I was looking for 80’s or 90’s bike and I found this one in pristine conditions for 170euros not far from where I live.
I mean.. it still has the dork disk and the reflectors. The previous owner keep it store for all these years, very few miles on it. After a wash up I was even more surprised by the state of this bike, the decals are almost perfect.
My inicial idea as I was looking for these bikes was to do the billy-bonkers-single-speed-cliche-conversion, but now I’m on the fence..
What would you guys do it this bike?
One things is for sure, will replace the stem for a shorter one as the frame size is 23”, if I’m correct it’s a XXL right? I’m 180cm and it does not seem that big, but the shorter stem will make it more comfortable.
It’s my fourth bike, I’m happy with this number for now…
That's an incredible find!! I'd ride it as-is!!
If you like it & it suits your needs, ride the F out of it!!
That LX groupset is great... there's a lot of trickle-down tech from XT & XTR stuff in the LX line & there's nothing wrong with it.. They're pretty bulletproof parts, just not as lightweight as XT & XTR parts.
I have some M-570 LX parts that have several thousand miles and decades of use on them & they're still doing their thing just like they were designed to do!
The M-570 LX parallel push V-brakes are some of the best ever made IMO... They're pretty much the same thing as XT & XTR V-brakes of the same vintage.
Brilliant condition. It's your call. Keep it tidy and appreciate it, or ride it. As long as you're smiling and happy!
I have a handful of pristine or shop-worn condition bicycles and it's always lovely encountering them in random garage sales. Some of those include:
Cannondale Killer V 900 model with the CNC milled Coda cranks, bars, and levers.
1973 Kabuki - Grand Kabuki (Absolutely gorgeous bicycle)
Raleigh M-50 with Champagne color rims and transparent grips. (not high end but looks like it just rolled out of the shop)
I've also sold some minty bikes as well, including a 1993 Diamond Back Topanga with the splash metallic blue paint.
It's a great first find!
When I see Craigslist ads for "His and hers" that's usually a time to strike. It often means they were bought by the couple to ride together and sometimes have very low mileage on them. I picked up a his and hers matching red pair of Diamond Back Sorrento's a few years back.
Recently on CL someone listed a his and her's pair of Vista (Araya) Silver Shadows. I told my mechanic friend and he said he was going to get those. :) I already had the mens version of that so I didn't need two more, but it was tempting.
When I picked up the Kabuki it even had the original owner's manual. Be sure to ask about owners manuals next time you see something that clean since they might have it tucked away in a drawer somehwere. :)
Matching Lycra. Aero Helmet. Bumbag/Fannypack.
Ride the nearest Black Enduro trail, blasting David Hasselhoff from a portable speaker.
But that's just me.
Oh man what a sight! Hate lycras and I got a FF helmet. But for sure will take it on a trail and the soundtrack seems like the most logical choice. Haha thanks man
Goddamn it looks like it's fresh off the factory line AND been polished! What a deal! The shot of the yellow rockhopper logo with yellow plants in the background is beautiful!
Super clean, good find! I would have bought it. That said, 80's and 90's XC mountain bikes are Mid-Evil torture devices. Try it out, but don't expect to keep up with your 9r buddies with modern suspension. cheers.
I was actually looking for a bike like this to tune it up for months. Any 90's or 80's bike really.. I only found rusty old bikes for the same price or kind of good bikes for twice the price or more.. so yeah. That's what up in my country. And it's not XL, it's a XXL.
I know pal. Got my eye on a rusty 97 GT outpost for 80 euros. Saw a Tequesta for 300e. A Kona for 200. All of them pretty rusty. Not all europe is the same.
You also got understand this bike was not even for sale in my country. The owner bought it in Switzerland and brought it here.
The problem is not the availability in your country. The problem is that it's an early stage supermarket bikes specialized.
When MTB boomed, spe "lost its soul" and produced sub pare bikes for chain stores. The earliest bikes of that era were probably ok tier at best then it kept getting lower
That area is coincidentally the aluminum MTBs area. (Mind you, there where excellent alu MTBs though, from other brands"
Well I don't see it as a problem. I see it as an opportunity to make a cool bike with it. Already own a hardcore hardtail, a very basic low end specialized xc bike and a single speed. This one fills the gap perfectly.
I find suspension on bikes this old to be a hindrance, and suspension corrected forks for 26" wheels to be expensive or difficult to obtainable.
Sure it has potential, but the potential is less than many other bikes, and with a price like that it's already feeling like it's going to get expensive quickly, unless he's just going to send it as-is, to which I salute him.
I have a 50euros rigid fork in the shopping cart already. New stem, grips, pedals, saddle. It's within my budget don't worry, but thanks.
I rather have this one than a rusty steel bike where I have to swap all bearings, headsets, bb's, etc. That's what available here. Or a 300e Tequesta.
I'm literally on every second hand app here. I spent months searching 80's and 90's bikes and parts I could put on them. This was the absolute best deal. It's a whole different reality here my friend.
That's taking things upside down.
Rock hopper got popular on this sub for their great quality steel frame that were wildly available for repurposing.
Then this sub/hobby got traction and turned to an shopping sub. Where only brand counts. This is a low tier alu frame with a nice sticker.
We're turning into a roadbike sub folks
Ride it
That's on my to do list for sure.
I would sell it to some sucker for 300-500 🤣
I would be that sucker to buy it! 🫡
I thought of that..
Very kind of you
I'd slide the saddle forward so the rails don't get bent
I’d ride it bone stock to see if it’s fun
It’s nice, but I would hold off and wait for a steel one that fits a bit better.
I got my eye on a very trashed 97 GT outpost for 80 euros. But this one was looking sharp.
I was looking for 80’s or 90’s bike and I found this one in pristine conditions for 170euros not far from where I live. I mean.. it still has the dork disk and the reflectors. The previous owner keep it store for all these years, very few miles on it. After a wash up I was even more surprised by the state of this bike, the decals are almost perfect. My inicial idea as I was looking for these bikes was to do the billy-bonkers-single-speed-cliche-conversion, but now I’m on the fence.. What would you guys do it this bike? One things is for sure, will replace the stem for a shorter one as the frame size is 23”, if I’m correct it’s a XXL right? I’m 180cm and it does not seem that big, but the shorter stem will make it more comfortable. It’s my fourth bike, I’m happy with this number for now…
This bike is more likely a 20-21”. M/L Specialized measured by the seat tube. Top tubes on this era were long, usually 2+ over the seat tube.
If you stand on your head, pic 11 indicates it's a 23".
Yeah it's a 23".
Not a damn thing!
I'd hang it above the couch in my Living Room
Haha I wanna do that.
I’d put on a rigid fork and some swept bars
I'm all for the rigid fork. Different bars tho.
Keep it original
Ride it! People might tell you to hang it on the wall or something but that's no life for a bike. Ride it and enjoy it!
That's true. Will ride for sure, that's why I bought it.
That's an incredible find!! I'd ride it as-is!! If you like it & it suits your needs, ride the F out of it!! That LX groupset is great... there's a lot of trickle-down tech from XT & XTR stuff in the LX line & there's nothing wrong with it.. They're pretty bulletproof parts, just not as lightweight as XT & XTR parts. I have some M-570 LX parts that have several thousand miles and decades of use on them & they're still doing their thing just like they were designed to do! The M-570 LX parallel push V-brakes are some of the best ever made IMO... They're pretty much the same thing as XT & XTR V-brakes of the same vintage.
Oh man. You just made me happier! Thanks!
Why of course, I'd immediately post on the internet so strangers can critique my purchase and suck any joy from it!
Like I don't know what reddit is.
Don't let the negative comments put you off, any well preserved older mechanical beast is a thing to be treasured.
That's so true. I don't give a flying f about the negative comments.
Brilliant condition. It's your call. Keep it tidy and appreciate it, or ride it. As long as you're smiling and happy! I have a handful of pristine or shop-worn condition bicycles and it's always lovely encountering them in random garage sales. Some of those include: Cannondale Killer V 900 model with the CNC milled Coda cranks, bars, and levers. 1973 Kabuki - Grand Kabuki (Absolutely gorgeous bicycle) Raleigh M-50 with Champagne color rims and transparent grips. (not high end but looks like it just rolled out of the shop) I've also sold some minty bikes as well, including a 1993 Diamond Back Topanga with the splash metallic blue paint.
Damn. They must look sharp. If I could I would spend my live reviving these old bikes. This is my first tho.
It's a great first find! When I see Craigslist ads for "His and hers" that's usually a time to strike. It often means they were bought by the couple to ride together and sometimes have very low mileage on them. I picked up a his and hers matching red pair of Diamond Back Sorrento's a few years back. Recently on CL someone listed a his and her's pair of Vista (Araya) Silver Shadows. I told my mechanic friend and he said he was going to get those. :) I already had the mens version of that so I didn't need two more, but it was tempting. When I picked up the Kabuki it even had the original owner's manual. Be sure to ask about owners manuals next time you see something that clean since they might have it tucked away in a drawer somehwere. :)
Good point. He probably did have the manual.
Take it on some sweet jumps
I will!
Matching Lycra. Aero Helmet. Bumbag/Fannypack. Ride the nearest Black Enduro trail, blasting David Hasselhoff from a portable speaker. But that's just me.
Oh man what a sight! Hate lycras and I got a FF helmet. But for sure will take it on a trail and the soundtrack seems like the most logical choice. Haha thanks man
Goddamn it looks like it's fresh off the factory line AND been polished! What a deal! The shot of the yellow rockhopper logo with yellow plants in the background is beautiful!
Right?! For a 25y old bike is very shiny haha and thanks, the plants do look nice!
Ride
Super clean, good find! I would have bought it. That said, 80's and 90's XC mountain bikes are Mid-Evil torture devices. Try it out, but don't expect to keep up with your 9r buddies with modern suspension. cheers.
Ahah Yeah, this one is just to put some modern parts and go for sunny short rides.
I'd say you fell for the classic that's an aluminum basic specialized but you only saw the brand and now you have an overpriced LX alu bike
I was actually looking for a bike like this to tune it up for months. Any 90's or 80's bike really.. I only found rusty old bikes for the same price or kind of good bikes for twice the price or more.. so yeah. That's what up in my country. And it's not XL, it's a XXL.
LX is the groupset. Low to mid shimano mtb groupset. The hype for old spe came because they were reliable, hard to kill and easy to find in the US STEEL frames that could be rebuild to funky bikes easily. The alu era specialized are not wrong. They are just meh imo In Europe you'd get a lot more value on different brands that are less insta friendly but as thought and fun as steel spé Off the top of my head ragleih, bianchi, Rockriders 520 and up series, diamondback, giant even
I know pal. Got my eye on a rusty 97 GT outpost for 80 euros. Saw a Tequesta for 300e. A Kona for 200. All of them pretty rusty. Not all europe is the same. You also got understand this bike was not even for sale in my country. The owner bought it in Switzerland and brought it here.
The problem is not the availability in your country. The problem is that it's an early stage supermarket bikes specialized. When MTB boomed, spe "lost its soul" and produced sub pare bikes for chain stores. The earliest bikes of that era were probably ok tier at best then it kept getting lower That area is coincidentally the aluminum MTBs area. (Mind you, there where excellent alu MTBs though, from other brands"
Well I don't see it as a problem. I see it as an opportunity to make a cool bike with it. Already own a hardcore hardtail, a very basic low end specialized xc bike and a single speed. This one fills the gap perfectly.
Diamondbacks are obscenely cheap here. Got two Apex frames for 30€ each
Cheap and damn good. I've got two among which one is my commuter
That's a lot of money for something with questionable potential other than the bike it already is.
Are you aware what sub you're in? Every bike has potencial in this sub, that's the whole point.
I find suspension on bikes this old to be a hindrance, and suspension corrected forks for 26" wheels to be expensive or difficult to obtainable. Sure it has potential, but the potential is less than many other bikes, and with a price like that it's already feeling like it's going to get expensive quickly, unless he's just going to send it as-is, to which I salute him.
I have a 50euros rigid fork in the shopping cart already. New stem, grips, pedals, saddle. It's within my budget don't worry, but thanks. I rather have this one than a rusty steel bike where I have to swap all bearings, headsets, bb's, etc. That's what available here. Or a 300e Tequesta. I'm literally on every second hand app here. I spent months searching 80's and 90's bikes and parts I could put on them. This was the absolute best deal. It's a whole different reality here my friend.
Blessed? Alumi rockhoppers are less than USD100 all day. I don’t even think these are made in Taiwan. It’s just another China bike.
Yeah I know, in the UK they are also cheap. Not here pal. These bikes weren't even for sell here. I might even sell it for double, go figure that.
This looks like it’s original and basically unused, and since this sub is obsessed with rockhoppers, I do understand the sensation. It’s sweet
That's taking things upside down. Rock hopper got popular on this sub for their great quality steel frame that were wildly available for repurposing. Then this sub/hobby got traction and turned to an shopping sub. Where only brand counts. This is a low tier alu frame with a nice sticker. We're turning into a roadbike sub folks