Nice work! I picked up one of these old Rockhoppers with front suspension for $10 at a garage sale. The bottom crank bearing was shot but was rusted in place. Even the local bike shop couldn't remove it. Seat post was also rusted into place so I stripped the bike and reused the parts on another project bike. Then sold off the balance of parts.
Nice video! I got a 95 Rockhopper Comp from my brother-in-law. He got the frame from a distributor and built it up with cool stuff from the shops parts bin. Too small so it’s a display piece with 90’s anodized components.
Great job bringing what looked like a bit of a mess back to life. I've just done the same thing with a Specializes Hard Rock turning it into a 1 x 8 and it looks nice. Put on some Billy Bunker tires which gave me a hard time fitting to the rims. Also need to work on the shifting as it's not going through all the gears.
hey I recently turned my bike from 3X6, to a 1X7. The frame had to stretch a bit. now the time wont site center either. Would adding a little spacer on the other side make the tire straigh on the frame?
Good job! That's exactly what I would do except I prefer silver parts. I have a 1984 Rockhopper and it has a 130 rear axle so I turned it into a single speed with 1.95" tires the 2.125 would not work.
I see a lot of great deals on marketplace for bikes but I'm into the rusty rescues. It's good practice for maintenance and building skills the good thing about bikes is if you don't do it right the first time you can try again until you learn how to do it correctly. Tips for the newbies like me buy a lot of cables especially shifter an invest in tools. New chain master links is my new thing it was way more difficult than I thought
@@conroe_au yes sir for me it is satisfying and calming. Set the bike up on the homemade stand turn on the music grab a beer in the tool kit and just do my best!
Nice build, I still ride my 1992 MTB off-road, fully rigid aluminium framed bike shop build, with Mavic 231s with Maxxis Ardent/ Minion DHF, Rolls saddle, Pace/ Renthal RC130s, and with the 1st ever Deore LX 21 spd 1991 g/set but with the 1989 Deore II/ DX Thumbies, I want to convert to a 1 x at some point, with 8 spd then I can keep my thumb shifters as they do 8 spd too via a "secret" extra click, an 11-42 on back to replace the 12-32 and a 32 narrow/ wide to replace the 22/32/42 triple
ahhh! nice score, nice build! one thing that ground my gears was when you hammered the stem onto the threadless adapter. could you not loosen the bolts and slide it down?
@@conroe_au haha, Yeah that disturbed me slightly, but I've had the same issue, I sanded my adaptor down with an electric sander until it fitted better lol
Cool build. Love these 85-96 pre suspension mountain bikes. It’s somewhat like my mods to my 86 Rockhopper and a current one I’m working on for a 93 Scott Superslope. I guess UA-cam algo knows I have a 86 RH because the only place I’ve mentioned it is in a UA-cam comment so your vid popped up in recommendations. Your crank and chainring choice is interesting and I’ve used the same tires DTH 2.15. 2.3 inch don’t fit my frame and the 2.15 is a bit tight so rear frame width must have gotten bigger in the 9 years. Going 1x from a 3 chainring is another similarity, or did 95 RH have 2x7/8/9? Here’s a couple of parts for future reference that work with these bikes and their geometry: Jones Loop HBar. That’s what I put on my 86 Rockhopper, tons of hand positions, a revelation. If you want a bit more rise they have a Riser version the Jones Loop 2.5. Best budget rear derailleur Shimano M310. It has oversized Jockey wheels and is an underappreciated component cause it’s cheap. It works great with the cassettes on this era bike.
Noticed you stuck with the square taper bb. I picked up an 89 hardrock in perfect working order a few years back and have built up the bike around the stock drivetrain just because I thought the 3x7 was endearing. Now I'm looking at replacing it before I ruin it with more technical riding and want to go to a hollowtech bb with new cranks for a 1x. Any advice on maintaining the chainline when switching out everything? Will any mtn crankset work as long as I use the spacers correctly or do I need to find a crankset with a specific offset?
More or less, yeah! I've built similar with hollowtechs before. I assume you'll have a 68mm bottom bracket shell so get the right bottom bracket and standard cranks, not the uncommon boost spacing ones etc and you should be right. I've often run a single ring on triple ring cranks so I have the adjustment of using the 2nd or 3rd ring position too
Cheers mate! Actually with the ESI style silicone grips they recommend the bar ends first, I suppose cos they're only 22.2mm OD and helps create an air pocket under the grip to slide them on. They're moreso to save core-sampling your stomach than holding the grips on :)
@@conroe_au Ah well that makes sense. I usually seal off the other end of the bar with my thumb on my bmx bikes. Didn’t notice the diameter of the bar end.
I don't recall exactly, but I may have changed them out for some spare used ones. In this case I knew I was selling it, so didn't want to unnecessarily spend. I'd probably get in the habit of re-facing used pads at a minimum in the future
Did you put 26's back on or do the fatty tires make it look 650bish? Recently got an old rockhopper and was wondering how well they would fit (clearance wise, not brake wise)
Good question, to be honest I don't recall, but they felt snappy! They were AliExpress levers made by Toopre I think. I didn't own this bike for long, cos I built it to sell
@@conroe_auit's the same way round where the traffic drives on the left. Front brake is on the right. Where they drive on the right the front brake is on the left. I live in the uk and us and have all my bikes setup with front brake on the left (US & EU) so I don't inadvertently pull hard on the front brake and end up on my face in the road after going over the handlebars!
Good times, I had a 91-93 Rockhopper. I couldnt be happier I got such a cool bike back in the day.
That's awesome man! Such nice bikes
Nice work! I picked up one of these old Rockhoppers with front suspension for $10 at a garage sale. The bottom crank bearing was shot but was rusted in place. Even the local bike shop couldn't remove it. Seat post was also rusted into place so I stripped the bike and reused the parts on another project bike. Then sold off the balance of parts.
Nice mate! Shame the frame couldn't be recovered:(
omg people sell old hard rocks for about 200 USD or more in Brazil
that turned out nice, the tan walls are perfect for it, thanks man, great stuff
Cheers! Really happy how it came up!
Nice video! I got a 95 Rockhopper Comp from my brother-in-law. He got the frame from a distributor and built it up with cool stuff from the shops parts bin. Too small so it’s a display piece with 90’s anodized components.
Oh man that sounds awesome!
That’s my childhood bike. It’s now a restomod!
@@maxpayne0006 tell me about it! I'm about 5 years younger at a guess, but the username maxpayne brings back great childhood memories!
Steel bike will pass the test of time. They are nukeproof😊
so rad! looks like a fun ride
Great job bringing what looked like a bit of a mess back to life. I've just done the same thing with a Specializes Hard Rock turning it into a 1 x 8 and it looks nice. Put on some Billy Bunker tires which gave me a hard time fitting to the rims. Also need to work on the shifting as it's not going through all the gears.
Awesome mate! Sounds like a great project. Thanks for the compliment!
hey I recently turned my bike from 3X6, to a 1X7. The frame had to stretch a bit. now the time wont site center either. Would adding a little spacer on the other side make the tire straigh on the frame?
I just do my old mtb almost the same. great video!
Cheers!
today i put the maxxi 26x2.3 .....looks amazing@@conroe_au
Good job! That's exactly what I would do except I prefer silver parts. I have a 1984 Rockhopper and it has a 130 rear axle so I turned it into a single speed with 1.95" tires the 2.125 would not work.
A great video. Many thanks.
Appreciate the feedback!
I see a lot of great deals on marketplace for bikes but I'm into the rusty rescues. It's good practice for maintenance and building skills the good thing about bikes is if you don't do it right the first time you can try again until you learn how to do it correctly. Tips for the newbies like me buy a lot of cables especially shifter an invest in tools. New chain master links is my new thing it was way more difficult than I thought
@@johnsheetz6639 absolutely! Ive brought a few back from just about shipwrecked, and it's good to save them and get them moving again!
@@conroe_au yes sir for me it is satisfying and calming. Set the bike up on the homemade stand turn on the music grab a beer in the tool kit and just do my best!
nice way to hammer in that stem handle bar combo
Gotta do what you gotta do. Stem adaptor was poorly manufactured. That was even after flaring the stem open to fit the adaptor
It's an amazing build
Nice build, I still ride my 1992 MTB off-road, fully rigid aluminium framed bike shop build, with Mavic 231s with Maxxis Ardent/ Minion DHF, Rolls saddle, Pace/ Renthal RC130s, and with the 1st ever Deore LX 21 spd 1991 g/set but with the 1989 Deore II/ DX Thumbies, I want to convert to a 1 x at some point, with 8 spd then I can keep my thumb shifters as they do 8 spd too via a "secret" extra click, an 11-42 on back to replace the 12-32 and a 32 narrow/ wide to replace the 22/32/42 triple
Man, sounds like an awesome build!
nice looking bike. i have it too. it's lightweight and fun to ride.
awesome dude! Love it :)
ahhh! nice score, nice build! one thing that ground my gears was when you hammered the stem onto the threadless adapter. could you not loosen the bolts and slide it down?
Haha I knew people wouldn't rate that 😂 unfortunately the stem adaptor was oversized and the stem wouldn't fit without "encouragement" ;)
@@conroe_au haha, Yeah that disturbed me slightly, but I've had the same issue, I sanded my adaptor down with an electric sander until it fitted better lol
Cool build. Love these 85-96 pre suspension mountain bikes. It’s somewhat like my mods to my 86 Rockhopper and a current one I’m working on for a 93 Scott Superslope. I guess UA-cam algo knows I have a 86 RH because the only place I’ve mentioned it is in a UA-cam comment so your vid popped up in recommendations.
Your crank and chainring choice is interesting and I’ve used the same tires DTH 2.15. 2.3 inch don’t fit my frame and the 2.15 is a bit tight so rear frame width must have gotten bigger in the 9 years. Going 1x from a 3 chainring is another similarity, or did 95 RH have 2x7/8/9?
Here’s a couple of parts for future reference that work with these bikes and their geometry:
Jones Loop HBar. That’s what I put on my 86 Rockhopper, tons of hand positions, a revelation. If you want a bit more rise they have a Riser version the Jones Loop 2.5.
Best budget rear derailleur Shimano M310. It has oversized Jockey wheels and is an underappreciated component cause it’s cheap. It works great with the cassettes on this era bike.
I got the same bike with 26x2.0 and i want to update to 26x2.70 but i dont know if it will support?
@@shazega7952 that sounds pretty chunky! Probably too big? Just use a tape and measure an estimate :)
Nice...very cool
Cheers!
So cool!
Both tires look wobbly as heck spinning 😂
Hahaha yes they are, and I was slightly embarrassed, but not enough to bother fixing it 😂
@@conroe_au great job none the less!
@@manfrommontreal Cheers!
The old soap and water trick
What crankset, bb, chainring combo did you use? I’m doing a similar build and having trouble figuring out what to go with to get a decent chain line
@@PatrickSilvers oh man, no idea honestly! I think it was a BB I had lying around. Do you have a donor one to measure from?
Please more of this kinds of builds but bit more modern bikes
Cheers! I will try
Noticed you stuck with the square taper bb. I picked up an 89 hardrock in perfect working order a few years back and have built up the bike around the stock drivetrain just because I thought the 3x7 was endearing. Now I'm looking at replacing it before I ruin it with more technical riding and want to go to a hollowtech bb with new cranks for a 1x. Any advice on maintaining the chainline when switching out everything? Will any mtn crankset work as long as I use the spacers correctly or do I need to find a crankset with a specific offset?
More or less, yeah! I've built similar with hollowtechs before. I assume you'll have a 68mm bottom bracket shell so get the right bottom bracket and standard cranks, not the uncommon boost spacing ones etc and you should be right. I've often run a single ring on triple ring cranks so I have the adjustment of using the 2nd or 3rd ring position too
Nicely done. Install bar ends after grips maybe a bit easier?
Cheers mate! Actually with the ESI style silicone grips they recommend the bar ends first, I suppose cos they're only 22.2mm OD and helps create an air pocket under the grip to slide them on. They're moreso to save core-sampling your stomach than holding the grips on :)
@@conroe_au Ah well that makes sense. I usually seal off the other end of the bar with my thumb on my bmx bikes. Didn’t notice the diameter of the bar end.
Might be a long shot but would you sell this now 11 months on?
Sorry bud, sold it a long time ago!
Where did you get that angled connector for the front brake cable hangar? I need one of those!
Came from AliExpress if I remember correctly!
New wheels and tyres but looks like you didn’t change the brake blocks. Any reason why?
I don't recall exactly, but I may have changed them out for some spare used ones. In this case I knew I was selling it, so didn't want to unnecessarily spend. I'd probably get in the habit of re-facing used pads at a minimum in the future
Did you put 26's back on or do the fatty tires make it look 650bish? Recently got an old rockhopper and was wondering how well they would fit (clearance wise, not brake wise)
Just 26" on this one :) I did a 650b conversion on a GT, but did a disc conversion as well which made it easier to deal with the brakes. Love it!
@@conroe_au Pretty Sweet. Thanks for the info dude.
great build!! I also have that same bike. What is the size of your stem adaptor? Thanks😊
That's awesome! It's a 1" quill to 1-1/8" Threadless adaptor
What quil stem adaptor are you using ?
Just a generic eBay stem, nothing special. That's why it didn't fit so good and needed some encouragement haha
Hey man, cool build! Are those short pull brake levers, and, if not, how are the brakes feeling?
Good question, to be honest I don't recall, but they felt snappy! They were AliExpress levers made by Toopre I think. I didn't own this bike for long, cos I built it to sell
what kind of BB used?
Good question! It would have been whatever I had on hand. I have a number of spares like that sitting around in boxes :)
what size are those tires? I would like to mount them on my early 90's hardrock
They're a 2.15". Would have loved to put the 2.3" version on!
@@conroe_au thanks, I have to evaluate if 2.3 can interfere at the rear, I think they are ok at the front, eventually we can differentiate.
@@claudio_calcagno nice! All the best with the build!
Looks earlier than a 95 model, I'd guess 91/92 because of the Cantilever brakes
Oh really! Interesting. I'd googled a few years and found a handful of them in this spec and colourway listed as 1995 but you could be right!
@@conroe_au looks exactly like the one I got new in 1995 and still have. I need to restore it!
@@annullrich9884 that amazing! Keep me updated on restoring it!
Why did you swap the front brakes from the left lever to the right?
That's just how bikes in Australia are set up :)
@@conroe_auit's the same way round where the traffic drives on the left. Front brake is on the right. Where they drive on the right the front brake is on the left. I live in the uk and us and have all my bikes setup with front brake on the left (US & EU) so I don't inadvertently pull hard on the front brake and end up on my face in the road after going over the handlebars!
What's the dimension of stem (length)?
Good question. Probably 50-60mm
@@conroe_au many thanks, bye
Me dolió mis ojos verlo batallar poniendo los grips con agua jajaj y quien pone primero los bar ends jjaaj
is that steel frame or m2 composite?
Steel :)
I want to update my old 93 Bianchi ocelot.
Sounds awesome! Keen to see it!
Came out nice but I can’t believe someone would fit a front mudguard using self tapping screws.. that’s criminal.
Horrible hey 😭
For $35 I would of bought two lol
Rust lovers unite, hahahahaha.
You can trust in rust!
MAN! PLEASE use a rubber mallet in lieu of the butt of your hand.
😉 hehe
not very comfortable to ride.
@@loumiehao310 very comfortable actually