre for the heads up!

 

[JLF]

@fattyre glad you brought this to my attention. This Specialized has the recall cranks! I guess that’s as good an excuse as any to upgrade.

 

[1motime]

Thanks for the crank warning. I will check mine when back home!

 

[JLF]

Replaced the ‘Recall Crankset’ with a single set up from my fixed gear bike I never ride. Making it a 1x7. It works great and allowed me to remove the dangerous cranks, 2 extra gears, front derailleur, cable and grip shifter. 39t where as the original middle gear was 34t. Feels good though and I may eventually install a larger spread rear freewheel, if needed.

Weight reduction since I bought it home is now 1,931 grams / 4.257 lbs.

Stem and carbon fiber bars swapped on as well.

 

[SKPC]

That is a great frame to start with! Straight gauge tubes?

 

[JLF]

It looks to be, yes. Only info on the bike about the frame says ‘Double Butted Tubes’.

 

[SKPC]

Yes, I was thinking all the earlier Specialized frames of early make were high quality tubes, even the lower end component bikes. So with butted tubing it is easier to work the weight down! Looks low mile too which is a bonus.

 

[JLF]

Thanks for the info! I don’t know too much about this era of MTB’s as I was racing BMX then.

It is a one owner low mile bike, so much so that it still had the recall cranks which I knew nothing about until the CABE!