Mountain Bike Restoration Specialized Rockhopper
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- čas přidán 20. 08. 2021
- Rusty teams up with his good friend Tyler Hopkins to restore his prized 1998 Specialized Rockhopper. In this video we tackle powder coating, engineering geometry changes, and finding parts in 2021 to make this a one of kind build. Stay tuned to the end of video for Tyler’s reaction a sneak peak of “Sidewinder trail”. Many thanks to Marque Cycling, the sponsor of this video!
Music licensed from Soundstripe.com
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#steelisreal #rockhopper #mtbrestoration #Marquecycling - Sport
This was a joy to watch! I should send you all my 90s bike!
Best part of vid was watching him rip down sidewinder trail that right there is what it's all about get out and ride!
Heck yeah!
Great build. 26 ain’t dead.
Yeah for kids or short people (no offence)
@@nzo_6543 ride fun bikes, end of story. Wheel size, budget, who cares. Ride Fun Bikes!
@@techjeeper8800 26 not dead!!!!👍👍👍👍
I would ride all day on this !!!
I would love to have an old updated bike like that.
I still have my Rockhopper from 1998 that I want to do a full rebuild to this year, feel lucky to still have it.
Love this build, the finished bike looks awesome
love these restorations and showing how old bikes aren't dead!
Yup,love mine too.A 2005/6 Pro box(ish) section alloy front suspension, disc brakes,Black forks.. Had her 12 ish years, never let it go, rarely see the alloy Pro bikes.
I love my '03 Rockhopper and will never get rid of it ! Bought it new when i was stationed in Germany. Upgraded a few things along the way when things woreout . It has sat for a long time and i plan on getting a stand and going through everything including the Manitou 6 fork. Im thinking of new saddle, wider handlebars and discbrake rims. Maybe moving the old parts over to an early 90's Parkpre that i have 😊
Great job Rusty! Solid build.
Thank you Rob!
Me gustaría tener una bici como la que arman
Came here to say "this was very old shovelish" in a very complimentary way. awesome video, thanks for sharing!
@@forhealdan I was thinking the same thing! They just need some Spindatt coolness added to the bikes
That colour was amazing. And Tyler was very nearly colour coordinated when he was applying the graffix.
Yes he was!
That is a great looking bike! I admit that i am too nostalgic to cover up my kinda "seasoned" '03 . Fortunately my frame is natural aluminum , my favorite color
Only those who love their bike know how much it costs to separate from it, especially if it was their first and only bicycle and then be able to count on friends who understand that love and see how they rejuvenate your old and beloved bike is priceless and that is perhaps the most beautiful thing about this video. Do not understand me wrong, the bike was spectacular but the face to see how I stay is priceless
Thank you Giorgio, I couldn't agree more!
That is so awesome!!!!!!!
Thanks man!
Came out super clean
Thanks Casey!
Those jiankun IXF cranks are awesome
Another great video! I really like the format. The music, the narrative, and your smooth voice. It really works! Plus we get great tips, examples, and pictures of the product. Thanks
Thanks Greg! I really appreciate it.
I love to buy an older 90s mtb bikes from thrift stores to fix up and sell, but your right you can tell what bikes were loved and had a story.
10:35 When I cut cable housing I put in some old cable while cutting. This way the housing stays in the round shape. Also I do not throw away the excess cable I cut.
Good idea! I'll have to try that next time.
I ride a 2000 Trek 820 I brought back to life from the junk pile. Wish I had a friend like you to give some upgrades like this 👍
Thanks man, I really enjoyed your video too by the way. nice work! You mentioned the Italian free wheel on the back was that a Campagnolo free wheel?
Those hubs are notorious for the flanges cracking… Had a rear hub break in half thankfully I wasn’t riding them at the time… That bike looks mint great work👍🏻
What a beautiful paint job, that sparkling orange is so clean! It's awesome to see such a well loved bike get the facelift it deserves
Thanks for following!
It seems to be Lamborghini orange metal flake. Same colors on the Gallardo! ;)
With getting tight tires on either hair spray or KY jelly, as dish soap has salt in it and a whole bunch of nasties...
That's how we got troublesome tires on without much worry.
But watching this video from Australia, god I'm envious about the parts going on that bike, we've got extortionists running our shops and parts suppliers...
Excellent idea, I never thought about KY jelly but that makes perfect sense. Thanks Andrew!
In my opinion the best mtb frame ever made. Fantastic job
Thank you Dave,
Great job. 👍
really enjoyed watching this, looking forward to restoring mine soon.
Really sweet resto. Love that orange color.
Glad I found your channel!
Great video. I have a soft spot in my heart for Specialized bikes. Thanks again for the video and all the hard work that you put into your channel.
Thank you Jeff!
I have this exact same Rockhopper, same silver color and everything. Bought it in 1998. I will be getting it trail worthy again soon, and this video is a great motivator to see the project through.
Awesome! Thanks for watching
I've got a 2002 Hardrock I'm planning on stripping down and rebuilding into something like this. I love the final result!
That is awesome! Please share some pics or video of your hardrock as you move forward.
Thanks for this! Totally agree with your comment on v brakes(and cantis for that matter). It seems like I’m always tinkering with the BB7 discs on my Pugsley while my GT and Trek rim brakes are just fine for years.
I would love to put some upgrades on my cousins old trek 820
Mad respect to you! If I were in your country, I would have my bikes built by you. Love and sincerest regards from India.
Thank you!
Awesome colour. Great build .and the scoop to upgrade at the front to disc .we'll done ✔👍🏼
Thanks Nick!
Awesome!! I have a Rockhopper from a similar time. It's one of my favourite bikes to ride.
Great bikes!
The orange paint looks killer! Great rebuild, Rusty!
Nice job on the bike, yes they still sell v-brakes Deore, XT, XTR in my country brand new in box with waranty.
Also a fan of alternatives to Shimano/Sram during this parts shortage. Went full Microshift Advent X 1x10 for a dropbar conversion on a 94 Specialized Stumpjumper FSR. Wasn’t cheap but didn’t break the bank either.
Very stylish! Great looking steed 😎
Thanks!
very cool rebuild, I'm still riding my 2000 Hardrock :)
Absolutely amazing
Almost as cool as your Trek 930 :)
Great video. Hope to see more such restoration projects.
Thank you!
This looks great. Very inspired! Thanks
Thanks Paul!
Awesome work! Awesome ride!
Thank you!
I agree with anyone who has already commented on the orange and black🔥. I have long wanted to do a rebuild using those colors. I think it turned out amazing. 👊🏾 👍🏾
Thanks man! Tyler has good taste 😎
Other than painting, I pretty much made the same changes to revive my old 99 Stumpy Comp, same crankset, Advent group set, same Continentals but went with Manitou Markhor to keep the old Manitou Mars theme going. My aluminum frame is a bit scratched up though. Beautiful build on a great old bike.
Awesome! I would love to see a picture of it.
Looks awesome! Nothing better than breathing some new life into an already awesome starter bike! Nicely done.
Thanks Wesley!
awesome build ..it looks so good
Thanks Roy!
Cool restoration, and really nice channel! Your videos have stories behind them, keep them coming! :)
Thank you! More to come soon
Beautiful bike!!! I definitely clicked because I saw a orange bike(my favorite color too). And I’m happy I did. Great video and now gonna checkout the rest of your channel.
Thank you so much! I appreciate it.
That turned out so sweet!!!
excellent video these rockhoppers are fantastic bikes
Thank you!
Very nice! I'm thinking about doing almost the same with my '97 RockHopper Comp. Normaly, Im not a fan of orange bikes, but that really does look great!
Thanks James!
Really channeling some OldShovel in this one.
Thanks Chad, Oldshovel is awesome!
I love that orange metallic paint job! Looks awesome with the black decals. I did a similar type of update to my 1998 Kona Lava Dome-Rock Shox Recon, 1x8 microshift, etc. The only thing original besides the frame is the headset. Sweet build 👍🏼
Thanks Rick, I would love to see a picture of your Kona
Wow! I have a '93 Hardrock. I would love to do this to mine as well.
Hi Jim! Let me know if you'd like to collaborate. I have a few more builds planned for this spring but I could fit you in if your interested.
Beautiful!
Thanks James!
I recently discovered this channel. Thank you for these cool videos! I own the very same 1998 Rockhopper with the great Ritchey Nitanium frame set (except that in Germany the decals were white), had it powder coated but rebuilt with the same specs/parts as 1998 as possible. This gets more and more difficult. Your videos encouraged me to do a Resto-mod myself next time. Looking forward for more cool projects. Good luck an regards from Germany!
Thank you very much Harald!
@@CoolBikeProjects Little update here: I watched this video perhaps ten times more. Then, few weeks ago, I bought a 1999 Scott Navajo for 40 €. Stayed with its paint, stem and handlebar as well as the V-brakes; changed the drivetrain with this very Microshift Advent 1x9 setup (except using a 34T front chainring instead of 32T). Installed a 100 mm Rockshox Recon with help of my bike dealer as well as a new wheelset with Deore hubs. Some days ago (we don't really have winter in Germany yet) I tested it - it rides like a dream and is even lighter than my 1998er Rockhopper. Can't wait for the spring... Thank you for encouraging me to this project!
Awesome!@@harald_geyer Thank you for the update. I'm so happy for you!
Man that was very satisfying to watch from the start to the final build and the ride at the end. Well done Guys with the editing and the whole shebang !
Thanks for watching @scooby2142
Awesome vid. I have a 16 yr old turner flux and it's always tempting to buy a newer FS with all the cool bells and whistles but this makes me want to just overhaul and upgrade some basic parts.
That would be awesome!
Beautiful
Thank you Ron!
Did a similar build to a pre bankruptcy Schwann Mesa. The wake bars work fine as well as the stem. Those silver TK shocks make a world of difference! I also kept the v-brake setup and with the Kool Stop pads they work surprisingly well… I’d compare their power to many disc setups for sure. Next Id like to try the ixf/microshift 1x conversion you have. Great video!
I love the Schwinn the Mesas and homegrown‘s. Those were some really nice bikes!
Great job 👏 Great video
Wonderful wheels. Fast tires, few spokes.
Thanks man!
Used to ride an old Specialized back in the day that I kept upgrading so I'd like to see a build with Magura HS33 brakes and a 1×9 drivetrain.
That orange bike came out awesome btw. I always painted my bikes myself but powdercoating just looks soooo much better than what I could ever hope to achieve
I would love to do some Magura brakes some day. Great idea!
@@CoolBikeProjects I'd like to see some Shimano disc brakes in Porsche yellow or Ferrari red as they appear on their sportscars. Shimano had red ones on their Lamborghini BMC bikes, but only once. Looked beyond fantastic.
Nice!
please put a chainstay protector on that fresh frame
We did. If you look near the end we got an original lizard skins protector, but had to cut it down to size so it did not make it in the reveal section of the video.
Nice bike, i like so much the New color. It Will be fun
Thanks man!
What a fantastic build rusty, i love this this channel 👍🚴♂️
Thank you!
v-brakes are awesome if set up correctly
nice restoration.
Thank you!
Amazing
Thank you Andriy
great clip 💪
Thanks! Great channel by the way!
Did exactly it to my old 26".
It would be cool to see you upgrade a 90s to early 2000s Cannondale mountain bike. Specifically seeing how you upgrade the drive train and then deal with replacing the outdated and (?) unserviceable front shock on those bikes. Like another person mentioned, 26 isn’t dead 👍🏼. I have a longer torso and shorter legs but I’m almost 6’. Any suggestions on stem/riser selection would be great topics. Love how you research parts on Amazon. Great content. Wishing you much success!
really really nice video
Thank you for watching!
Great job, nice channel.
Greetings from europe!
Thank you Kamilos!
Good to hear what offbrand bike parts you recommend.👍
I love orange!
Great video, love it, great paint job, I like to work on my bikes, I have a small question for you, I noticed when you installed the chainring you placed the ring behind the spider arms and not in the front, any reason for that ? Love you work and videos!!
Thanks Ruf, The chain ring has thread inserts in it that are designed to go behind the crank arm and bolt through from the front.
nice job in build
Thanks man!
Nice job
Thanks for checking it out
@feferonka No that was not needed. 135mm is standard spacing for most 1990's mountain bikes. Sometimes you need to change the cassette body on an older wheel 7-8spd. Or just replace the rear wheel entirely to fit 9-11spd on the back. Hope that answers your questions.
@feferonka Yes, sounds like a fun project!
Nice
those pnw grips are cool. gotem in red.
They are grippy!
Cool, I will take a full parts list please. Wonder how and if these upgrades will work on a hard rock from about the early 2000's too. Have that and a purple rock hopper I want to modernize to both commute and beat around trails with.
Hi there, I believe I put down a list of most of the parts used in the Amazon affiliate links in the video description. Some of the links are probably change since then, but you can find most of it on amazon or ebay.
@@CoolBikeProjects I know you upgraded the fork, but is it possible to keep the original fork but upgrading to the new style sealed bearings and race and also a quill stem adapter?
Wicked !!!
Nice video bro! New sub here. Keep up the good!!
Thanks Art. Great channel yourself!
Beautiful build and story. Artful. Can you tell me a decent affordable wheel set you used? Thanks
We bought a used set of Rolf Dolomite wheels off of eBay. It's getting harder to buy 26" wheel sets new, but for around $200 there are a number of Chinese and European deals you can find online that are nice.
It's a beaut'. I have an orange rock hopper I picked up, put some purple Haro legends wheels on it GT stem and 4" rise bars. I think of it as a manchild sized bmx bike
Sweet! Now I need to go look up Haro legend wheels
Very nice build guys 👌 p.s those ixf bottom brackets are notorious for being bad for just a couple of rides.
Good to know. Thanks for the insight!
Oval shaped chainrings are the defining reason to run 1x wide range, 11-34 or 11-36 is plenty range for 26”
Hello Rusty,
great restoration and great history. Can you tell me which RAL color was used?
Many thanks in advance !!!
Greetings Thomas
Hi Thomas, I honestly don't know. My friend Tyler picked out a metallic Orange color that was a single stage coat. That's about the best I can remember. Prismatic Powders has a huge selection on their website. You might be able to come up with something close on their site.
Nice one! Quick question on the gears, why did you chose a 1 by 9 over the most common (for that time) 3 by 7 or similar?
Good question, my freind had ridden a modern Santa Cruz Cameleon and really liked the geometry and shifting of a 1x12 system, we couldn’t afford to do a Sram Eagle Drive train so this 1x9 was the next best set up. So I suppose I should use the term restoration lightly and more of a retro mod.
Davvero bella 👍
This is a very inspiring video. I coincidentally just bought this frame on eBay for a good price and plan a full restoration. It's made with Ritchey Nitanium and has a 30.9 mm seat post which means I can install a dropper seat post. I have an excellent powder coater as well and love the idea of clear coating it like you did after graphics are applied. Where did you purchased the Specialized decals?
I believe we got these on Etsy. Best wishes on your restoration!
I have a trek y 3 bike I got back in 98 still have it after years of trails I want to restore it and upgrade it and the y bike is real special to me
Y bikes are so rad, people think the Cannondale super V was a wild looking bike but the Trek y bikes set the stage many years before them.
@@CoolBikeProjects yeah my y bike I did so many trails with it that bike has stories …and the cannon dale the only one I liked was the blue and yellow one I think missy giove used. And other was the Jekyll ..my brand is. Intense cycles. I do like foes old school bikes. Even the Brodie. The yeti back then was great as well
I got that micro shifter for my old ventanna bike it’s to bulky for me so I got to buy another one
I’ve been a bike mechanic for 10 years, and I’ve done my handful of custom bike builds, but I’m doing my first with powder coating and custom decals. Have you ever had any issues with the clear coat over the decals/ powder coating? That’s something I’ve never done before. I’ve been looking for a solution of protecting/coating the decals so that they don’t peel off.
Hi Harvey, great question. No I have not had any issues so far, but before I apply the clearcoat I try it out on a sacrificial decal to make sure it is not going to bubble up or turn colors. I apply the decal on a piece of metal outside and do a couple coats to make sure there are no issues. I have had really good luck with spray.bike transparent clearcoat as well as Rustoleum brand. Best wishes on your project!
@@CoolBikeProjects thank you so much for the tips!
Thanks for posting this video. I have the same bike year and model. I am making mine a 1x9. I upgraded to XT parts except for the cranks and BB around 2000. My original crank length is 175mm. Can you tell me the crank length that you purchased on amazon?
Hi William, it was the 175mm length. Best wishes on your Rockhopper and thanks for watching!