Where's the flab and what's worth saving?

scarbs85

So my 09 Hardrock still weighs more than my full suss and really gets next to no use. I've been thinking about chopping it in for a lighter racier hard tail. This gives me 2 options.

1/ Sell it - put money towards new and shiny
2/ New frame, rob the Hardrock of components worth robbing to get rolling, and slowly upgrade/add to the new bike over time.

However, whilst I'm sure nothing is the lightest as far as the Hardrock is concerned, I don't really know what, if anything, would be worth using. The frame I'd be looking at is something like the on one scandal 26er currently on offer at £175. A lighter more aggressive racing hard tail.

The Hardrock spec is;
(Upgraded by me)
RockShox Recon silver TK front fork
Mavic 117 wheel set
Shimano M445 hydraulic discs + rotors (180/160)
new grips + pedals.

(The rest factory fit)
Frame:Specialized A1 Premium Aluminium, fully butted, formed top tube, double ORE down tube, externally relieved head tube, reinforced disc mount, forged dropouts with replaceable hanger
Front Derailleur:Shimano Altus, 34.9mm clamp
Rear Derailleur:SRAM X-4, midcage
Shifters:SRAM X-4, 8-speed trigger
Chainset:SR SunTour, Octalink spline
Chainrings:42S x 32S x 22S, replaceable
Bottom Bracket:Shimano BB-ES25, Octalink spline, cartridge bearing, 68mm x 113mm
Cassette:SRAM PG-820, 8-speed, 11-32t
Chain:KMC X8 with reusable Missing Link
Handlebars:Specialized alloy, 25mm rise, 640mm wide, 8 degree back sweep, 8 degree up sweep, 3.2mm thick
Stem:Specialized 3D forged, 10 degree rise, 25.4mm clamp
Headset:Specialized 1-1/8" threadless, loose ball
Saddle:Specialized XC, Body Geometry, 143mm width, front and rear bumpers
Seatpost:Specialized alloy two bolt, no offset, micro adjust, 30.9mm
Seat Binder:Specialized alloy with QR

I won't be offended if you tell me it's all crap and get shut. I don't want to try and use things just because I have it available and ruin a new frame with sub standard components. Equally I don't want to spend hundreds and hundreds building a top notch race machine. Something in the middle, which has the potential to grow and improve if I start racing more and more would be ideal.

Sorry for the long post, any and all advice welcome!

me-109

I'd say that it depends on how much money you have available at any one time and what your priorities (and preferences) are. If you want to swap from 8sp to 9 or 10 it's a good opportunity to do it all in one go.

Re-use the upgrades; re-use the bars/stem/seatpin/front mech if the sizing is the same on the new frame or swap those first. Run it with the kit you already have and watch the clearance section of various online retailers to pick up some good bargains over time.

If that's too much hassle, Option 1.

If it's not worth that much or you are flush, n+1 :-)

dmorton

I would:

Sell forks and frame (separately or together not sure what would net more money). Buy an On One frame with Rockshox Reba's (they do bundles from time to time). Recon's aren't a bad fork at all though, but Reba's are a fair bit lighter.

Switch over all other bits except Crankset, go for external BB and crank. This will be stiffer and hopefully a fair bit lighter.

Then upgrade other bits as they wear out to lighter ones.

cooldad

Sell it and buy a new bike. By the time you've upgraded everything you'll have a new bike anyway.

mrmonkfinger

cooldad wrote:

Sell it and buy a new bike. By the time you've upgraded everything you'll have a new bike anyway.

this one

anj132

Some quick googling came up with the weight of the A1 frame being 4.1 lbs although I don't know how accurate that is.

The scandal is 3.5 lbs. So from a weight saving point of view there is little over 1/2 lb in it and I doubt it would be noticed. I would only do this is there was a much longer term idea of upgrading everything to make a light weight custom bike and was something you really fancied doing.

From what I understand the hardrock isn't a bad frame. You could always look out for a s/h rockhopper frame or a maxlight to save pennies towards other upgrades.

Reading between the lines, I think you should just go out and race what you've got now as it's more about the person on the bike than the bike it's self. Money spent on training tools would be better spent I feel. Just make sure you've got a good combination of tyres for racing with. If/When you get more serious about racing maybe look at a better bike then.

scarbs85

Im doing a few races and riding a lot on my Trance X4. As things stand it's lighter and faster than my hardrock. It just seems pointless having a bike I dont use at all, so the idea is to get a hardtail which offers something the Trance doesnt. Thanks for the input chaps, thats given me a bit to think about!

cat_with_no_tail

cooldad wrote:

Sell it and buy a new bike. By the time you've upgraded everything you'll have a new bike anyway.

Very this.

I turned my rockhopper into a bit of a commuter / road going MTB, but with kit I could still use offroad when I want to. In current format, it's around 21lb with pedals, if I stick the old heavy fork back on there, and some MTB tyres, it'll be around 25lb (at a guess).

It's ended up costing me about £500 to do it, plus the £200 I paid for the bike. Could've just bought a half decent road bike or XC bike for that sort of money (however the plan is to use this to build strength before I get a proper roady in the new year).

Couple of points.

1. What sort of budget do you have?
2. You do realize a good number of the HardRock parts won't fit on the scandal, right?

chez_m356

scarbs85 wrote:

So my 09 Hardrock still weighs more than my full suss and really gets next to no use. I've been thinking about chopping it in for a lighter racier hard tail. This gives me 2 options.

so if you get a new frame/bike will that get ''next to no use'' after the first five minutes of it being new too ? you could give the hardrock a new lease of life just by upgrading the stock bars, stem and chainset, and if you still wanted rid after that at least you would have better parts to put on something else

scarbs85

No Chez, the reason I don't use it much/at all is because I don't see any reason to use it over my Trance, which frankly does everything better. It's not because the shine has gone from it....

Maybe I'm wrong on that? I'll happily admit I'm not the most knowledgeable person in the world, although I don't consider myself completely clueless.

chez_m356

scarbs85 wrote:

No Chez, the reason I don't use it much/at all is because I don't see any reason to use it over my Trance, which frankly does everything better. It's not because the shine has gone from it....

but wouldn't that still be the case with any other hardtail you got

scarbs85

I'd hope not, otherwise nobody would ride hardtails! It's looking like that would be the case if I tried to cobble my existing parts onto a new frame though.

chez_m356

scarbs85 wrote:

I'd hope not, otherwise nobody would ride hardtails! It's looking like that would be the case if I tried to cobble my existing parts onto a new frame though.

not saying you should/shouldn't do anything, just playing devil's advocate, nothing wrong with upgrading/wanting a change, i've had my Nerve for over a year now and i'm still going through the process of upgrading my hardrock, it's nice to have a choice of which bike to take out

stuisnew

I'd agree with others, sell the hardrock and buy a new bike. A new chainset and BB will cost in the region of £50+, lighter seatpost £20+ etc...soon adds up and you'd get better value from a new bike. Looks for 2011 or 2012 sales, some bargains to be had.

Rindle

If you like your Trance better ride it. Save the £175 and keep the Hardrock as a spare/pub/winter bike. If the Trance breaks or needs a service use the £175 for this.

supersonic

The build you have is all decent budget stuff, but all quite heavy. No one component sticks out a been massively lardy, so mostly gains will be small. Mostly - grips, tubes and tyres will knock most weigth off for least cost.

After that it becomes harder.

So gt this (if the geo suits):

http://www.bike-discount.de/shop/a58228 ... ml?mfid=52

anj132

supersonic wrote:

So gt this (if the geo suits):

http://www.bike-discount.de/shop/a58228 ... ml?mfid=52

Going slightly OT and I've seen the bike before but that's amazing VFM at just over £700!

XT Group Set £525

Rockshox SID RL Poploc £350 (although different axle?)

Those 2 alone cost more than the bike!

The Rookie

The Hardrock frame is probably the (proportionately) lightest component on the 'rock, tyres and tubes will knock a stack off, if you can find some Recon Gold uppers they are about 250g lighter than the (steel) silvers, why not go 1x9 as well for an easy 250g saving.

I had a 19" Lardrock frame at one point (bought for the components on it) and it came in at just under 2Kg, compared to a rockhopper which was about 250g lighter.

d00m

Ghetto tubeless and schwalbe Rocket Ron's in something. That'll make your bike feel instantly quicker.

abductee

I think we need to be sure which frame it is. The 08 hardrock was a square shaped frame and quite heavy. The 09 has the curved top tube and quite a bit lighter.

"Specialized dropped the big-tubed dirt jump build for their Hardrock range in 2009. Now the bikes are leaner and lighter to suit cross-country riding. "
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... c-10-39570

I dont think you'll see much of a weight saving if it's the later frame.

Also you dont say what tyres.

chez_m356

abductee wrote:

I think we need to be sure which frame it is. The 08 hardrock was a square shaped frame and quite heavy. The 09 has the curved top tube and quite a bit lighter.

scarbs85 wrote:

So my 09 Hardrock

going by this and the spec he listed says 09 to me

scarbs85

Yep its 09 frame. I wasnt looking at a new frame as an upgrade to the hardrock. I know the difference wpuld be pretty minimal with the same budget components fitted to it. It was more to do with building a new bike altogether, and wondering if any components would be worth keeping.

I should have also added, ive kept all original parts from the hardrock, so I can keep the upgraded forks, brakes wheels etc for a new build and still sell on a full bike by putting the stock parts back on.