revcp 

Very good eye, frantik. The burgundy appears to be a repaint, not a particularly good one, and the cream color matches more closely the 1990 color (and the 1990 fork Isa dead ringer for this one). This all works for me, as I've been thinking about a powder coat, especially because of all the beautiful examples in this thread. This frame fits me perfectly and is a keeper. I may change bits around, but I've finally found my all arounder.

KAH

85 Specialized Rockhopper cobrabyte tribute bike





I finally put the drops on my old MTB, other then I keep reaching for the down tube to shift I love it. Still need to redo the BB and get the brakes working a bit better




this page shows my inspiration for this build, thanks Nikola.
Show Your Vintage MTB Drop Bar Conversions




me 25+ years ago with same bike but most of the hair is gone

revcp 

Your bike had hair on it?

DBA

Are you guys installing brifters on these?
I have a hardtail (not C&V) that I'm toying with converting to a tourer by puting a no bounce fork on the front and some drop bars.

RALEIGH_COMP 

does anyone have a link for a 2 bolt stem like this but in a 1 inch? My current pinch style stem wont clear the curves on the drops I have. I could take pics, but I'm guessing that this is a pretty common problem...?

Lamplight

I'm using bar end shifters, but there's no reason you couldn't use brifters, as long as you get ones that are compatible.

due ruote 

Sunlite Stem Sunlt Quill Aly 2BOLT 180x25 4X80SL 58382 | eBay

RALEIGH_COMP 

Thanks due route. Trying to find it on Amazon, this is the same right? I only see reference to the steerer but no info on clamp..

Sunlite Alloy 2-Bolt Quill Stem - 180 x 22.2 x 80mm, Silver:Amazon:Sports & Outdoors

frantik

i have one with brifters (campy veloce ergo shift) and two with thumb shifters mounted on the bar kinda like stem shifters. If you are riding in the drops most of the time i recommend brifters.. so much easier to shift without having to move your hands

Aemmer

Use Canti's though not V brakes.

WNG

Here ya go...it's also available at Niagara like the original link.

Sunlite Alloy 2-Bolt Quill Stem - 180 x 22.2 x 80mm, Silver

I have one for my next project, and the clamp is for 25.4mm bars.

RALEIGH_COMP 

Thanks guys. Now to decide if I REALLY want to trade out my Northroads for drops, or go N+1 and have both lol.

Velognome 

N+1....nuff said

inkandsilver

Here's another option I just stumbled across. It is far from beautiful, but it's black and available in longer extensions. Note also that the rise angle is steeper.

due ruote 

I had one of those. It worked. It's a stem after all. But I have to say it was really ugly.

neo_pop_71

I'm running bar end shifters (my least favorite)...
and thumb shifters...
also "brifters" (not exactly C&V but very commuter friendly)...
in addition to DKG Shift-Ease shift pod remote mounts (my favorite and circa 1990)

I'll spare you my examples of the bar end shifters and the thumb shifters as they are both well represented in this thread...

here are the "brifters" on my '88 Cimarron LE



lastly, here are the DKG Shift-Ease remote shift pod mounts with 7 speed XT pods on my '88 Panasonic MC7500



Enjoy the trial and error... keep us posted, thanks!

-D-

jdpt

I am running Shimano Claris 8 speed STI. Initially I had a lot of difficulty with the FD setup but after reading this thread, I picked up the IRD Alpina FD for STI and it shifts great.[IMG][/IMG]

cobrabyte

Dude I'm honored! I must say you have great taste

I'm actually taking mine out on tour tomorrow, along with a friend who will also be touring on a red 80's MTB albeit a Spalding, not a Specialized. I'll post some pics later on. Very cool that you've had yours for so long.

Number400

Nice GT, I have a nearly identical drop bar equipped one

cooperryder

Here's my recently completed build of an 86 Peugeot Orient Express.
This rendition has Albatross bars but I will probably switch out to drop bars b4 long.

I went with a 1 x 8 for now with a 42T chainring on a 7400 Series Dura Ace Crank.
The rear derailleur is a Suntour XCE.

This bike has more clearance for these fat Michelin Pilot Sport 26x2.3 tires than any bike I have tried them on.
Also I am just riding it with a front canti for now as the rear is one of those
under the chainstay Suntour/Cunningham brake setup from that era I need to attempt
to install for the first time.

It rides very plush & is a fun bike to ride.
It came in at 28.5 lbs. which I guess is not terrible for a heavy 23" vintage mtb.

The frame/fork combo is 1.25 lbs heavier than my currently broken Cimarron.

KAH

[QUOTE=cobrabyte;16745921]Dude I'm honored! I must say you have great taste

Last summer I lent this bike to a very heavy teenaged guest we had visiting so we could all ride on a city trail together. He was a flatlander w/out a lot of riding experience and may have never seen a hill. He was having way to much fun going down the hills despite being on the strongest most stable bike going around a corner at the bottom of a hill he slipped off the pavement and on to the gravel not even the knobby tires could save him, with no off road experience he crashed her hard. I felt some blame wished I’d told him to slow down, I wanted him to have a good time and want to ride more. He took sone stitches on his arm and healed quickly like a kid should

The bike at it’s age had a near death experience and you helped save her. Both wheels were bent the rear wheel beyond truing, the rack was pretzeled and he added a few more scratches to the healthy collection I had already put on her from my MTB days. The chestburster bullnose handlebars were unharmed but added some bruises to the boy’s midsection, something I always feared they would do to me, I never did like those handlebars. At least the frame still seemed in alignment. I was wondering is it time to pull the plug on the valve stems and let her die.

That crash brought me to this forum your build and the knowledge that the two bikes I have owned for decades were not only worth keeping but both had a bit of a cult following I think a googled “vintage Specialized Rockhopper build” and found your build thread.

The more I looked at your build the more I wanted one.
I’m really enjoying this bike and it turns the heads of both commuter, hipster and lycra riders(or maybe they’re scratching their heads) thanks for taking the time to post your bike adventures. You have saved another worthy bike from a dumpster.
This time from thousands of miles away.

neo_pop_71

[QUOTE=KAH;16746513]Hello KAH,

Your Rockhopper is great... a true classic!

I'm most certainly biased but I think the original Deore "Deerhead/Stag" XT components are the best looking group Shimano ever made. The derailleurs just look perfect hanging on these older frames! The aluminum is nicely detailed and the thick chrome polishes beautifully... especially the brakes!

bikemig 

I love this thread. There are so many ways to tinker with a vintage MTB and they are not so expensive or rare that you feel badly about monkeying around with them. It took me a while but I finally got around to adding drops to my 1989 Stumpjumper Comp. The crank, rear u-brake, and front and rear derailleur are original. I am running shimano bar ends, 3 x 8. I've taken the bike out a few time and immediately christened it "tank." I don't usually name bikes but this one just the personality of . . . well, a tank, lol. It is a heck of a bike and I'm having a ton of fun with it. Here is a "before" pic and a few "after" pics:

neo_pop_71

Hey Bikemig,

I'm digging your Stumpie Comp, that conversion came out great! Nice call going with the Nitto Technomic stem, I ran that same stem with drops on my pub bike but later I swapped the drops for a Nitto made Rivendell Albatross bars for a more upright cruise for the blurred ride home. Is the photo an optical illusion or are you running rando bars? I'm hoping it's not an illusion, I've been considering a rando bar build but wanted to hear some feedback first. I like the slack angles of the Stumpie Comp, my pub bike is an '86 Nashbar Stumpie knock off, made in Japan in the same factory as Specialized but out of straight Ishiwata tubing, that geometry with the Technomic stem makes for a plush ride! Yeah, would you agree? Hey, what Brooks saddle are you running? I'm liking the long black rails and with the long stem it makes for a long cockpit that can be ideally sized for the ride?

Thank you for sharing, I'm looking forward to a trail report on "Tank's" performance! Great job on a fine build!

Cheers!

-D-

Here's the knock off crawler...

simmonsgc

What a great result from that conversion! Methinks that is the distinctive profile of a Selle Anatomica saddle.