Dablk's 1988 Rockhopper

Been away from builds for a few years now as back problems have stopped much retro riding. Lockdown however got boring and I started to look again.

I made a couple of rules. Got to be cheap and I'm no longer traveling the country picking them up. Found a 94 EG Marin round the corner but it's a bit small. Also picked up a M-Trax Ti-1000, a bike I used to ride in 2000 but that didn't float my boat building it.

The 4 Year old the other day asked me if I ever had a yellow bike. I said no but then explained to a confused child why my 07 Cotic Soul was ordered yellow and arrived black. That night on eBay, sticking to my local searches this appeared in the required Gate size



Looked ok, so I pulled the a £40 trigger a few days later.
I have never ventured this old. I'm sure there is a reason why u brakes didn't catch on. Sill its not really going to see much mud. It looked like it was pretty chilled on the angles for bombing about on and the fact its not really anything wildly expensive suits its use to the shops.

Most of the bits look like they will clean up ok





The advert did say the gears needed adjusting best get started..

Lovely, everything looks ready for urban riding. Looking forward for updates.
The way chain is routed is just hilarious, wonder what would happen if you start pedaling.

Cheers,
Yeah initial tune went well and its already started bombing about the place

Picked up a 26.4 post and had a a Turbo kicking about.



Found the specs in the Archives. Its a not a Comp, so Shimano Exage Mountain.





Got the team on cleaning what looks like 32 year old thick greasy mud.


The kit looks pretty good on it. I get the feeling this frame might just have had a hard life getting dumped against stuff.

The wheels on this are actually really nice, on the correct hubs but not OEM. Might have bagged some Araya's in Manc. Think 32 year old crossroad 2 tyres might be a tough find.

So did get some cheap Araya MP-22 wheels on 88 Exage Mountain Hubs from a nice lad in Manchester. What I wasn't expecting is that they where all off.. an 88 rockhopper.



They had tyres.. original crossroad II tyres, the advert was honest on their condition and I wish I could say I totally lucked out but they where shot. Pretty sure rubbing the sidewall off with your finger is a final nail in any dry tyre coffin.



He still had these thought from that 88 bike so I grabbed them for refurbing.



So never gone back as far as 88 so uniglide was a new experience, one requiring a 2nd chain whip. Still the fight with the cassette was won and it came off after a few nights of WD soaking.

Front hub was stripped and cleaned and new bearings ordered for both. Waiting on a 15mm cone spanner to strip the rear.

The rims aren't mint but I' m not build a totally Nos bike. Front have some scuffs and rear some tarnish.



Still after a de-lace and a bit of rubbing with autosol they came back nice.



Will continue hunting for Specialized Crossroad 2's but in the mean time saw these panaracers and thought they might serve/look well for urban duties this bike is destined for.



Order in with Spa Cycles for some new spokes

Its been a while.

Sapim Leader spokes landed from SPA and the wheels are now laced which went well considering 32 year old used rims and hubs.

The decal hunt has been trickier than expected so have adjusted my expectations. I'm not too worried about 100% authentic, just a sympathetic restoration. For interest its the rattle can effect on the lettering shadow that's currently just solid in my options.

One slight deviation is the BB as the seals are shot so I'm going to go with a brand new Un300. The bb threads where still minty clean which was a nice surprise.

The headset is beyond cosmetically salvaging. So a suitable replacement is the next hunt.