198? Rock Mountain Hammer

[Retro_Roy]

hi all
picked this rocky mountain hammer up on the weekend. after my stratos thread where someone mentioned that u-brakes on the underside of the chainstay was gone by 1989 i knew this was an oldie. and it was so cheap i had nothing to loose so i bought it. it is also an 18 speed. needs a little TLC but i think will clean up nicely. i looked in the RB archives, with no luck identifying what year it may be. either i missed it or it's older than 1987. does anyone have a clue? or better yet one like it. i'm curious to see how original it is. can take more pictures if anyone wants to see something specific.
thanks
roy

 

[Retro_Roy]

more pictures.

 

[bagpipes]

It's either an 88 Fusion upgraded to the component specs of the 89 or an 89 Fusion painted to the 88 colour specs. Here's the reason why it's not a Hammer and why I know those are not the original stickers.

The reason I say it's been re-stickered is because those decals are from 90 to roughly 99. Rocky didn't make any bikes with u-brakes past 89. The "hammer" sticker from the factory is always near the bars and not the seat. In 87-89 (the u brake years) the only sticker near the seat tube would be in reference to the paints or the welder as seen on the higher end bikes. All of the other stickers on the bikes of those years are very different font.

In 87, the only Rocky MTB that was made with a u brake was the Blizzard. I have one of those and the dropouts and seat collar lug is completely different.

In 88 the Hammer dropouts, seat tube collar and cable routing are very different. (I have pics of those too and they also have canti brakes) The Tantalus, Blizzard, Wedge and Avalanche are completely different birds altogether and the Stratos is the wrong frame material. The Fusion matches the colours but not the component specs.

In 89 all above for 88 still applies but the Fusion component specs match what you have - the paint options don't. (I can't tell if that's a bio-pace ring on your bike, not likely as they were not great and people changed them out over the years OR the bio pace decal fell off).

In my honest opinion; and given where you live, (that being Vancouver) it's likely that the bike was repainted in the 90's and the owner couldn't get the original decals. I'm guessing that Rocky had some Hammer decals and the owner opted to put those on instead. (very common for Rocky owners to do in the early 90's)

Based on the cable routing, u brake, dropouts etc, it fits the bill for an 89 Fusion that was repainted. It's a cool find and you said it was cheap so you can't go wrong.

Sorry for all that. Perhaps someone can tell me I'm wrong and fill us both in. I'm never too proud to admit an error; but I do think I'm right on this one. If you look the Rocky catalogs for those years you'll see what I'm getting at. (if you can't find them just send me your email address and I'll forward you some copies)

 

[Retro_Roy]

hi bagpipes
thanks for all that. very interesting. i will do some comparing in the catalogues tomorrow and see what you were talking about. i did notice the hammer sticker in the `wrong' place compared to other rockies on the forum. bike does have bio-pace rings. it's too bad it isn't a hammer. just a lowly fusion you think. i have to admit, paint looks pretty original. i find it hard to believe someone would go to the time and trouble to do up such a low end bike. (no offence fusion owners) especially back then. today they are collectable. i can find no runs etc. telltale hints of respray. also where there is chipping no other colour underneath. so the colour match is near on perfect. yes was VERY cheap. the XT pedals are probably worth more than i paid. i'll clean it up and ride it in style.
thanks again
roy

 

[Anthony]

It hadn't occurred to me that it might be a Fusion until Bagpipes suggested it, but it does seem very plausible, and I was already thinking either 88 or 89. It can't be a Hammer unless some of them were made without the lugs at the head tube shown in the brochure.

Judging from the brochures, there is no reason for you to feel disappointed nor to use terms like 'lowly'. It appears that if anything the Fusion was higher in status than the Hammer at that time. Both were imported, but with a suggestion that the Fusion was lighter and the Hammer the sturdier of the two. The 1989 brochure says the Fusion was made of butted cromo throughout, but it doesn't say that the Hammer was made of butted tubes. If it was an 88, then both were double-butted, but while the Fusion was made of Tange tubing, the Hammer tubeset wasn't specified.

It might be instructive to know the serial number of the frame.