UKC

Right, a really really odd question but anyhoo.

I bought my bike back in 1998 at the grand-old-age of 15, a 1998 Specialized Rockhopper and a 1999 Manitou Spyder-R fork.

It's not been ridden properly for at least 5 years and after giving it a quick blast, I was wondering how much difference I'd notice between this bike after a service and a brand new £600 bike.

So, has bike technology really come that far in the past 10 years to warrant buying a totally new bike over putting a new fork on and a service for the old one?

Odd question, but there we go!

In reply to 2pints: I'm pretty sure you still have to pedal them...

In reply to wayno265:

Are all the serious MTB'ers out riding?

I've just got back and am happily muddy!

In reply to 2pints:

i built my bike in '96 and it's as good now as it was then, can't fault the GT Zaskar LE frame and XT groupset...

In reply to the inspiral carpet:


Hmm, I think part of the problem I have is the forks are shit (Having not been ridden in so long) but I cant work out whether the money spent on a service/new forks etc would be better put towards a new machine

Y'know old adage, you can't polish a turd...

In reply to 2pints: Have they changed THAT much in 100 years?

http://wordaligned.org/articles/fixed-wheels-and-simple-designs

In reply to 2pints: I wish I still had my 1998 Rockhopper. I sold it to raise funds towards a £600 Trek 6500. Don't get me wrong, the Trek is a good bike but I do miss the Rockhopper.

Why did you put the Manitou fork on it? One of the things I liked about the Rockhopper was its solid steel fork, as well as its steel frame. It always seemed odd to me that manufacturers went to all the trouble of building aluminium frames, presumably to save weight, and then they had to stick a heavy suspension fork on it because the damn thing was so stiff it would shake your fillings out.

In reply to Marc C: the bicyclists are much the same as well.. (apart from the hats
youtube.com/watch?v=kJdwzY1o7k8&

In reply to 2pints: Depends. Does it have disc mounts? If so, I would set about upgrading it gradually rather than a new bike. New forks to start with, assuming it'll take 1 1/8th headset/steerer. Then a bit later you might want to upgrade to disc brakes, which will require new wheels. But for now, just new forks will make a world of difference.

I did the same with my (slightly less retro) Kona. I replaced the cappy RS Jetts with pimping Fox Talas. Rode it for a year, got proper keen, and then replaced the whole bike except the forks with an Orange P7 frame and various other bling.

Best way to go IMHO if you think you might be keen, but not keen to shell out on a new bike. crikey that took longer to write than I expected. Now off to wash to blood and mud from my knees after a great day on the Mendips...

In reply to gareth uglow:

At last!

A sensible answer on UKC!

My bike doesnt have either front or rear disc mounts sadly, it's too old for that.

Think I might have a wee think about the forks, was my initial thoughts and see how it goes!

I just hope I get a job with a company that offers bike to work!

In reply to 2pints: Yes bikes have changed a lot.
In 98/99 I was in to downhill racing and spent the best part of 4 grand on a GT downhill frame with all the toys bolted on. I later swapped the frame for a GT LTS1 cross country frame when I got fed up of the hurting involved in downhill.

When I quit compleatly I sold the bike and last year I decided to get back in to riding but not downhill (don’t heal that fast anymore) and got a full suss trek that is better specked than the old GT and far lighter and due to the improvements in technology the suspension works far better and the bike is more responsive and all for the cost of the disk brakes and wheels 10 years ago.

It isn’t such a radical change with hard tails though and I still have my old steel frame Kona cinder cone. Pity I cant ride it for more than 20 mins due to back problems.

In reply to Dax H:

The other problem I have is I bought the bike before I finished growing.

Think I need to find a shop that'll let me test ride one...

In reply to 2pints:

You can get quite a lot of mountain bike now for 600 pounds,and definately one with a frame that you could keep for a long time,so long as you didn't stop liking it,which would be worth upgrading the parts on if you wanted to.From reading reviews GT and Specialized seem to be quite good for that.

Cheers
Tim

In reply to 2pints:

Just been through a similar dilemna with a 2001 Orange Gringo which came complete with a crap Mantiou fork which fortunately TF tuned refused to service. I had another fork from my Sub 5 which I had already upgraded so I sent that off to TF who did wonders with it.

I stuck a disc brake on the front as the new fork didn't have V mounts and I had a spare set of disc compatible wheels. Upgraded a few other bits and bobs and by the end of the year will completely rebuild the transmission. Been thrashing round the woods on it for a couple of evenings and it is brilliant. I doubt I would notice the difference with a new £600 ish bike.

For a bit less than the cost of a new bike you could get a really good fork and decent brakes, far better than the stock bits on a £600 bike I would have thought. The only problem might be the headset as noted by someone previously and a new set of wheels.

In reply to Horse:


The price a manufacturer pays for components versus the price a consumer pays means upgrading is often more expensive than buying a complete bike.

In reply to ebygomm:

True but you keep what you want and upgrade with the parts you want not what Trek, Giant or Spesh etc want you to have at that pricepoint for a new bike.

In reply to Horse:I think you might be surprised by what you can get for your money now,if you've not been paying much attention to bike trends. It was for about 800,which is obviously more than 600 pounds,but MBUK had a 28lb steel hardtail which had SLX brakes which work as well as SLR but weigh a bit more and look a bit less shiny and nice and adjustable RockShox Reba forks,and they gave it best in the test over some lighter alu bikes because it was the most adaptable and fun to ride.

I think the OP's frame doens't have disc brake tabs by the way.

Cheers
Tim

In reply to Timmd:

I wouldn't be surprised and that is what makes it a bit of a dilemna. I was looking at £1000 to replace mine to have something close to what I wanted. A bit more than was in the kitty but that wasn't really the point, I like the frame I have for the riding I use it for and that was the deciding factor for me. By the time I have finished I'll have probably have spent around 6 or 7 hundred but will have the bike I want. That was the right thing for me to do but it won't suit everyone.

In reply to 2pints:

I have a simular dilema aswell!!

How would some deore v brakes, set up to the best they can be, compare with some entry level hyd disc brakes that you may see on a new £500/£600 hardtail?

And again would I see a massive improvement in ride with my old RS judy's over some new £150-£200 shocks?

so the options are

1.Spend £400 odd on upgrades
2.Spend £600 on a new bike which will have simular spec to my old but upgraded bike
3.Spend £1000 on a superior hard tail
4.Spend £2000 on a Full suss and stop mucking about!!

Paul

In reply to Paul Trueman:
Option 3 - Orange P7 - you know it makes sense