james89

Well I didn’t end up getting the original Hardrock I was planning on. I’m kind of glad though because I stumbled across this one. Got it off the original owner and it wasn’t used much! It’s definitely a little dirty, but I wiped a few spots and it shines up very nice. I’m just going to get it cleaned up and in 100% working order right now. My wife and I are taking a trip to the beach next month and this will be the perfect bike to cruise around on while over there. Once back home I am going to start looking into some upgrades. Is anyone able to tellwhat the year is? I’m guessing early 90’s. The serial # is P3LF07898. Thank you!

icemilkcoffee 

The Specialized HardRock is the low end of their Mountain bike lineup. It was Stumpjumper on top, Rockhopper in the middle and Hardrock at the bottom. Nothing wrong with that, but I don't know if this is worth upgrading though.

james89

Yep I completely understand that. I’m more concerned with enjoying the bike, having fun while working on it/ upgrading it, and most of all riding it. I wasn’t out looking to buy top of the line, what would be the fun in that? I would have just bought new if that was the case. I appreciate the heck out of these old steel frames bikes, especially when you find a gem that’s still in wonderful condition like this one. Thank you for the info though.

Anyone able to help with the year?

VegasTriker

A quicker way to get the year a bike was made if it has Shimano cranks is to look at the inside of the crank for the two letter date code and then go the a website that lists date codes.Date of Manufacture of Bicycle Components can be used to date a bike: component dating. Large manufacturers don't stock components but use the just in time system so the date code on the crank will likely be pretty close to the assembly date. The date code on my Balance AL 450 MT is PA. That corresponds to P=1991 and A= January. That is consistent with about the time I bought it used here in Las Vegas. The code is on the chainring side and is inside a small circle.

james89

Thank you very much I will check that out next

james89

Looks like 1993 on the crank, but this color scheme is in the 1994 Specialized catalog. The color is called steel metallic. Love this old info!

veganbikes

Steel frames are great but there are plenty of nicer steel frames worth upgrading. It is possible this has a better frame than the parts lead on, I am not great with Spesh tubing history. The derailleur is a good sign it is a bottom of the barrel. Usually if the limit screws are like that and the derailleur calls out SIS in large letters, that is a bad sign. It is a fine bike to ride and do minor grades to get it functional but I would caution against putting a ton of money towards it. Ride it, enjoy it and have fun out there but don't put good money towards not so good. If you have a good parts bin then go nuts but otherwise just keep it functional till you get the dream bike or closer to it.

In terms of age I would say probably 89-91 probably if I had to take a good guess.

james89

Rough crowd in here today. I wasn’t asking if I should or shouldn’t replace parts on an old bike. I thought these forums were filled with people that liked doing that sort of thing (yes I know not to dump loads of money into a 30 year old bike. It will still be a 30 year old bike). There is no dream bike - I think half of you guys are nuts with these 5 thousand dollar dream bikes. Simply updating it a little, finishing with a $250 bike sounds much more enjoyable than spending 2k-3k on a new one, and both of them will still ride around some trails the same! I’m not out competing and doing time trials. All I’m doing is putting a little life back into a good old bike. Guess I need to look elsewhere when I have other questions lol jeeze 🤔

veganbikes

I think you might be mistaking roughness and honesty. People will be honest about a lot of this stuff so people don't throw good money towards not so good. In the only text world of a forum you cannot glean emotions or anything from them so it makes it tough to actually figure things out and people make it out to be like they are being attacked or people are just negative towards them when that is not always the case.

In terms of dream bikes 5k will get you a fine mid-priced bike for some that might be all they can dream but a dream bike will probably be in the 10k and well up from that category if you are actually dreaming. However many folks here including myself have built bikes from parts bins or lower cost stuff that is fine it is just knowing when to do it and when to be more cautious.

In the case of this bike, what doesn't work and what is the lowest cost way to get it working again and then save up for the bike you want? Or if this is all you can dream then it is almost the same but without the savings.

The 2-3k bike will work a lot better than a base model bike from 30+ years ago. There is some old technology that is great and vintage bikes can be fun but there is a lot to the modern bikes that makes them a lot better. Now if you are just doing really short rides to nowhere like in the neighborhood once and a while it may not matter so much but if I want to hit trails a modern bike is way easier and potentially fun as a beginner. Suspension is quite nice and modern geometry does help out quite a bit along with better shifting and wider range gears.

Do what you will, it is your money but just have the caution we have thrown out there and know we aren't out to get you or anything.

SoCaled 

Great bike to ride with your wife to the beach. Nothing wrong with this functional old rigid MTB. Upgrade if you want/need, but know if you are not sourcing the parts and doing the work yourself, it will quickly add up to the cost of buying an higher grade vintage model.

Here is a link to the 1994 Catalog, 93' dated parts will often be put on a 94':
https://bikerebuilds.com/catalogs/sp...ed-catalog.pdf


Specs for the bikes below, Hardrock is at the bottom of the list, doesn't mean it is a bad bike, does mean it will have lower end components. The other difference (according to the spec list) it has a high ten steel fork instead of chromoly and it has steel spokes instead of stainless. Someone smarter than me can chime in, but the fork on the bike pictured has a "DD" on it which I thought indicates the "Direct Drive" chromoloy? and maybe the bike just has not seen any weather, but usually 30 year steel spokes show corrosion and these look stainless clean? Specs given for all bikes above it in the lineup might give you a starting place on where to upgrade


I would ride it as is, maybe a tune up if the shifting or brakes don't work well.

james89

Thank you for the specs! Yea, the guy I got it from said he barely rode it. I know that's what most people selling bikes say, but this one really shows it. All it has is a light layer of dust on it. Everything I've wiped down so far still has shine underneath it, it's pretty impressive.

SoCaled 

Park tools videos on youtube can show you how to adjust derailleurs/brakes, if needed.

kap 7

Holy cow I don't know the history of hard rocks but I have a 2007 it's wildly different than that one! The older ones were steel?

james89

They sure were. Came out in the mid-late 80’s if I’m not mistaking. It’s cool working on bikes that you used to see growing up as a kid. That’s a sure way to tell I’m getting old!

kap 7

I was born in 1980 I mostly remember mountain bikes of the 1990s

wheelreason

Yes young man, Hardrocks, Rockhoppers, and Stumpjumpers pre date aluminum as a popular frame material, and started as steel bikes. Spez came out with their M2 bikes in the early 90s if I remeber corrrectly.

CAT7RDR

Great all purpose utilitarian urban monster meant to abuse freely without a tinge of guilt.

james89

exactly!!!