Originally Posted by
bustaone
I started out looking for an e bike but they are all so expensive... My current bike isn't trail worthy anymore w/ brakes gone to crap and isn't worth the cost to get back into shape (2000 specialized rockhopper a1). I even installed new used xtr breakset and breaks got worse so I quit. When I bought my bike I was lusting after the stumpjumper m2 and stumpjumper s-works bikes and have wanted one ever since...
Local seller has a 2000 SJ M2 for $350 in good not great shape. This is dirt cheap compared to anything new and has the bonus of being super light in comparison to modern bikes. I've always liked that about my rockhopper, the whole bike weights 23-24 lb and was super fun to throw around back when I would do races. Now I want a light xc bike w/ front suspension that I can ride to work or take on some singletrack. Would I be better served looking in a more recent decade?
What would you do? Should I look a completely different direction? I also found a norco fluid lt for sale locally for $1k but I'm not familiar with these bikes like I was with the specialized.
Been a long time but I really want to get back on the trails.
Probably not a good idea. I had one and it lasted about 6500 wonderful miles before it cracked. Great bike but the aluminum/boron frame isn’t a good choice for longevity.
Originally Posted by
bustaone
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.
There’s no such thing as “needing too much”. There’s only how much you are willing to spend. A lot of the things you are saying are “shot” are items which don’t really get “shot”. People only think they do. Derailer springs, for example, seldom wear out in my experience. People think they do but most of the time, the issue lies in the cables and cable housing. I have derailers that have 20,000 miles on them and still shift as crisply as they did when new. Bottom brackets are nearly the same. I have seen some wear out but very, very few of them actually fail. Square taper are also fairly cheap to replace.
The most expensive bit will be the shock. There are a few forks out there that can take V-brakes. Look for a used Fox or Manitou on Fleabay. Alternatively, you can go to a mechanical disc front fork and leave the linear brakes on the back. You’d need a new front wheel…fairly cheap…, rotor, and caliper. An Avid BB7 is a good choice and not terribly expensive on Fleabay. I’ve got the same arrangement…disc front/linear rear…on my bikepacking bike. It stops just fine.
I’m not sure what model XTR brakes you got but the only spring on any linear brake is the linear spring and I’ve never seen one “wear” out. Break, yes, but not get the the point where it wasn’t doing the thing it was designed for, i.e. “springing”. If you have the linkage type brake, those have a different problem. The linkage makes them too flexible and they tend to squeal a whole lot. They work well but they are annoying.
If you shop around…and check to ensure that the “worn” parts really are…, you can probably refurb the Rockhopper for around the same as the Stumpjumper. Alternatively, look for a newer Stumpy. They had cleared up the problem by about 2003, which is the year model Specialized replaced my 1999 Stumpjumper M2 with.