Spesh Hardrock 2011 upgraded

tod-tony

Hi there , this is my trusty steed which I've refurbed for winter ,Its had a few upgrades along the way but decided to do the drivetrain, wheels and a new headset .Got a few bits to do yet ,shorten rear brake hose and take a few links off the chain ,but on a couple of test rides its been well planted even in the most nasty of conditions, I think due to the Hans Dampf tyres and the extra gearing has made it a much smoother ride.

Spec list
Rock shox Recon 100mm
Cane Creek 40 headset
Raceface Ride stem and handlebars
Raceface Evolve seatpost
Avid Juicy 3
Mavic EN521 rims on XT 785 hubs
SLX Ice Tec Rotors 180/160
Schwalbe Hans Dampf 2.35 tyres
Crankset Shimano M552 (off my Cube)
SLX 670 front mech
SLX 675 rear mech
SLX 10 spd cassette
SLX shifters

As you can see very little of the original bike left ,frame ,seat clamp and seat ,but hey its only money ! ,and when I get some more, those p*ss poor avids juicy's will be stuck on ebay straight away and some SLX or XT brakes that actually stop me will be bought .


Pimped Hardrock by tod-tony, on Flickr

Pimped Hardrock by tod-tony, on Flickr

20120828_082420

Pimped Hardrock

HarryK

Nice bike! How are you finding the SLX shadow + rear mech?

The Rookie

Nice how the Recon colour scheme matched the frame for you!

You'll need to stick with white brakes!

Looks good though.

tod-tony

Thanks guys ,early days but the shadow plus rear mech is smooth and very light to shift and it does seem to reduce chain slap ,so I'm pretty pleased with it so far .
White colour co-ordinated brakes would be nice ,but would sacrifice a bit of bling for some decent stoppers, got XT 785's on my Cube and they are excellent at stopping my 16st bulk. So when the coffers are replenished a bit of silver and black bling will adorn my handlebars.

The Rookie

Formula's can be had in white........

tod-tony

Didn't think about Formulas ,will defo have a look at them .

Giraffoto

I have something similar, although mine is a bit less modified - just for my curiosity, in what order did you do your upgrades? I did . . .

Replace the pedals with M424s for SPD shoes

Replace the original brake levers with Speed Dial 7s (which allowed me to have more leverage on the front)

Replace the stem with a shorter Race Face Ride number, to get a more comfortable position. This was followed by a wider bar, which was also a lot lighter

Replace the fork with a coil-sprung Recon Gold, which saved about 1Kg and made the biggest difference to the bike of any of the changes

Replace the brakes with M596 Deores, and haven't had to adjust them since (The BB5s needed adjusting after every ride)

Replaced the wheels with Hope Hoops: Pro 2 hubs and DT Swiss XR-400 rims, which has probably made the second biggest difference to both weight and the feel of the bike

So there's still a fair bit of the original left!

specialeyes

Nice looking bike! I bet there's not a lot of clearance with those tyres though, I've got them on my bfe and they are huge!

rockmonkeysc

specialeyes wrote:

Nice looking bike! I bet there's not a lot of clearance with those tyres though, I've got them on my bfe and they are huge!

They will rub the forks when you push hard and get the forks flexing. I had a set of Hans Dampfs on my Reign X & tried them on my 456SS when I first re-built it with my spare Recons. I wouldn't go bigger than 2.2" with those forks.

tod-tony

Yep they are huge and there is very little clearance , but not pushed it hard enough to cause any rubbing issues yet .Will persevere with them as loving the grip

tod-tony

Hi girrafoto ..the order I upgraded was
Bars and stem
Forks and new headset
Brakes and Avid rotors
Seatpost
Bars and stem (current ones)
Drivetrain ,headset ,wheels and SLX rotors
And gone through various tyres along the way.

BoarderGreen

Loving the hardcore hardrock! Mine only has the seat post, seat post clamp and headset left original, it's feeling great now it's 10 speed! upgraded Hardrock club? :P

chez_m356

RockmonkeySC wrote:

specialeyes wrote:

Nice looking bike! I bet there's not a lot of clearance with those tyres though, I've got them on my bfe and they are huge!

They will rub the forks when you push hard and get the forks flexing. I had a set of Hans Dampfs on my Reign X & tried them on my 456SS when I first re-built it with my spare Recons. I wouldn't go bigger than 2.2" with those forks.

they look to be about the same size as the spesh 2.2 purgatory i have on mine, very little clearance and never had any problems with rubbing, looking nice by the way

bikingjohn

Hi Tony, would you post some closer zoomed in photos/shots on the front tire/fork clearance? I've got RZ120 with Recon Gold TK and is also considering Hans Dampf 2.35. Thanks~

Super Dee

I was interested in this thread as I have just been doing a few upgrades from the parts bin on my 13 yr old son's hardrock disc 2012.

I will show him this thread.

So far he had only fitted the Spesh bottle cage that was one of the freebies with the bike and his crc chainstay protector and mbuk valve caps which were freebies from the mag.

So out came some maxxis High Rollers 2.35 which still have plenty of clearance. A pair of Easton EA30 bars (mid rise / 685mm) and some kona wah wah pedals. Finally a wtb volt saddle.

That is it for now till stuff wears out / breaks.

Great to see other tweaked up hardrocks.

tod-tony

Hi bikingjohn here's pics of the 2.25 NN Pacestar on my Cube and the 2.35 HD Trailstar on the Spesh ,as you can see not a lot clearance at all ! ,but ran both at 35psi and got lots of distortion ,during heavy braking for instance, on the NN's due to thinner side walls ,but get very little with the HD's and not had any noticeable issues (obviously not trying hard enough ! ). So at the moment very pleased with the grip ,noticeably slower rolling and heavy but at the end of a typical British summer coming into autumn /winter I think they will be suit me fine.

20120929_121951

20120929_121937

bikingjohn

Thanks Tony, I will try HD 2.35 on my Recon Gold TK 120mm when it's time to change front tire.

Bandm4te

Nice looking bike, not looking to upgrade the fork to some 120mm or 140mm action? And also loving the upgrades. And this is the only right color for specialized!

Super Dee

I am wondering, is there less clearance due to the fork upgrade or are they wide tyres for the size quoted?

My son's Hardrock has the stock SR Suntour XCT fork and running Maxxis High Roller 2.35" has a lot more clearance than those in the pictures.

justwan naride

Super Dee wrote:

I am wondering, is there less clearance due to the fork upgrade or are they wide tyres for the size quoted?

My son's Hardrock has the stock SR Suntour XCT fork and running Maxxis High Roller 2.35" has a lot more clearance than those in the pictures.

That's because Maxxis tend to run smaller than the stated size. You'll find there'sa lot of inconsistency in sizing not only between brands, but between different models from the same brand. Also, some tyres have a higher profile while others sit wider. And as the rim plays a major role in this, you can't be certain unless you try it on your wheel.

To be on topic, nice color coordination on the spesh