Specialized Rockhopper 95’ and other rides

I got my final delivery today which was one of the first items I had ordered for this build, the B903r Bullmoose! They are beautiful, slightly annoyed that the fillet weld version were not available (though I’m not sure they actually make a fillet version) but they are still the Nitto quality we all love.

Still waiting on the wheel build, had a few issues with the rim availability but was able to get the 32h cliffhanger special ordered in for the build which is good. Date for the build is now the 28th of this month so not too long to go!

Am definitely getting the build bug now seeing all the parts together, but I’m going to hold off till the wheels arrive for a big build day! Trying to coincide my build with my mate who is currently building up a lovely 2004 Kona Explosive, then we can go test on a nice long ride and do the all important tweaking!

I ended up getting some Newbaums cloth tape and not sure if I should partially wrap some parts of the Bullmoose to allow for a few more hand positions? Also considering using it or some paracord to wrap the chainstay. Though I am worried if it gets wet and takes a while to dry it could prematurely rust the chainstays?

And finally if you were not already sick of my ramblings on this build, I have gone ahead and slightly impulse bought another frame to build up in the future (not too sure on how I want to take it just yet). It’s a very nice condition Raleigh Mtrax 500 cromoly titanium combo frame. Always been interested in these so should be fun!

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Sounds like the perfect handlebar choice! What colour tape did you go for?
I never have the willpower to wait for all parts to arrive, I just have to fit them!
New frame looks smart too.

Yeah, I reckon the bars should really suit this bike! It’s definitely a tough one stopping myself from building it up right now haha! Saw this Brompton build on Reddit a few months ago and wanted a similar cockpit so got some ESI curly. As for the cloth tape maybe like this Rivendell build on the Bullmoose extensions, I went with black tape but might get a coloured twin to finish it off with! Did want to maybe in the future add some bar extensions to use the stem as little arm rests haha.

If anyone knows of a nice Garmin mount that goes on a 22.2 bar let me know!

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I know updates have been scarce for the last month, I’m still waiting on the rims from velocity so I guess this builds on the back burner until they arrive.

Did finally manage to find myself a Odyssey Svelte ti binder bolt after lusting after @ectoplasmosis Marin team ti with one!

To keep myself occupied during this wait I have started a new build this time hopefully completed a lot quicker! I got the frame off here as a free cycle from a unfinished project and my plan is a run around town coaster hub bike!

I’ve got all of the parts for it from my parts bin and a few buys off of here, just need to get around to getting a coaster hub and some spokes to rebuild the rear wheel and it’ll be done!

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O~m~G. Have a similar Dynatech build ongoing. Mine is dubbed ‘wtf-locross’ and is a shocking waste of time and materials. Like. I’ve converted it to 700c... (how? see ‘shocking waste of time and materials’).
Very interested to see what you do with yours : )

shocking waste of time and materials

#triggered

Plan so far is a slightly more in keeping with the time build, I was planning a deore lx build 7x3, but will have to be on the back burner for a little while! Yours definitely sounds like a wild ride! How have you felt the cromoly and ti frame rides/feels?

Well what can I say, it’s finally finished! What a ride it’s been, from my original plan of making it into a pub cruiser for as cheap as possible to where the build is now.

If you haven’t read the original post, this bike had spent the last few years hidden away in a garage in Worthing. It was very kindly given to me due to it not having been used for some years. Despite having been stored near the sea the frame hardly shows any signs of corrosion.

The build has changed a lot since my first plans, but the more time I spent working on it and allowing myself to become enveloped in the world of trendy Bluelug/Rivendell 26” mtbs I knew this was the path I wanted to take with it.

I started this build towards the end of the first lockdown and before the second over Christmas so I really felt the effects of the parts shortages the industry was feeling. Having a really good look at what I already had and what I wanted to do I decided to go with a 1x7 setup with a Stridsland chainring. The rest of the parts then fell into place around this and I went with as many smaller manufacturers as possible (telling myself it was to support small business during lockdown, but also I just wanted some of that cnc loveliness)

I haven’t had a chance to get out on a long ride yet, but from the quick spin I have done up and down my road it rides very well. I have to get used to the friction shifting and the fact I now have 2 brakes having come from riding a fixed for the last few years.

There isn’t really much in terms of changes I want to make to this bike for now bar some tweaks here and there as I bed it all in and potentially the Barnacle fork when it comes out. ;)

Thank you to everyone who has followed this post over the best part of 5 months.

I will do a write on on how it rides since I’ve gotten out on it a little more!

Parts list

17” 1995 Rockhopper frame
Thorn Sherpa mk2 fork
Hope pro 4/Velocity Cliffhanger
Continental Contact Speed 2.1
Black Chris King nothreadset
Paul Gino
Paul funky money canti hanger
Spa cycles titanium steerer spacers
Nitto b903r Bullmoose
Crane e-ne bell
Microshift left hand friction thumbie (swapped upside down to right side)
Paul canti levers
ESI Chunky
Nitto bar ends
Thomson inline
Odyssey Selte titanium binder bolt
Selle Italia turbo
King cage x2(1 lowering)
Shimano un55 73mm
RaceFace turbine
Stridsland 38t nw chainring
Stridsland crank caps
MKS XC-III
Paul neo retro (front)
Paul Touring (rear)
Paul Moon unit
Koolstop thinline (Salmon)
Shimano hg50 7 speed cassette 14-32t
Shimano stx-rc rear derailleur

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Just a couple of re-uploads just to show where this build started!

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mate... what an absolute beaut! those wheels, my gosh!

Handsome! Must get me some of those grips…

Only held them for a short amount of time, if you can get past them being a pain to get on then go for them, they feel super cushy

Cheers! Definitely need to go on a ride soon shred some mud

Paging @Maj - a new submission?

Just posted it and was honoured to get accepted.

Hahaha nice - looks great. Looks like Stridsland is currently out of stock of 94 bcd chainrings for any ongoing builds! Hopefully they return

Yes I have a vague feeling he said there might be more by end of year. Bought this one as a factory second from his very first batch of them!

The sweet release!

Good to finally see this whole. Perfect parts selection, a shining beacon of the modern wanker hybrid genre.

Let us know what you think of the tyres, not heard of them before.

From my small ride I did today they felt really cushy, though I haven’t much to compare to bar my 32c gravelkings. They have a thick puncture layer so great for around town and the odd bit of gravel. But will update once I’ve rode them some more.

Went on my first major off road adventure this morning, what an absolute blast this bike is. Tackled everything I threw at it with ease.

Tyres felt really quick on the roads, maybe a little extra grip on the off roading sections would have been nice, but for semi slicks they performed amazing.

There really isn’t much I want to change with the bike, it all just clicks together so well.

It was also the first major outing for my mates Kona. What an absolute blast!

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Finally got around to making a frame bag for the beast!! Wanted it to fit around my bottles so that I can still use the cages. It’s definitely a great use of the admittedly very limited space.

Just need to add some padding in the bottom of it to stop everything smashing against my bottles.

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Had a lovely ride along the downs link on Saturday, looping back round to London. Being my first ride on the bike that was 5+ hours I was slightly worried about the fit, but all was pretty spot on apart from a tiny bit of seatpost slip.

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Brilliant! Was it comfy for that long a ride then? I’m intrigued to see how mine is for hours and hours. I’m doing a little bikepacking overnighter this Friday and was tempted to use my rockhopper, but I think it’ll probably end up being the Genesis 🤷‍♂️

Yeah it was a really nice ride, I mean I’m definitely used to riding a turbo saddle so there wasn’t anything new there but the position and handling was spot on. There were some pretty rough bridleways and I don’t think there’s anything I would change even if I could. Think the ride was 10.5 hours of riding in total and other than a slightly chafed bum all was well, the esi grips handled vibrations well and I didn’t have numb hands.

All setup for my bikepacking escapades at the weekend. Just need to fit some mudguards and I’ll be all set.

I’ve swapped out the seatpost for an in-line for a slightly better fit, also borrowing the fork off of my mate for some better clearance.

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