To upgrade Specialized Hardrock 2010 Sport Disc or not

bigbadt

Hi all.
I bought a Specialized Hardrock 2010 Sport Disc a couple of years back, but managed to not use it as much as I would have liked.
During 2012 I dusted it down and started riding it and over the course of the year upgraded the following:

Pedals: from Steel cage, composite body, 9/16"
Changed to Shimano SPD520

Front Brake: from Avid BB5, mechanical disc, 160mm G2 Clean Sweep rotor
Changed to Hope Tech M4 Evo + 180 mm rotor

Rear Brake: from Avid BB5, mechanical disc, 160mm G2 Clean Sweep rotor
Changed to Hope Tech M4 Evo + 160 mm rotor

Brake Levers: from Alloy, linear pull
Changed to Hope Tech M4 Evo

Handlebars: from Alloy riserbar, 25mm rise, 640mm wide
Changed to Easton Haven 711 x 31.8 low / black

Stem: from 3D forged alloy, 10 degree rise
Changed to Raceface Evolve XC

Grips: from Specialized Enduro, dual compound Kraton
Changed to ODI X-Trainer lock on

My question is what upgrades should I look to make next...?

For reference I am 6ft 5" and weigh in at 15 stone.

Chunkers1980

Forks, then wheels.

chrisw333

yeah, forks. A 100mm Reba would go nicely and make a big difference to that bike. (put one on my Rockhopper a while back)

rockmonkeysc

A good fork makes a massive difference to a Hardrock. I only put a Rockshox Tora SL on my Hardrock and it transformed the ride and handling, saved a bit of weight. Something like a Reba or a Recon Gold RL would give a missive improvement.
The original wheels are crap as well. a set of Mavic XC717 or XM719 rims on some reasonable hubs would save some weight and they will be stronger.
If you haven't already changed the tyres then do that first.

The Rookie

Decide what you want from the bike as well, as the new brakes and bars don't seem a logical choice for a Hardrock frame.....it's a 100mm XC/light trail frame so try and stick to parts suitable for that use unless you intend to reframe it later anyway!

bigbadt

Thanks for all the replies so far guys.
I have a desire to build a bike up myself, that is why i am upgrading the Hardrock with "unsuitable" parts.
As I am fairly new to this game I am not sure what parts / frame to go for.
That is why I went for the Hope brakes as they seemed to be the best around at the price point at that time in the knowledge that i would move them onto another frame soon.
Any advice on whether i should continue to upgrade the Hardrock, or if i should ditch that frame in favour of another../
if so which one.?

I have tried a 29er and found it comfortable, but think a smaller bike may be more nimble / chuckable, although as previously stated I am 6'5"

The Rookie

Nothing much wrong with the Hardrock frame, just decide what you want the bike to be (or if you reframe it what you want that bike to be) otherwise your wasting money on 'upgrades' that aren't but are just shiney and expensive.

As a referance check out the link in my sig to my Kraken, frame isn't dissimiler to your Hardrock in weight/nature and came out the same factory, mine is built on a tight budget as XC/Trail which is what the frame is realistically limited to, 100mm forks keeping it XC, 120mm more trail (mine are 105mm).

Most on here would suggest the SLX before the Hope M4's.....cheaper, lighter and better braking.

What sort of riding do you want to do on your bike, lots of better frames, but many would be worse for XC than what you have for example!

bigbadt

I want to use the bike for trail / XC riding.
Got the M4's dirt cheap so couldn't say no in the end.


It seems very difficult to get started in this game as I have no real experience to base any of these decisions upon, so thank you all for your help so far.

The Rookie

In which case stick with the frame you have for now and choose your upgrades to suite that, only think of changing the frame when the rest of the bits are worth it as (for that use) the only 'upgrade' will really be the loss of about 400g in weight. If the M4's were cheap then that's OK, worst case you can sell on and get more XC biased brakes.

Easy way to start is to ask before you buy, you'll get lots of impartial advice on here....

EH_Rob

The main positive thing about Hope brakes is the amount that other people are willing to pay for them. My last bike came with some and I made a profit replacing them with XTs.

rockmonkeysc

They aren't the lightest brakes but there's nothing wrong with them for XC.
The only thing with upgrading is that you need to decide if your next bike will be a short travel, light weight xc bike. If your next bike is likely to be a harder hitting AM bike then it won't really work too well.

bigbadt

FWIW i don't see myself doing all mountain, but sticking to XC / trail.
I never had a full suspension bike so don't currently see that as an option as i love my hardtail.
Only other question remaining is whether i take the plunge and go 29er to get a better fit at the cost of handling. (Not that i am in any way the expert that would extract the full potential of the bike anyway...:P)

rockmonkeysc

Why would a 29er give a better fit?
Bigger wheels don't mean a bigger frame.

bigbadt

better fit on the basis i am 6'5" with a 35" inside leg.
Something i was told by LBS, but he had something to sell me...!!!

rockmonkeysc

bigbadt wrote:

better fit on the basis i am 6'5" with a 35" inside leg.
Something i was told by LBS, but he had something to sell me...!!!

That's bollocks. A correct sized 26" bike, probably in XL size will fit as well as a correct size 29" bike.

The Rookie

+1, the contact points (pedals, saddle and grips) can be put in any position almost regardless of wheel size (or no-one would ride a Brompton)

bigbadt

wow you guys know your stuff...
Well as it goes i would be happy sticking with the little i know and stay with 26er
I seem to have an itch i need to scratch in the shape of my own bike build, what would be the XC/Trail frame of choice for my size..?

The Rookie

One that fits.....I know that sounds silly, but different makes have different dimensions for the same nominal size, also different peopel of 6'5" have diffenrt balances of inside leg, torso and arm length which may necesetate a different frame size....if in doubt between 2 sizes it's usually best on an MTB to go for the smaller.

supersonic

The Hardrock frame you have. Is a good frame. New forks will make the biggest difference by far.

chrisw333

In terms of fork, if you can pick up a Rockshox Reba most can be adjusted between 100 & 120mm travel (albeit they need to be taken apart to add remove a spacer). If you get one currently set at 100mm which will suit your current frame, you can go up to 120mm if you pick up a more slightly trail oriented frame in the future. Just double check the one you get does have adjustable travel.

Giraffoto

Forks first, the standard ones are made of iron gas pipe or something similar. They're fine for smoothing out bumps in the trail but just way too heavy for the job they do. Swapping to a coil-sprung Recon saved me about a kilogram and transformed the feel of the bike

The Rookie

Suntour XC's are about 2.3Kg, Recon Golds about 1.75.......make it half a kilo saving.....

Forks are definately the best first thing to change after tyres, some good bargains can be had used and most Rockshox can have the travel increased to the max available in that range using a pipe cutter, my daughters are Recon XC, bought at 100mm, now 130mm.

bigbadt

the frame size for my hardrock is 21"
My thinking is that i might get a on-one frame and build onto that...does that seem silly..?

The Rookie

It depends on what you want to achieve....which is.....and which of the many on-one frames?

rockmonkeysc

bigbadt wrote:

the frame size for my hardrock is 21"
My thinking is that i might get a on-one frame and build onto that...does that seem silly..?

On-One's steel frames aren't better than the Hardrock, just different. I have got a On-One 456 Summer Season, it's heavier than the hardrock frame but it's better for harder riding.

forks are definitely the best first thing to change after tyres, some good bargains can be had used and most Rockshox can have the travel increased to the max available in that range using a pipe cutter, my daughters are Recon XC, bought at 100mm, now 130mm.

Thats not true, some Rockshox forks can be extended, most are fixed travel. I have had three sets (Lyrik, Recon & Tora) which were not the longest travel in the range and none of them could be extended without internal components.

The Rookie

Are you sure, did you investigate shortening the guide sleeve? The one we did was a Recon.

bigbadt

The Beginner wrote:

It depends on what you want to achieve....which is.....and which of the many on-one frames?

What i want to achieve...? i want to build a bike myself and use it for XC / Trail...am i missing the point of the question..?

RockmonkeySC wrote:

On-One's steel frames aren't better than the Hardrock, just different. I have got a On-One 456 Summer Season, it's heavier than the hardrock frame but it's better for harder riding.

My head is being turned with the OnOne456 Carbon.

bigbadt

also liking the look of the On-One Lurcher Carbon Hardtail 29er Frame

supersonic

Going to a 29er will require new wheels and forks anyway.

Your Hardrock frame is sub 4lbs and is a good xc frame.

Thewaylander

I would upgrade nothing and ride plenty until you know what you want out of everything,

than as parts break replace them, and i would take all the money i'm not spending in parts and pop them in a tin so when i truly need to get some new parts have figured out what I want not what other people tell me i want. Because everyone has completely different expectations from there bikes. and hey by the time you know what you want you could have enough to just build a bike from scratch than using parts that are half worn out from your old bike.

That's my honest opinion

The Rookie

It seems clear you don't really know what you want, as above, ride what you have, don't spend a fortune on it and wait until you know what you do want.

A 29er Lurcher will mean you buying basically a whole new bike. a 26er Scandal would be a reframe but it won't be a significant chnge over what you have now, a bit lighter for a whole wedge of moeny and hassle, stick with the 'rock!