A friend gave me a (2008?) Rockhopper 29'er a couple of years ago. Frame was in decent shape, as were the rims and disk brakes. Otherwise, I think I almost replaced all other parts - front, rear shifters, derailers, brakes, cassettes. handlebars. I invested about $600. Bad idea but it's sunk cost.

Two things wrong now:
1) front forks are shot (cheapie Rockshox). Not sure if they can be repaired but replacement sounds like the way to go anyway. $300-500?
2) Something wrong w/ stability - I can't ride no-hands. The bike swerves left immediately. It's mostly okay if I keep hands on the bars but it's not stable at all if I take my hands off (ie - to rest the hands / arms for a bit). Not sure how to fix nor cost.

Should I try to fix these issues? Or just get another used bike? New is out - I can't afford a comparable bike new. Used might be possible but still expensive - $800-1200. But maybe better components and better frame? 2015 or later?

Thoughts?

Aside - billion dollar industry, you'd think by now they could make a saddle that didn't cripple you. I rode today - not sure if I'll be able to sit down for the next few days.

Normally I’d say replace but the bike market is absolutely nuts right now. Many manufacturers are operating on a looooooooooooong delay for orders as well as a recent $150-250+ jump in MSRP. I ordered an upgraded version of my Gravel bike a few weeks ago and I’ll be lucky if I get it by June/July. There are a few models of bikes I’ve been looking at (both Mtn bike & gravel bike) and when vendors announce preorders are available they have been selling out in about a week or two, some more desirable models have sold out in about 2-3 days! Now mind you this is preorders so delays are to be expected.

What I would do is this, 2008 & Specialized isn’t too bad of a combo, my wife is still rocking a Stumpjumper from that era and refuses to warm up to any newer designs and to be honest I don’t blame her, her bike is pretty FN rad. Light, flickable and happy as hell when it’s airborne.... it’s a bike that’s easy to fall in love with. It’s somewhat skinny knobbies only make it more efficient on the mix of gravel, dirt and asphalt that we ride. Fix the issues on your specialized and enjoy it.

Until the new bike market gets more reasonable I recommend modifying your existing bike. Unless you are a lucky rider and manage to find a new bike that fits your fancy AND it also happens to be in stock or it’s preorder window is reasonable.

The trashed front fork may be why it's directionally unstable. Also make sure that both tires are running true and are't offset, as well as making sure that no tire has uneven wear, or a weakness bulge.

A front fork isn’t that hard to replace. If you can build an AR-15 from scratch you can cut down and build up a front fork on a bike.

Deals are out there. I scored a carbon & aluminum front fork for one of my bikes for $125 under MSRP and this is on a model that is currently sold out.

Here’s my (probably) controversial take on the bike market. Just like with clothes, what is old will become new again as the next generation discovers what the previous generation attempted to perfect. $5000+gravel bikes look to me an awful lot like mildly modified 1990’s era MTN bikes with drop bars and short travel rear suspensions...with the addition of rigid carbon forks that will accommodate 650b & 700c tires.

Like stickman428 said, it's hard finding bikes now. I gave up a few months ago. Was going to get a Trek Domane SLR 6 but orders were 9 months out. Then I discovered off road riding and ordered a spare set of wheels/tires and went tubeless. That took 4 months to come in.

I ride my Trek 8.5 Dual Sport off road and on the street. I just swap out the wheels/tires. Recently got the bike tuned up and the tech said, "You ride the hell out of that bike. We like seeing those types of bikes come in."

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
Aside - billion dollar industry, you'd think by now they could make a saddle that didn't cripple you. I rode today - not sure if I'll be able to sit down for the next few days.

Are you running tubeless? If not, definitely give it a try because I did and went down to 45 PSI. I don't even bother with the riding shorts anymore because going from tubed 65-70 PSI to a 3mm wider tire tubeless to 45 PSI made a world of difference.

+1 on tubeless. You can air down further and not worry about destroying your rim (you can also easily air up for the street if you plan to ride mostly asphalt around your neighborhood). Tubeless tires ultimately allow you MUCH more room to play as you figure out the best PSI for you. Because of this I think they, (tubeless tires) overall provide a MUCH better ride than tube tires so long as you’re willing (and persnickety enough) to put in the extra effort. Now it wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t also mention installing tubeless tires ranges from impossibly easy to infuriatingly impossible your first few times so I wish you only good luck in that endeavor.

The veering: Your headset or threaded headset needs adjusting.

It all boils down to how much money you want to put into an older bike. Does the frame fit you well enough to warrant a complete overhaul, that would cost as much as a new bike?

+ can you find a new bike in your size that feels better. Some brands have had better luck than others at adjusting to demand.

if you dont need an upgrade I guess I would find a shock on amazon and have a local shop install it!!! Since you have money invested in it now

I wouldn't put any money into it.

Ride it until it breaks.

Keep one hand on the bar until then.

Thanks guys. I wasn't considering new but even used it's kinda slim pickings.... Perhaps because they can't get anything new either.

As long as there are no critical safety issues, I guess I can accept the instability issue for now although it makes me a little uncomfortable. I'll have the headset checked out but not sure what could be wrong - seems pretty tight to me. Perhaps if I remove some spacers?

It's hard to find a used bike that is in my size (medium frame) that fits. I've found that fit is difficult even if the frame is the 'right' size. Specialized seems the most comfortable to me; other brands just seemed a little off for some reason. Maybe it's just because I'm used to Specialized?

I'll look into tubeless but I'm already able to run my tires down to 28-32 psi which is necessary to go up some of sandy trails around here w/o spinning the wheels.

Any recommendations for a fork? I'm actually not sure I need a suspension fork. I don't do any jumps. It's useful I think for some of the bumpy trails but definitely don't need much travel. I've never really bought a fork before - not sure what make / model to get for just bumpy trails, no jumps, no high speed downhill. Just bumpy, rutty trails.

quote:

Originally posted by ArtieS:
The trashed front fork may be why it's directionally unstable. Also make sure that both tires are running true and are't offset, as well as making sure that no tire has uneven wear, or a weakness bulge.

I've had the rims true'd at REI. Good enough? Tires are basically new. How do I check for offset?

Replace the Fork and Headset with some of the 'New Hottness' and you'll have a whole new bike!

quote:

Originally posted by nhracecraft:
Replace the Fork and Headset with some of the 'New Hottness' and you'll have a whole new bike!

What's New Hottness? Is that a brand?

Take it to a shop and let them work it. No need for new.

quote:

I've had the rims true'd at REI. Good enough? Tires are basically new. How do I check for offset?

More of a problem with older bikes than yours, but it was possible to not have the axle square in the drop-outs where it attaches to the frame. If the axle isn't square to the frame, the bike is going to push to one side or the other; i.e., it won't track straight. So take a look and make sure that the axles are square to the framde.

Also flip the bike over or put it in a bike stand, and give the wheels a spin to make sure that they run true and don't wobble. As you had the rims trued, they are probably fine, but it's still something worth checking. The front tire should be centered between the forks, and not wobble, and the rear tire should be centered between the lower chain stays, and in line with the seat post.

Finally, check tire pressure. If the tires are soft, or below spec pressure, they won't be stable.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
Aside - billion dollar industry, you'd think by now they could make a saddle that didn't cripple you. I rode today - not sure if I'll be able to sit down for the next few days.

This is like saying the gun industry can't make a gun that's comfortable to shoot.

As many and as varied as there are saddles in the bicycle market these days, there is something that should work for you, and it is unlikely to be the saddle w/ the most cushioning of the one w/o a nose.

I don't know how much work you've put into fitting a bike to your body & riding style, but no saddle will compensate for a poor bike fit. You don't have to spring for a professional fitting service, but you should research it.

Like guns, there's a lot of trial & error involved. I didn't say it would come cheap. Some might even say that's part of the fun, seeing what else is out there and might work better for you. You shoot enough guns, you'll find something you like that you shoot comfortably & accurately. Same applies to saddles.

Regarding saddle adjustment, a little goes a long way. A half centimeter up or down and slight change in angle can make all the difference. It could be the Rockhopper your friend gave you is not a good size for you to begin with, but I know it's hard to turn down free.

Thanks Artie.

Wheels seem true as far as I can tell. 29” forks actually seem reasonable on prime. Slim pickings on CL and prices don’t seem much different than new on prime. But not really sure what I’m looking for. I guess fits 29” x 2.4” wheel. Uncut steering bar - I should measure what I have now. I’m guessing travel length doesn’t matter for me. Adjustable compression may be good but probably not critical. Must support disk brakes but I’m guessing that’s pretty standard as well as hub support.

Fox and Rockshox seem popular.

Make sure the fork isn't bent to side or front to back, or otherwise damaged, or something bent/cracked in the front hub. If you don't know how to do this have a shop double check. If you do replace it with straight fork instead of suspension, you'll need a fork correct for that bikes geometry. Bikes that had suspension have different front ends than bikes which came w/o shocks. To complicate things some which came w/o suspension had frames for suspension bikes and corrected fork. I cannot know which your bike started it's life out as, but I can tell you you need to know this before getting a new fork and have it ride correctly.

Specialized made many different Rockhopper models n price points. Finding a local Specialized shop to assist may be helpful.

I need to find a shop. I'm dizzy looking at all the various Rock Shox offerings. Fox is out of my budget. Models, offsets, travel, etc. I'm not even sure what's on the bike currently. Who knew this was so complicated? I have a headache now learning about slack angles, offsets, trail length, etc....