Getting back into mountain biking!

Mertyn

Hi All,

A couple of years ago I bought myself a very nice Rockhopper added a set of Juicy 5's and had a good years riding out of it mainly at swinley forest in Bracknell, unfortunately it was then stolen from my shed by local scum

Fast forward a year, I had gotten over it and all was well until I recently moved to Bracknell forest and now live literally 2 mins ride away from Swinley - the itch is back! :twisted:

Problem: I don't have £600 to buy myself another new bike at the moment. I'm not interested in spending £250/£300 and getting myself a rubbish new bike.

Solution: Get myself a nice oldschool MTB! The thing is I have very little experience with older bikes and was hoping for some advice.

I got a idea in my head that i'd like a steel framed bike - I just missed out on a Kona LavaDome 1990 on ebay which i'm gutted about. I don't mind about having V brakes, and would consider even forgoing front suspension, what i'm looking for is a quality hardback frame that in time I could add to (front sus in the future maybe). I don't mind it looking tatty (anti theft device!) as long as it is a good bike!

Would a Lavadome have been a good idea or would I be shocked after being spoiled on the rather nice Rockhopper?

Does anyone have any suggestions for models I should look at? I loved the geometry of the Rockhopper, nice and agressive and fun to ride

Or is this a pipedream? should I just save my pennies and get a new bike when I can eventually afford it...

Sorry about the longwinded post.

Cheers,
Martin

cooldad

Have a look at the forums on Retrobike. Normally plenty for sale, and lots of advice.
http://www.retrobike.co.uk/

I have a 1988 Rockhopper, probably a bit more retro than you want though - canti front and chainstay mounted U brake rear.

Mine only cost £34 delivered on Ebay though, and that included a tasty almost new set of DMR V8 pedals which went on my more modern MTB.

Mertyn

£34 is definitely in my price range! I'm not against a bike that old, as long as it can stand up to a little bit of XC action!

Are the old rockhoppers any good then?

I have to admit I probably only used 50% of my rockhoppers potential so I really don't think I need something as good as that, i'm looking for a fun hack bike

cooldad

I sometimes use it around Swinley or SH - pretty hard work compared to a modern, and gets interesting on the really rutted rooty stuff, but still fun.

I'd keep an eye on Ebay, - you could probably get a decent couple of year old Rockhopper or similar for a couple of hundred. Not rubbish, and more than enough to have good fun on.

Mertyn

Just found this Cindercone on Retrobikes (great suggestion btw)
http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=120911

Not a bad idea to look for a few year old Rockhopper, i'm surprised how hard it actually is to find bikes that are more than 2/3 years old, they seem to all disappear after that!

I'm not sure if you'd know, but have the sizings on the rockhoppers changed much over the years? I used to ride a 19" which fitted my like a glove but I don't want to assume they they are all the same obviously!

I can imagine that the roots aren't much fun with no suspension...

cooldad

Or this Rockhopper - Front Sus and £100 from Guildford.
http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=121432
and original sale and pics here:
http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewto ... rockhopper

Spec on that Kona is much better - depends on your size.
You can normally go slightly bigger on the older bikes as the bottom brackets tend to be lower.

Still easy enough to have a look in Guildford, good enough to have a bit of fun and decide if you want to spend more, and should be easy enough to get your money back.

Mertyn

Cooldad you read my mind!

I was just looking at that rockhopper - looks great! not a fan of the bar ends other than that, awesome!

I don't know much about the older forks that had to be pumped up, are they actually any good or more pain than they are worth? it seems its a 1 1/8" so technically if I wanted I could upgrade to a modern fork in the future, is that right?

Might be worth a trip over to Guildford!

cooldad

If they are 1 1/8 but threaded - upgradable, but to put modern forks on you'd need a new headset, stem etc. For the time the forks were cutting edge - most cheapies (and they are pretty low end) were elastomers or undamped/badly damped springs.(rubber bands basically).

I wouldn't head off down a monster mountain, but fine for a bit of light XC or singletrack. Would be fine for most of Swinley I reckon.

Looks in decent condition.

But bear in mind bikes have come a long way since then.

My particular oldie, mainly used for popping to the shops:

cooldad

Worth thr trip but don't discount a decent modern of Ebay. Some real bargains (and rip offs) to be had.

If you come right and get to Swinley give us a shout, we ride there quite often.

diy

I picked my mrs up a 2008 Rockhopper pro in good nick for £345 off ebay a couple of weeks ago. Its a good time to buy.

Personally I would avoid anything too oldskool as you will find it hard to fit upgraded parts etc. Simple things like headsets, forx, brakes etc. are quite hard to get on older bikes.

There are a lot of Cycle2work bikes which have sat in a garage or shed for 2 years.

For some reason old bikes go at a premium that isn't matched by the performance.

weeksy59

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Specialzed-hardro ... 230b1370fa

You could do worse than that.

This isn't too far a drive for you.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Specialized-hardr ... 2eb0aaa376

The Rookie

We got a Carrera Vulcan of ebay - 2009 - just needed wheels/tyres, so for £105 we have a 1 year old bike with 3 year old wheel/tyre discs.

With ebay patience is a virtue, I have a pub bike that is a reasonably competant (for a PB) Townsend steel framed MTB, cost me £5.50!

Simon

Mertyn

Hi guys,

Thanks for all the feedback! Might be worth me saving up a few hundred quid to get hold of a more modern bike.

Weeksey59 - Both nice bikes, but unfortunately i'm a 19 inch frame

Cooldad - I love your old rockhopper, very cool!

I definitely have a soft spot for an older bike now, but I do need to remember that they are essentially a tool to enjoy our sport, so I shoudl get the best I can I guess!

cooldad

diy wrote:

I picked my mrs up a 2008 Rockhopper pro in good nick for £345 off ebay a couple of weeks ago. Its a good time to buy.

Personally I would avoid anything too oldskool as you will find it hard to fit upgraded parts etc. Simple things like headsets, forx, brakes etc. are quite hard to get on older bikes.

There are a lot of Cycle2work bikes which have sat in a garage or shed for 2 years.

For some reason old bikes go at a premium that isn't matched by the performance.

Quite simple - oldies who couldn't afford them at the time having a mid life crisis.

cooldad

weeksy59 wrote:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Specialzed-hardrock-pro-/150509678842?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item230b1370fa

You could do worse than that.

This isn't too far a drive for you.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Specialized-hardr ... 2eb0aaa376

Lots of decent deals in that price range.

Mertyn

Quick question - What sort of price would you guys think this is worth?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SPECIALIZED-ROCKHOPPER-MENS-MOUNTAIN-BIKE-NO-RESERVE-/220683403100?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item3361c17f5c

weeksy59

http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12737284

make him an offer on this.

benpinnick

Mertyn wrote:

Quick question - What sort of price would you guys think this is worth?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SPECIALIZED-ROCKHOPPER-MENS-MOUNTAIN-BIKE-NO-RESERVE-/220683403100?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item3361c17f5c

£70 > £80