Specialized Rockhopper 29er SS

[Alistair]

For your use case, that Carver is a solid bet. It should ride better than the steel forks you listed (should, I haven’t ridden any of those). The Kona Unit fork might be good too. The Surly is probably over-built to support all those mounts.

The other option, for a bit more money, is finding a replacement suspension fork. You’ll probably have to rebuild it, but that’s usually not too hard or expensive. Probably looking at $300-400 all-in for a decent used SID or similar. Or maybe your current fork can take upgraded/newer internals? That’s often the case with some models, but takes a bit of research.

[d_douglas]

Thabks for the feedback - I am pretty intent on a rigid fork. This fork has thrown me off! I suppose I could find a good quality old fork, but I definitely want something better quality than the Tora…

[d_douglas]

PS does anyone know the year of this bike? I cannot find it online. There’s been many years and models of Rockhoppers!

[Alistair]

Looks like a 2010.

https://www.specialized.com/us/en/ro...or=32908-23081

[d_douglas]

Nope! No sliding dropouts

EDIT: here it is:

https://www.specialized.com/ca/en/ro...or=24304-21999

This is how I got it, basically. 2008.

[d_douglas]

Just following up on this, for a Tora 318SL fork (on the link above), will a fork like a Kona Project two with a 470mm AC be appropriate to maintain the ride quality of this bike? I know the HT will be steepened, but not too much to mess up the handling.

[d_douglas]

Bump - any geometry pros who can comment on this before I buy anything?

[pwgoode]

Originally Posted by d_douglas

Bump - any geometry pros who can comment on this before I buy anything?

A 470mm AC fork should work just fine. I've been riding singlespeed mountain bikes for over 20 years including rigid forks for some of that time. I've used 470 mm AC rigid forks on bikes from that era that were spec'd for both 80 mm and 100 mm travel forks. Worked just fine. I did have Stumpjumper from the same time that I converted to SS. Really enjoyed it, but it did have a suspension fork. I also had a Specialized Crave singlespeed that came with a rigid fork. It was a great mountain bike for trails and I still use it as a commuter. Looks like a fun bike you have there.

[d_douglas]

Thanks! My buddy buying the Carver hardtail had them throw a carbon fork in the box for me, so I went bling . Still decently cheap and they have a good reputation…