1990 Specialized Rock Hopper Resurrection

KayOs

BoTM Winner
Dyna-Tech Fan
I found this bike on ebay and thought it would be just right as a city bike.
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I've always wanted a Specialized and this was almost free. It was all original and nothing really seemed broken. As it turned out, it wasn't...
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I didn't want to buy new parts so I dug through the parts box and replaced the faulty bottom bracket, changed the cables, re-lubricated and re-adjusted all the bearings, cleaned and re-greased the shifters, replaced the handlebars and saddle and then I found these straddle rods.
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What at first seemed like overkill to me, after all they are currently more expensive on ebay than the bike was, turned out to be a good solution for everyday use. The brakes feel better than new. I then fitted the fattest tyres I had and now want to touch up the paintwork and fit a front rack. Then it will be an ideal city racer. IMG_20230109_131920.jpg
 
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Removing the Stickers without further damaging the paint was the hardest part....
 
Great project👍
Thanks! It will go on in the future. As I said I will polish everthing up and try to get it back to it's old shine. I even thought about sandblasting and new paint and decals, new bolts and skewers but that's stage two I think.
 
Thanks! It will go on in the future. As I said I will polish everthing up and try to get it back to it's old shine. I even thought about sandblasting and new paint and decals, new bolts and skewers but that's stage two I think.
If it was mine I'd leave as is. Lovely patina! 😍 And with a proper clean and polish it will be perfectly imperfect! If you want to remove old stickers gently heat them up with a heat gun to aid removal to help them prevent pull the clear-coat off as well. I liked the stickers, but that'a a personal thing.

As always with bikes, as long as they're being enjoyed/ridden it doesn't really matter what you do it as that is a completely subjective. Some great pics of it in use so far! 💪:cool:👋
 
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