Modernising and older bike??

JGTR

Dragged my 2007 Rockhopper Pro out of the shed after a few years exclusively on a full susser, forgot what a great bike it is

Looking to "modernise" it a bit, would a shorter stem and wider bars improver the ride or does the frame geometry need to be modern for it to work best?

Also, currently running 3x9 with an XT rear shadow derailleur - is it possible to convert to 1 X 10/11 and what will
I need??

Thanks

avalanche_expert

Shorter stems and wider bars are generally more for DH orientated bikes. The idea is it help keep your weight more towards the rear and keep you more upright as you're flying down rough descents and the wider bars give you more leverage.

What style of riding do you do and what measurements are your current bars and stem?

You will be able to go 1x with a new rear cassette and the required front chainring.

JGTR

520mm bars and 90mm stem, mainly flat XC/footpaths...I live in Essex so not much else, maybe better off keeping the triple for more range, or drop to a double

buddy_club

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19733816#p19733816]JGTR[/url] wrote:

520mm bars and 90mm stem, mainly flat XC/footpaths...I live in Essex so not much else, maybe better off keeping the triple for more range, or drop to a double

Those are awfully narrow bars and a long stem. I'd say 60 or 70mm stem and 720-740mm bars with a bit of rise of your preference. Will make a big difference to the ride.

rockmonkeysc

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19733811#p19733811]Avalanche Expert[/url] wrote:

Shorter stems and wider bars are generally more for DH orientated bikes. The idea is it help keep your weight more towards the rear and keep you more upright as you're flying down rough descents

Well that's all wrong. It's to improve stability and keep your weight lower and more central. Watch how downhill riders are on the bike, they don't hang off the bike, they're getting their weight as low as possible and directly over the cranks or over the front.

paul.skibum

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19733811#p19733811]Avalanche Expert[/url] wrote:

Shorter stems and wider bars are generally more for DH orientated bikes. The idea is it help keep your weight more towards the rear and keep you more upright as you're flying down rough descents and the wider bars give you more leverage.

What style of riding do you do and what measurements are your current bars and stem?

You will be able to go 1x with a new rear cassette and the required front chainring.

Solidly poor advice and comment there.

A shorter stem and wider bars may change the way your bike rides for the better but it may not. However, current thinking of wider bars makes perfect sense from a point of view of improving balance and if you go wider you will want to shorten the stem to keep steering easy and maintain a decent reach. You can only try it to find out if it helps and as someone mentioned 720-740mm and 60-70mm might be good option.

I would however measure up your full susser and try and match the effective top tube and reach/bar width between two bikes to make them feel more similar to ride.

1x set up is possible by just dropping on a single chainring obviously but on a hardtail you may find a clutch mech helps chain retention (I don't have one on mine and have no issues however) which would need a gearing upgrade to achieve - which is getting pricey for a bike which probably has a distinctly average fork (my mate has the same age bike). Given the terrain you are riding I'd stick with the gear range the triple gives.

New rubber is probably a good investment and maybe look for a new fork if you truly want to get it going better.

Cqc

As for the gearing you can go for a narrow wide at the front (~£20) and then stay 9 speed with a 40t range expander (~£25 from superstar), keeping your rear derailleur. Put on a top Chainguide (£15) if you ever drop the chain. That way you don't spend much money but still get decent performance as the jump from 34t to 40t isn't that big, 1x9 can work well despite few people using it.

avalanche_expert

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19733964#p19733964]RockmonkeySC[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19733811#p19733811]Avalanche Expert[/url] wrote:

Shorter stems and wider bars are generally more for DH orientated bikes. The idea is it help keep your weight more towards the rear and keep you more upright as you're flying down rough descents

Well that's all wrong. It's to improve stability and keep your weight lower and more central. Watch how downhill riders are on the bike, they don't hang off the bike, they're getting their weight as low as possible and directly over the cranks or over the front.

Not all wrong, just worded differently.

The shorter stem does help keep you more central yes, therefore further back on the bike and more upright than a longer stem. DH riders drop their chest towards the front to keep it weighted for traction and stability and their backside is rearward usually with a lower saddle position. XC bikes have longer stems to aid climbing by keeping the riders body weight more towards the front wheel than what the natural position of a shorter stem would. That is not wrong.

It was simple response which is basically correct, just not worded as well as it could of been perhaps.

paul.skibum

[quote="Avalanche Expert
Not all wrong, just worded differently.
[/quote]

Wrong is wrong.

The aim is to keep your centre of mass inbetween the wheels whether the bike is an xc or dh bike. The difference in stem comes as a result of differences in geometry - wheelbase vs cockpit length. How an XC rider and a DH rider tackle the same section of track on two entirely different bikes should not be that dissimilar in terms of body position, any difference might arise from a saddle trying to rearrange the xc guys ribcage.

In the OP's case, his bike is sufficiently aged to have an older style take on cockpit setup vs a more modern bike with the same intended use. A shorter stem and wider bar will improve his ability to control the bike by allowing him to work better lateral balance, the ability to descend will potentially be improved, the ability to climb may not.

brianbee

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19733789#p19733789]JGTR[/url] wrote:

Dragged my 2007 Rockhopper Pro out of the shed after a few years exclusively on a full susser, forgot what a great bike it is

Looking to "modernise" it a bit, would a shorter stem and wider bars improver the ride or does the frame geometry need to be modern for it to work best?

Also, currently running 3x9 with an XT rear shadow derailleur - is it possible to convert to 1 X 10/11 and what will
I need??

Thanks

Hmm, The bike will be just as good (or bad) as it was 8 years ago. The hills, mud, tree roots etc are still much the same as they used to be. Your working from an assumption that the changes made to bikes since then are all for the better and as such bikes have improved drastically. that may have some truth or it may not. Manufactures need to make hyped up changes in order to sell this years bike. trying to find out whats fashion and whats a technological break though isnt that easy. But they could have put any length of stem on back then, There must be a reason they chose that length ? Bikes haven't changed that much in my opinion, top tube a bit longer/stem a bit shorter. but the most important part is the skill/courage of the rider. messing about with the head angle isnt going to make much difference really.

I occasionally embarrass people on FSs by whizzing of down a near vertical muddy slope on a 92 GT hybrid with 700 wheels and road tyres, whilst they push down ? 24 years of technology didn't work for them ?

To be honest I be more looking at if the forks and brakes could do with up dating before I worried about the stem and bars, because they really have come on in the last decade

JGTR

Cheers for all the replies - too be honest I'm happy with the performance in current spec and dont mind the narrow bars as it makes it feel quite small and nimble compared to my 29" FS but it's been unused for a few years and I fancied having a play with it and changing a few bits - I don't think it's worth enough to warrant a new fork or other major spend but I fancy the 1 X 10 conversion, she'd a bit of weight and simplify things. I live near Hadleigh Park and a nimble light hardtail would work quite well there on the tight trails.
Jay

brianbee

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19734138#p19734138]JGTR[/url] wrote:

Cheers for all the replies - too be honest I'm happy with the performance in current spec and dont mind the narrow bars as it makes it feel quite small and nimble compared to my 29" FS but it's been unused for a few years and I fancied having a play with it and changing a few bits - I don't think it's worth enough to warrant a new fork or other major spend but I fancy the 1 X 10 conversion, she'd a bit of weight and simplify things. I live near Hadleigh Park and a nimble light hardtail would work quite well there on the tight trails.
Jay

Yea have a play, stems are cheap enough and you can always saw the bars down if you change your mind

I did similar with my Carara, and its now excellent for tooling around the woods, dreadful for going anywhere on

brianbee

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19734138#p19734138]JGTR[/url] wrote:

Cheers for all the replies - too be honest I'm happy with the performance in current spec and dont mind the narrow bars as it makes it feel quite small and nimble compared to my 29" FS but it's been unused for a few years and I fancied having a play with it and changing a few bits - I don't think it's worth enough to warrant a new fork or other major spend but I fancy the 1 X 10 conversion, she'd a bit of weight and simplify things. I live near Hadleigh Park and a nimble light hardtail would work quite well there on the tight trails.
Jay

I dint say NEW forks just better forks. I suppose its a comment on the human condition that people dont value what they all ready posses , be it MTBs or girl friend for that matter.

I would love to own that bike and would think it well worth investing a few quid in, you see it as an old nail that isnt worth that much effort

JGTR

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19735866#p19735866]brianbee[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19734138#p19734138]JGTR[/url] wrote:

Cheers for all the replies - too be honest I'm happy with the performance in current spec and dont mind the narrow bars as it makes it feel quite small and nimble compared to my 29" FS but it's been unused for a few years and I fancied having a play with it and changing a few bits - I don't think it's worth enough to warrant a new fork or other major spend but I fancy the 1 X 10 conversion, she'd a bit of weight and simplify things. I live near Hadleigh Park and a nimble light hardtail would work quite well there on the tight trails.
Jay

I dint say NEW forks just better forks. I suppose its a comment on the human condition that people dont value what they all ready posses , be it MTBs or girl friend for that matter.

I would love to own that bike and would think it well worth investing a few quid in, you see it as an old nail that isnt worth that much effort

Ok fella, thanks for your input, you have a great outlook on life :roll:

veronese68

Am I the only one that thinks a bike from 2007 isn't that old? Where's Cooldad when you need him?

JGTR

Never said it was old, just haven't used it for a while and wanted to modernise/bling it up a bit. Although saying that bike technology and fashions have changed significantly since 2007 so in some ways it could be considered as old. But it was a capable bike in 2007 so no reason why it isn't a capable bike now.

cooldad

I am well up with modern technology, thank you very much.

My latest velocipede is a 96er.

veronese68

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19735988#p19735988]JGTR[/url] wrote:

...no reason why it isn't a capable bike now.

Exactly. There may be more capable bikes now and in some things fashions have changed, but it's still a good bike. Do whatever makes you happy and enjoy it.

Herdwick

cooldad wrote:

I am well up with modern technology, thank you very much.

My latest velocipede is a 96er.

[img]<span%20class="skimlinks-unlinked">https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/28/Velocipede_Michaux-1.jpg/800px-Velocipede_Michaux-1.jpg</span>[/img]

Is that a coil supporting the bike where the head set suppose to be or I see things??

cooldad

Probably where Cannondale got the idea for the Headshok.

supersonic

1x10/11 may be modern - but is it right for you? Depending on how and what you ride, a triple or double set up may work better.

The Rookie

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19735980#p19735980]Veronese68[/url] wrote:

Am I the only one that thinks a bike from 2007 isn't that old? Where's Cooldad when you need him?

My 'new' frame is a 2006, rides great though.....wider bars than original, shorter stem than original and a shorter I2I rear shock to bring the geo into line with similar style modern bikes (it's pretty much identical numbers to an Anthem).