Upgrading my old Specialized Hardrock

WalterWhite
WalterWhite Posts: 32
edited July 2015 in Your mountain bikes
Hi all,

I inherited a 2006 Specialized Hardrock that's sat pretty much untouched in the garage for 8-9 years. After recently dusting it off and getting back into riding, I decided to give it a few upgrades to bring it a little more up to date. Normally I would have just bought a whole new bike after almost ten years of it sitting unused in the garage with flat tires, but it's got sentimental value so I want to keep it.

This was it before:
vvGFIN5.jpg?1

This is it now:
7mqgPva.jpg?1

I swapped the old V-Brakes out for some Avid BB7 mechanical disc brakes that I bought on eBay:
R5Umrap.jpg?1

This meant I also had to change the rims, as the old ones didn't have disc mounts. I found a set of Sun DS2-XC rims on eBay, pre-fitted with Maxxis tyres:
ehOm2NC.jpg?1

Next I wanted to update the shocks, the originals were RST Gila which weren't great.

I bought a cheap set of Rockshox Silver 30s in the clearance section at CRC. I specified that I wanted the Disc mount option only, and not the V Brake mounts. When they arrived they had both mounts :(

4MSXWvP.jpg?1

I spoke to CRC who checked their stock and said they were all the same and was an error from their supplier. I sent them back for a refund and ordered the next closest thing they had, which was Rockshocks Recon Silver (£50+ more than the other ones).

The came the next day, and the same thing happened! Both brake mounts:

6KjWFiE.jpg?1

I called CRC again... and again they checked their stocks and found them to be all the same. They apologised and said I could return for a refund, or if I wanted to keep them they would refund me the difference between these and the old shocks for the inconvenience.

I opted to keep them at the discounted price, doesn't look as cool with the redundant V Brake mounts though :(

GtJWLaa.jpg?1

That's pretty much it other than small stuff like swapping the grips, and adding a Mucky Nutz mudguard

7mqgPva.jpg?1
B5OA4Ii.jpg?1

8)

Comments

  • buddy_club
    buddy_club Posts: 935
    How come you didn't go for hydro discs? If it were me i would've upgraded to some new XT V-Brakes - especially knowing the forks have v brake mount - purely for the idea of having to do less fiddling. Brakes aside, should be a better ride now.
    Framebuilder
    Handbuilt Steel 29er https://goo.gl/RYSbaa
    Carbon Stumpjumper https://goo.gl/xJNFcv
    Parkwood:http://goo.gl/Gf8xkL
    Ribble Gran Fondo https://goo.gl/ZpTFXz
    Triban:http://goo.gl/v63FBB
  • How come you didn't go for hydro discs? If it were me i would've upgraded to some new XT V-Brakes - especially knowing the forks have v brake mount - purely for the idea of having to do less fiddling. Brakes aside, should be a better ride now.

    I thought about hydro discs, but I wanted to keep the costs (and hassle) down, I bought and fitted the discs before I changed the forks. Plus I can still use the same brake levels/gear sectors that I had before with the BB7s, where as hydros required new brake levers, and my current ones are brake/gear combos.

    I also bought another old specialized bike (very similar to mine but silver) for my wife off eBay but when it arrived it wasn't quite in the 'very nice condition' that it was described as (I've currently got an on-going case saga with the seller for a partial refund), so most of the parts I have taken off my bike have been recycled on my wife's (forks, wheels, etc) SHe will onbly be using it for light and occasional riding so she doesn't need anything extra special.

    1hvIlZn.jpg?1
  • The Rookie
    The Rookie Posts: 27,812
    You can remove the posts (they unscrew) from the forks leaving it looking a lot prettier, you can also get blanking bosses for the hole left when you remove the post, although I got some screws the right size from Ikea for free.
    Currently riding a Whyte T130C, X0 drivetrain, Magura Trail brakes converted to mixed wheel size (homebuilt wheels) with 140mm Fox 34 Rhythm and RP23 suspension. 12.2Kg.
  • You can remove the posts (they unscrew) from the forks leaving it looking a lot prettier, you can also get blanking bosses for the hole left when you remove the post, although I got some screws the right size from Ikea for free.

    I have removed the posts, but the rest of the mounts still look wierd :(

    I will look into some blanks or something though! :) I'm surprised Rockshox don't include some with the fork...

    One thing I didn't know before hand was that I'd have to take a hacksaw to my new shiny Rockshox to trim the steerer tube :shock: Luckily it went ok though! I have swapped forks before but I've always bought used forks so they were pre-done.