aceves 

Hi T-Mar,


OK, so I obtained my brother's SN from his RockHopper: GU226478. No sticker with a country of origin. What does this tell us? Is my brother's bike a 1993 model?

T-Mar

Based on my current understanding, the serial number indicates weeks 41-42 of 1992, which would be October 1992 and late enough in the calendar year to be a 1993 model. This is corroborated by the presence of 2nd generation, 1993-1994 Deore LX with the black crankarms and black rear derailleur pivot castings (as previously noted in post #5 ). This is further be narrowed down to 1993 based on the presence of a threaded headset and quill stem, as opposed to the threadless versions used on the 1994 Rockhopper Comp. So, everything points to a 1993 model but with a suspension fork upgrade.

aceves 

Thank you T-Mar,

This is very helpful! I will withdraw my identification of this bike as a 1992 model and start identifying it as a 1993 model. I will inform my brother that we have narrowed down his bike's birth date. Truly appreciate all your work on the serial number identification logs.

aceves

Chrisb1216

Hi All,

First, if I or a moderator needs to make my addition to this thread a separate thread let me know. I am adding on to this thread as the bike I have closely matches ones in this post.

Several weeks ago while walking my dog I found this Specialized Rockhopper Sport being given away for free. I took it home as I thought it would be a good project for me to learn some basic bike mechanic skills. While attempting to date the bike I came across this thread. After reading through it and decoding the serial number, PY216715 based on the information from T-Mar, I had a question on the component difference from the ones on the OP.

The one I have has Shimano EXAGE components and not Deore LX. Does this change anything in the dating (or does it mean anything at all)? I do not see a country of origin sticker .but as you can see this has several band sticker as well as what I think is some sort of registration sticker from a company. As for the fade in the pain, I dont see a fade but since reading this post my eye now sees the top tube as a slightly lighter color than the head tube or seat tube but that could just be the lighting or me seeing something that is not really there.

Korina

If it helps, my '92 Sport has a very subtle fade from slightly darker purple in the back to slightly lighter purple in the front; for the first week I thought it was just lighting.
Serial # GP211710, if that helps anyone.



Great Ghu, it's NDS! Horror!

madpogue 

Chrisb1216 , looks like 1993 was the only year for Exage for this model. And your serial number is the same format as my '93 RockHopper Comp. Yours has Exage not because of the year, but because the "Sport" version of each Specialized model BITD was the base level of that model. Still a nice bike, as were all the Hard/Hopper/Stumpy models of that era.

Tektro brake levers and grip shifters are not original.

Chrisb1216

Thanks Korina. I see the difference in the shading more in the purple than I do in the green.

Chrisb1216

Thanks madpogue. That makes sense. For a free bike I am happy with it. When I get some time this fall I will practice some basic bike mechanic skills on it and see what I can learn.

Iowhat

T-Mar (et al.)
I just picked up a 199X Specialized Rockhopper Sport yesterday that is the same color as OP's Rockhopper Comp. It's the Sport model with full Shimano Exage components (e.g., FD, RD, ST-M352 rapid fire/dual levers, FC-AT10 crankset, FH-GH50 and HB-RM50 hubs, brakes), top tube cable routing. The color seems to be a uniform green/bluish-green with deep metallic, logos/lettering is fuschia with pink outline, very plain "Taiwan" sticker on seat tube. Serial # is: PX222988.

199X Specialized Rockhopper Sport (all original with Shimano Exage group)

Iowhat

So it seems a bit clearer to me now that my Rockhopper Sport is a 1993 model year (frame produced in 1992) - the color scheme is the same as the Rockhoppper Comp. The difference being the group set: Comp came with full Deore LX and the Sport came with full Exage.

T-Mar

Based on the serial number, it should be a 1993 model manufactured around late November 1992. The crankset part number is Altus A10, produced only for the 1993 model year. The hubs mentioned were employed on a number of different groups throughout the 1990s. I can't find a match for shift/brake levers but they look like either Exage ES or Exage LT, both of which were available only for the 1993 model year, The cantilever brakes look like Exage LT. MY 1993 SBI price list shows the Rockhopper Sport as being Shimano Exage LT equipped and an MSRP of $543 US. Curiously, the online catalogue (German) specs Exage LT for everything but shows what appears to be an Alivio crankset, as the Exage LT had a finish of grey powder paint.

ryansu

Very cool that even after the original bike that started the thread has left me - it was a bit too big and of course I had too many bikes but I am bit sad I had to move it as it was a cool bike with nice components. Very glad to see so many folks finding cool early 90s Rock Hoppers out there. I would love to find another one in a slightly smaller frame size. Lately I have been seeing many more Hard Rocks, at Covid premium pricing, than Rock Hoppers.

madpogue 

Hmmm, what is this "too many bikes" phenomenon of which you speak?

ryansu

Its called living in a 2 bedroom apartment and not having a garage... in my defense I still have 6 bikes currently

tricky 

I'll keep an eye out. Maybe I can get you another 6 pack bike.

ryansu

tricky

Korina

Howabout a Stumpy?

ryansu

Korina Oh I like Stumpys but they tend to be beyond my means and in this case far far away. I do love to find a good deal on something tattered and in need of love and I guess I am cheap The Stumpy above is nice though

Iowhat

Thanks T-Mar! - Yes the crank still has the Altus A10 decal. I find it interesting that Specialized would offer the same color for the Rockhopper Sport and Comp models in the same year - I totally understand the manufacturing process and that they have the same frameset and that the production was toward the end of a calender year, but as a consumer of the Comp model, you'd probably want to have a bike that was in an instant visually different from the "lower" Sport model.

Iowhat

ryansu

Yup, I've been seeing a lot of Hardrocks coming out of the woodwork. In fact my wife just bought a 1987 HR from the original owner - it came with brand new tires and new saddle, rear rack and vintage grocery pannier. The seller tried selling it for $300, then dropped to $150 and my wife bought it for $110 (which is a good price during these past 5 months). The bonus was that the owner lived in the town where my wife and I went to college 25+ years ago and she bought the bike from the LBS I used to frequent, the bike still has the LBS decal.

My Rockhopper will be for sale soon - and it seems to be slightly smaller than the one you had; it's a 20" with seat tube 20" (c-t), top tube 23" (c-c). It's in great shape, all original, great paint and rims. I'm not sure of price yet - it won't have a ridiculous Covid-tax added, but now that I realize how nice it is and how complete it is, it'll be higher than I originally thought. FWIW: it also has the original blackwall Specialized Ground Control 26 x 1.95 tires in amazing shape - soft rubber, lots of tread. It seems some early 90s MTB enthusiasts would pay 'big' money for the tires alone (pairs of used gumwalls online listed at $150+) I'd rather keep the bike complete since it is so nice. Thanks for posting originally I had no intention of buying an early 90s Speciailized, so I'm glad the info was here when I found myself bringing a Rockhopper home!

ryansu

In Seattle $110 for a Hard Rock with all those new parts - most importantly new tires which is half the value of the bike - would be a deal and a half. Your wife did a great job - do you have a picture of the Hard Rock? Nice Rock Hopper btw!

Korina

It's early '90s, and the price has come down considerably; the seller optimistically priced it at $500 originally. It's weird; most of what we get on my local CL is high end road bikes, high end mtb, trashed BMX, and department store junk. Currently there's a beautiful Lotus, a tempting Nishiki mixte, an Allez, a Waterford X22, a Peugeot PX10, a Bridgestone XO-3, a pretty Trek 510... a lot of pretty good stuff. I think people have been cleaning out their garages.

If you change your mind, let me know; I'd be happy to get it to a bike shop for packing & shipping.

ryansu

That is a nice offer - thanks. I am actually trying to reduce my inventory and this is more of a if I come across a good deal fine and if not then that's ok its not grail bike for me.

Iowhat

Yes, prices here (Tucson area) have been around $200 for any old Walmart bike or lower end mtb - however I still once in a while see good finds (like 3 days ago $60 for a '93 Kona Fireroad, $125 for a '95 Trek 7000). The Hardrock original owner probably spent $150 in the past year to upgrade saddle (to Specialized 'The Cup'), some fenders (nice), and tires. It's a teal-green with Miami Vice color splashes (greener than how it appears in photo). Full Suntour XCD 4050.


1988 (or '87?) Specialized Hardrock

maagg

oh my god, so many groovy amazing colours