Hi Folks,

I would appreciate your thoughts on something. I've got a nice, light, fast and sporty hybrid for summer commuting. I'd like a second bike for winter commuting and trails and I am thinking of doing a Free Radical conversion with the second bike. There is a 1997 Specialized Hardrock advertised in a nearby town for $210. The older specialized bikes appeal to me. I like the way they look and it seems to say good things about them that there are so many still around ten years and more after they were manufactured.

I'm not car-free but car-light and live in a very hilly area with all four seasons. And, I'm on a budget (isn't everyone).

Question one, is this a good choice for a second bike for me? I've looked around on the net trying to determine what this bike might be worth and haven't found much. Which leads to the second question, what is a good price for this bike (details below)?

I hope I've given you enough information. Thanks so much for your thoughts.

1997 Specialized Hardrock
Chromoly frame
Shimano cantelever brakes
Shimano-Altus front and rear derailer
Sram 21 speed gripshift
Weinman aluminum 26x1.5 wheels
Specialized Crossroads 3 26x1.95 tires
Avocet cyclometer 15
Specialized contour seat with anodized black seat post
rear tire mud fender added extra

$210 is pricey for a '97 Hardrock in my opinion. D0 you have a craigslist in your area? Like this one a few years old for $200. If you don't have CL maybe hit yardsales. I think you can do much better for the price.

Good luck and let us know what you get!

It is on the pricey side, but if it is in great shape I think it's something I would do. I also like the look from the cl ad in the previous post. I own a 2002 alu hardrock that is bombproof -- I bet its steel predecesor would make a great mtb and room to upgrade

I have a 98 hardrock, basically just the frame now, and I would say 210 is a bit much unless it's in great shape. The components and wheels just aren't that great. I would think you could get the same for less $$ or a little better for around the same $$. Mine is aluminum and a little different, but it sounds like the component spec is the same.

2006 Hardrock Sports with similar (Actually a bit better) specs went for 350 or so brand new. Keep that in mind.

Also, SFS Tubing is not CRMO. Keep that in mind and look carefully. I got bit on an old crossroads frame because I made that assumption.

Keep an eye out on craigslist, or if you really w3ant to get tricky about it, this last winter I grabbed one of those CRMO Bikenashbar frames for 50$ and with some careful shopping had it built very nicely for not a lot of money. Plus the fun of building it up from scratch.

Edit: For that matter, in the 200-300 range you might be better suited by something like, say, a brand new Raleigh. A Mojave 2.0 will run about 250 MSRP, and would have a warranty on the frame and everything. 350 would get you a new Mojave 4.0 with Disc brakes and much better components than the Hardrock mentioned.

I always say, if you know what to buy you can get more bike for your dollar inflation adjusted than ever before. A few years ago double wall rims and disc brakes on a 350$ bike would be rather outlandish.

$210's a bit steep for that. That said the late 90's Cromo Hardrocks are nice frames. My 1999 has served me well since I bought it as a "last years" model back in 2000

I bought a similar bike (Specialized Hardrock GX, but might have been a 96) for my wife on ebay for $100.

$210 is definately too much for that bike. JUst wait, and another bike will come along at a much better price. They always do.

I'd agree with the above. I found a 2000 Hardrock (CrMo frame, rigid fork) for $60 at a garage sale, hardly used. I put new tires on it, lubed and adjusted it, used it a couple times on some local trails, then sold it this spring for $150. I think I was lucky to sell it for that, as the buyer was the only one to contact me after it had been listed for 1 week on the NYC metro area CL (an inflated market).

Personally, however, I think $150 was a fair price for it (and my initial buy was a steal). It's a very well built, solid bike and a nice looking frame. But hardtail, rigid fork MTBs have to be lugged to sell well. Either wait for something else to come along, as mentioned above, or talk the seller down.

1997, thats an oldy, If properly maintained the new ones are real good bikes, I love mine.
I use it to pull and haul, I got only 2 complaints, it is a hard rider and it makes me want a road bike.
I would wait for a newer one, then fend for some road tires for it.

I paid $100 for mine and stripped it and upgraded with 8 speed LX/XT components I ebayed. It's a good solid frame and with a set of fenders I use it for my winter beater/foul weather bike.

Someone said it was SFS tubing, Raiyn you say Cromo- what's the difference and which is it on this bike. I am unsure what SFS is.

BTW- I like the stealth reflectors Raiyn. Where do I get some of those?

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts on the Hard Rock. I offered the seller $100 and he wasn't interested. Yesterday, while helping someone move, I scored a Rock Hopper, age unknown (to me at least). It has some rust on the drive train, seat is torn up and the tires are poor, but I think it's a good candidate for upgrade.

But that's another post.

Again, thanks so much for the good advice!