Originally Posted by
35mm
If this has been suggested and I missed it, my apologies...
You might check out the drop bar MTB conversion thread over on C&V. There are some amazing bikes over there, not vastly different than yours, that have been set up for everything from singletrack to commuting to touring. Your frame is set up with eyelets to allow fenders, a rack, etc. so you can build it up to suit you.
I know you don't intend to do everything at once, and you may not have a clear vision yet of the Hardrock's ultimate configuration. That's fine; just realize you have a really, really good foundation upon which to build. Short of going really, really fast, you can make this bike into whatever you want - including a "trip up the coast" tourer.
Sorry, cant multi quote both yours and her comment I guess. Only yours popped up, but anyway...
Denise, this is the thread if you want to check it out!
http://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...nversions.html
Its really great, and long lol I read through the entire thing and was in the process of doing this to my own hardrock but then i found my road bike and decided not to. Plus the size of my hardrock, I wasnt sure if it would work. This thread has a couple hardrocks, and other specialized mtbs in it too, plus some great ideas. There is of course the touring forum also which is fun to look through.