DQRider 

Here are the three I found here in MN:
https://minneapolis.craigslist.org/r...068827389.html
https://minneapolis.craigslist.org/h...068495644.html
https://minneapolis.craigslist.org/h...057078974.html

And here are the two I found in Madison, both with front suspension:
https://madison.craigslist.org/bik/d...064634185.html
https://madison.craigslist.org/bik/d...062960475.html

But as I said, this is the slow season. Wait until late March / early April, and CL will be bursting with Rockhoppers. Like a plague of locusts, they are.... er, maybe not.

.

madpogue 

Second one is aluminum 21st-Century, and at $250, not something I would just "pick up" to build. First one is the "one" I referenced earlier. Suspension fork is a minus for a grocery-getter, and esp. for winter, given the amount of salt used here.

Two years ago it was a different story, there was always a selection of sub-$50 project-fodder Hard/hoppers. Been more of a trickle lately. It'll be interesting to see if there's an uptick this spring/summer.

Korina

She really is. And thanks for the sketches of the others. I have a nice Hardrock (Comp!) I plan on turning into a transport beastie and passing along to another short person in need.

Miele Man

Here is my Rockhopper I got from the garbage before it went. I asked the people in the house if it was out for garbage pickup and they said yes it was.









Cheers

madpogue 

^^^^^ Excellent save from the clutches of "the tip". Bonus points - big "S" branded grips look intact.

I hope you've upgraded from that Cateye halogen. Yeah, they were all that and a bag of chips BITD, but in today's traffic, it's about as useful as a bathroom night-light.

AlmostGreenGuy

Sensational find!!!! If that chainring is any sign, the bike has barely been used.

Miele Man

I took that Cateye off and replaced it with a knockoff of a Magic Shine light that's very bright, has an excellent range but would be nice with a bit wider beam. For the price it' a great light and I might get another to run two of them side by side. Here's the light on another bike.




Cheers

wbc4406

Nice Bike. So shiny. Glad you still have a photo to inspire us.

mrv 

my real steel Rockhopper cracked from the rear of the seat tube & bottom bracket and came round the down tube.
thankfully it was making a bit of noise about halfway through a 20 mile ride, so i noticed it a few miles from home & just soft peddled the last few miles.
i got this for free in maybe 2013 or so (old pic below). Did a handful of multi-day tours (Louisville to Detroit; my own Thumb Tour; Ride to Peele Island; Pitts to DC) and lots of S24O rides. I was thinking it would last forever. Maybe a question for the frame builders forum why not.....
Hopefully my lovely bride will allow an Atlantis replacement next year. Hopefully....

a cycling friend already has me set up with a FREE replacement Rockhopper frame - same size, little bit different color. he had just decommissioned his in an effort to maintain domestic tranquility. now I can maintain my own tranquility with a free replacement.
ciao!
PS: I was pushing on the pedal a bit in these photos to open up the crack. Without pushing on it, it looked like a hairline crack.... which... it is obviously much more serious....


circa 1990 Rockhopper - purple fade blue


nearly OG....

madpogue 

Think Specialized would still honor the frame warranty? :shrug:

katsup

He's not the original owner so no.

mrv 

- since I loaded it up for touring, they might say I violated the warranty.
I can say I got my money's worth! (and it made enough noise I stopped before I hit the deck.....)

madpogue 

^^^^^^ And you have something to hang on the wall, show the world - "look, I broke a RockHopper"

leafnose

I have the exact same bike, color and everything as "IGOTDIBS" Bike.
I am the original owner

However, my Shimano Exage SIS crank shaft lock nut on the left arm has worn out. The Washer section on the backside is worn flatt
Does anyone know where I can buy more?

The local bike shop gave me wrong thing.....ugh.

LloydL

Old Rockhoppers are certainly not common around here in the UK. So when my 87 model needed new crank bearings recently, it took my local bike shop a while to get hold of the correct release tool to get the crankset off.

All done now, back to doing about 70 miles a week, I love this bike!

Regards, Lloyd.

Nialler

I wanted to put up some pictures of my 97 rockhopper, but it appears I need to make minimum 0f 10 posts first.

ofajen

I posted pics of this RockHopper in the MTB/upright thread, but I’ve switched back to the Scott AT-4 Pro bars it had before. I’ve had these bars since 1993 when I got them on a Gary Fisher Montare. The aero parts had already been chopped off, but they are still great as a sort of aggressive trekking bar.

So, really the only thing new is the handlebars, but it does change the ride quite a bit. The forward bend is a great climbing grip and a little further forward than I could achieve with a long stem and touring bar.

Since it has a U-brake it’s late 80s but I’m not certain what year. The Suntour headset and U-brake are the only components that might be (and probably are) original to the bike.

Otto

due ruote 

Given what you have remaining of the bars, I wonder if they wouldn't be more ergo if flipped the other way, so the ends point up. Granted I am just looking at a picture and you are riding them.

ofajen

I can see how you might think that but it doesn’t work that way, at least for me.

The main riding positions both sitting and standing are on the sides and around the forward bend and that needs to angle up. I typically have it angled about 6-7 degrees.

If you flip the bars, then it’s angling up at 6-7 degrees and then starts to rise up higher. It’s perhaps not obvious but that ends up reversing the slight angle on the straight section in the opposite way that you would want.

That also doesn’t work as well for all the more aero things I do riding with hands on or ahead of the front section and arms on the rear section. The forward part would then be angling up and back, so even holding it is awkward for wrists and the elevations won’t work as well with aero positions upside down. YMMV!

The funny thing is I also now have an intact version of these bars in the 56 cm size, but I prefer these 52 cm bars even without the aero part. This width just seems to suit me better.

Otto

bikemig 

At different times, I picked up two old Rockhoppers (an '89 and a '91 I believe) for $50 each (pre pandemic pricing for sure). They are now both finding good homes with friends and family members. I fixed up the '89 for my nephew and shipped it off to New Jersey. This is his first real bike. I'm rebuilding the '91 and shipping it off to a friend in Texas.


1989 Rockhopper


1991 Rockhopper

Clang

I think the yellow one is an '87 and the blue & ivory one is from '89. $50 each was a good deal for those bikes. I think that's what I paid for my '93 Rockhopper Sport.

ryansu

I used to find deals on Rock Hoppers if I looked now (Covid pricing) I am lucky to find a Hard Rock for under a C note.

i found this 93 Rock Hopper for $65 about a year ago did a little work added new tires and passed it along as it was just a bit too big

Sir_Name 

I got out for a short ride on some new shoes before afternoon plans. I like ‘em!

Nialler

My rockhopper, I bought new in 1997. It was a massive purchase for me at the time, I had left collage and had no job, but I decided to blow most of my savings on a high end bike. Initially I went to buy a hard rock, but the stockists in Dublin, Ireland had none left, although they had reduced the price of rockhoppers by a fair amount so after a brief consideration I spent almost every penny i had.

Before writing this I sort of thought that the bike was mostly original, but on closer recollection the list of original parts is the smaller of the two. I had some things changed before it left the shop, the quick release on the saddle post and wheels were replaced with allen key versions, bike theft was rife in Dublin then and wheels and or a saddle would disappear quickly. I also had the nobbly tyres changed for slicks, as I was using it for city cycling, for a small cost I got specialized kevlar tyres that lasted until a few months ago. Incredibly both inner tubes were original until a few weeks ago when one split, no patches in 23 years, love kevlar tyres. I cut 3 inches off either side of the handle bars, a tip from a cycle courier, as there were no cycle lanes in those days you were part of the city traffic, weaving between cars was easier with narrow handle bars. In the first few years I also changed the brake system and the levers.

The rest of the changes have been due to wear and tear, had to replace the chain and subsequently the rear sprocket set and middle front sprocket. Replaced the wheel axles and bearings, took quite a while to track down the right stuff online. Replaced the saddle post after it became welded to the frame, had to cut it out with a hack saw, making two cuts along its length and removing a strip of aluminum seat post before twisting the rest out. Replace the tyres last month with a nice set of grey kevlar schwlabe bubble tyres, I thought to match the frame colour.

The bike has travelled with me from Ireland to the Netherlands and back, and once again to the Netherlands, but unfortunately removing the pedal the last time I took it on the plane I threaded the non drive side crank. It took a while looking on ebay but eventually found a replacement. After replacing with a second hand crank it was making a lot of creaking and following a lot of research on bike forums I finally found a solution. The replacement aluminum crank had a sort of subtle imprint from its original square end of the metal axle, thus making an exact fit impossible. I got a small file and gently filed back each of the four sides inside of the crank till they more or less smooth, put it back on and hey presto, creaking vanished.

I always enjoyed keeping it in decent running order, hopefully it lasts for another few years.

av1

Rockhopper comp 1994: with some modernization I like it a lot.