Push

I picked up an 88 Rockhopper Comp a couple months ago for free, and it was in pretty rough shape but complete so into the shed it went. I was bored and remembered that it was back there so I pulled it out and cleaned her up a bit yesterday and today and to my amazement its cleaning up nicely. I cleaned all of the components and rubbed them out with automotive rubbing compound and aluminum foil after washing it with regular old car wash and water. I do think that it will need brake and shifter cables and I know that it needs tires and tubes (looks like the original tires are on it) but it shifts through all of the gears as it should and the brakes work fine as it is but the cables are kind of ratty looking. This is my first try at fixing up an old bike so I am sort of feeling my way through it and would accept any tips or tricks that anyone has to offer to help the process though I am researching all corners of the internet for info and coming up with a lot of info.

how hard is replacing cables in general? this bike has a U brake on it and it has a little catch thingy that sits in a groove and I am unsure if that is something readily available or if something will need to be made up? use the old one? I dunno

anyways here are a few pictures of how it looked before and after and like I said I think its turning out fairly good for this being my first go at it.

A shot from underneath, I think it looks pretty good now.










The seat post had a lot of rust at the top, the stains show up much more in this picture than when looking at it with the naked eye.



Sorry for all of the pictures! I was just amazed at what a little elbow grease and some polish and soap could do so I figured I would photograph the entire process. I will likely go back and do some more polishing on the components but this is a good start, I also need to decide whether I am going to just touch up all of the chips (there is a lot of paint chips all over) or just paint the whole bike, that decision is for later.

The next step is to get some tubes into those raggy tires just to make sure it really is running as smooth as I think that it is before I buy tires for it (anyone know where to get cheap tires? used would be ok too as this is just for kicks) I rode it around my driveway but the tires leaked fast and I had to pull it in. anyways thats my little project and some pictures and probably too much typing what do you guys and gals think? also I hope its posted in the right area! its a 1988 so I guess its vintage?

couple more images in the next post, it would not let me put more than 10

Push

Push

And the rest





These wheel clamps came out pretty good I think considering how they looked when I started.








And finally a shot of the whole bike.

GrayJay

Good find, nice bike in its day. Cheap (rusty) steel seatpost is probably a replacement after the original alloy seatpost got swiped.

ran60

Hello Push, try this site www.bicycletutor.com it can be very helpful.

Glennfordx4

Very nice,I am on the hunt for a vintage MTB frame myself and would like something like that in my size. If it were mine I would do it up totally and you can find everything you need here https://www.niagaracycle.com/ just be patient as it takes about a week to get your order.
I would try and get paint that will match as closely as possible and touch it up and you can probably get it at either a auto parts store or a hobby shop, if not pick up a few different shades and mix it yourself I just did this with a Mongoose MTB and if I had waited for the paint to fully cure before spraying the clear you would have never known it was touched up. If you look at the top tube ( sorry no close up) where the Hale decal is you can see the rust in the first pic and there was more once the decal was removed now look at the second pic, not bad. I compounded the frame after all the touch ups were made.

sonatageek

I picked up a pair of Rockhoppers last weekend. The one has a totally fubared rear wheel, but other than that, the mechanical parts are good. Frames have a bit of rust, but they should clean up pretty well. They are full chromoly, with butted main tubes.

BluesDaddy

Just do touch up. My son and I are restoring an 89 Rockhopper Comp, almost identical to this one. We decided to paint it and I regret the decision. It's a long tedious process if you don't have a full paint shop. Also, there is no easy way to get replacements for those complex decals. Specialized will not provide them. Other than the touch-up paint, you should probably re-grease all the bearings and then have fun!

brockd15 

Wow, great results on the clean up! Nice job bringing it back to life.

Push

Hey thanks for the input and links guys! I think that I will definitely go though that bicycle tutor site and see what I can learn. Glen that mongoose looks great I hope mine turns out half as nice

I am thinking that I may try and go the touch up route and see how it turns out but the decals are kind of mussed up in spots so I don't know how good it will look with just a touch up and the tattered graphics but there is something cool to me about keeping it the way it looked from the factory so who knows. If I decide to paint the whole frame I am thinking an olive drab sort of a military look to it maybe with a couple spots that say "no step" and maybe a white star or something keeping the Specialized S on the front (new decal) just for kicks but I don't know yet, I do know that I am having fun cleaning up this old bike and am already scouring craigslist for the next one (wify is rolling her eyes at me because this one is in the living room with my daily rider K2 and gave me that "uggh" look when I said I was looking for another one ) hopefully I can get it on the road this week (need to get some tubes and tires on the cheap) and ultimately would still like to get new cables all around.

Is there any reason to replace the chain as long as it moves freely and does not bind on anything? it looks well used but seems to function properly besides one small spot that I am going to go at with some oil etc to clean it up.

Thanks again for the responses guys!

Push