Specialized Rockhopper 29er SS

[d_douglas]

I bought this locally on a whim. I have wanted to have a SS bike (for no good reason) for years and this was so cheap that I thought I would try it out. Its an XL and fits me great (I have long legs, but more standover would have been better!)

It came with a Deore 9speed drivetrain in pretty good shape, so I stripped it off and am using that on my sons bike (recycling!). The fork is cheap but it kinda works. A local person was selling a set of SS dedicated 29er wheels for very little, so I bought those as well.

The rear has sliding dropouts that seem to work perfectly! The crankset and/or BB is creaking and annoying, so I will likely need to switch that out to save me sanity. The tires are Sworks Purgatory 2.3 and a Fastrak 2.0 rear - could use a wider rear, but keeping costs to a minimum.

It was dirt cheap and isnt very practical for offroading here, but I feel like it could be fun for tearing about with kids and/or the odd flattish offroad ride. I think I need a 32t ring to make it offroadable. Its a fun purchase for what it is worth.

[adamhell]

that looks simple and fun

[d_douglas]

Thanks - I rode it this weekend with my son and it is so great to hear nothing in terms of drivetrain noise. I love SS for that!

[Alistair]

SS is fun. I ride my old Niner SIR9 almost as much as my Fuel. Just upgraded mine from a rigid Whisky fork to a StepCast 32 - not sure why I ever though rigid was a good idea. lol.

What gearing are you running today? 32x18 is the "default" gearing, but can be pretty grinding on short punchy climbs and longer steady climbs. Out here (DC suburubs), I tend to run 32x19 for JRA and either 32x17 or 32x18 for races. As a mostly-roadie, I prefer to spin than stand and hammer, for better or worse.

[d_douglas]

ha - my gearing is 36x18t right now. Only light rolling trails. It was what I had on hand.

I actually have a 30t SLX crankset left over from another built and that would make it very offroad friendly, to the detriment of riding it anywhere in town!

There is a weird click every few pedal strokes that I assumed was the BB or similar, but my nerdy colleague at work said he thought that bad chainline could produce that. I must admit that I gave up on perfecting the chainline and got it close, then said, "good enough". Apparently, it isnt good enough!