Originally Posted by
habes78023
I have a Stumpjumper m2, I would say they are worth buying. I wouldn't suggest them if you are getting into serious off-road or downhill trails but let me explain why.
Mountain bikes are expensive, but there's also a lot of trails these days that older mountain bikes probably don't belong on. You do get what you pay for usually. For something to just get you out into the woods, it's a fine option.
I do take mine off road, there's some trails near my house that are part fire roads, part single tracks, plenty of elevation. There's also trails there that have jumps and other stuff that's more advanced. I don't take this bike down those. Maybe I need more skill, but only having 100mm of travel in the front only plus v brakes isn't a recipe for success going down some of those lines in my experience.
The Rockhopper is going to be very similar to the Stumpjumper. I think many on here would pause at the idea that you wouldn't be able to get the rockhopper back on the trails but rather get the stumpjumper and not have the same situation in a year or less time. Doing offroading is going to require maintenance and things will break and wear out, just like any hobby. So there's going to be cost no matter what, and if you replace a bike every time one gets a little worn, you're gonna cost yourself more in the long run.
350 dollars buys a decent amount of replacement parts and labor. I'd be very surprised if it cost more than that to get the Rockhopper feeling like new, barring any major damage to the frame or wheels.
This is understandable. I live in minnesota so there's only just so much challenge that the local trails can present. I don't think that an older bike presents a safety risk provided it is functioning properly. My rockhopper got ridden hard for many years and just isn't up to the task with many parts going out. I checked with local shop and they wanted $140 for a tuneup + parts. They guessed "a few hundred probably" to get the deficiencies remedied.
So I started trying to fix up my rockhopper but it just needs too much. I'm old now so I'd like to get a suspension fork and there isn't much on the bike in good shape but the frame, handlebar, rims, seat tube. Tires shot, derailer springs shot, bottom bracket shot, grips shot, seat shot... I don't know how to take care of that all for less than a few hundred, but I might just be ignorant. I bought some used xtr v breaks off of ebay to fix the breaks but I found out afterwards that they have an unreplacable spring that wears out so that was an afternoon of work and $75 for nothing. Then the more I thought about it the more sense it made to me to start with a better base. Plus, if I'm going to work on something it'd be a lot cooler to have the bike ned overund used to smash all rivals all those years. I really like the old stumpjumpers.
Appreciate the input, it's been a long time since I looked at buying bike stuff and the new stuff is just so wild.