rockhopper 29er fork advise

philipkingsnorth

hi new to this forum and MTB after a few years not in the saddle
i have just got myself the new rockhopper 29er 2013 after many years good service from my old GT Idrive
the bike is fine in the most but the front shocks are not very good ive been looking at new shox and have noticed there are a few options in steerer size from 1.5 to 1.18 to tappered i would like it if any one can point out if i can use a tappered fork on my bike as i have been offered some rockshox recon silver solo air at a good price 2nd hand. these are 1.18 tapper to 1.5 thanks for any help in this

supersonic

In a word no - it uses the campagnolo standard integrated headset, you cannot change that and must use a 1 1/8th steerer.

chez_m356

supersonic wrote:

In a word no - it uses the campagnolo standard integrated headset, you cannot change that and must use a 1 1/8th steerer.

quite surprised at that, as WMB's review suggests otherwise, same frame and headset listed on all versions

Specialized A1 Premium Aluminium, 29er frame, fully butted w/ tapered headtube, forged dropouts, alloy replaceable derailleur hanger

Headset: Integrated 1-1/8" w/ lower bearing reducer, Campy-style, full cartridge bearings

from bikeradar's review

There’s little room for argument over the highlight of the Specialized – it’s the frame. The light, manipulated tubeset is worthy of a much more costly bike, and bears a tapered head tube ready to take a 1 1/8in to 1 1/2in steerer fork upgrade – one the frame richly deserves.

http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/gear/categ ... p-13-47100

supersonic

The spec there seems to indicate uses a reducer cup with a Campy lower bearing - odd set up, but certainly not what I read on the spec I investigated. If is true, then it may be possible, but without knowing what exactly what the ID of the headset is then very hard to say as would need to replace the reducer - but for what fitting?

Campy standard is integrated into a machined headtube - using a reducer is no longer integrated, confusing literature!

chez_m356

supersonic wrote:

The spec there seems to indicate uses a reducer cup with a Campy lower bearing - odd set up, but certainly not what I read on the spec I investigated. If is true, then it may be possible, but without knowing what exactly what the ID of the headset is then very hard to say as would need to replace the reducer - but for what fitting?

Campy standard is integrated into a machined headtube - using a reducer is no longer integrated, confusing literature!

well if you don't understand it, the rest of us have no chance, but it must be possible, otherwise why build a frame with a tapered head tube at all ?

philipkingsnorth

thanks for the replies so far. it seems its a little unclear maybe i should give specialized a call and see what they say about fitting this i only asked as the top of the tube were the handle bars go in is smaller then were the forks go in at the bottom that is wider so i thought maybe it would fit. just in case ive messed up the Steerer
1.5" to 1-1/8" tapered the larger being the fork end

philipkingsnorth

Have had an email back from specialized.
Thank you for your email regarding your recent purchase. To fit a tapered fork all you need to do is remove the 1 1/8” reducer from the bottom of the headtube and substitute a tapered headset.

The tapered  forks will then fit in the normal way.

So I have the answer thanks for all your input in my question.

joe_m_24

@philipkingsnorth hello mate, I’m encountering the same issue now. We’re you able remove the bottom section and have a tapered fork installed? I can’t see how you can remove the bottom part is removable. Thanks

steve_sordy

joe_m_24 said:

@philipkingsnorth hello mate, I’m encountering the same issue now. We’re you able remove the bottom section and have a tapered fork installed? I can’t see how you can remove the bottom part is removable. Thanks

That thread is 7 years old mate!