Wait or Upgrade
06-07-06, 03:21 PM
#1
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Wait or Upgrade
Hi Im 16 and i have a specialized hardrock sport it is a 2004 and i was wondering is it worth upgrading with a new fork and better brakes? I was looking to add the Rock Shox Judy and Avid Single Digit SLs. should i wait and save up and by a bike with a better fork than a RST and better brakes than Tektro. What bike do you recommend I would purchase I am willing to spend $600
06-07-06, 03:37 PM
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Your Hardrock is fine and for 600$ you can perform some really nice upgrades, first and foremost if you want new brakes get discs, otherwise just swap out the pads in your current Vs and tune them up properly (and straighten up your rim). For 150$ you can get Sun Rhyno Lite XL rims laced to XT disc hubs or something similar, for 70$ a piece you can get BB7s and for 50$ you can Speed Dial 7 levers, so for 340$ you could have a very sweet disc/wheel setup. That leaves you with 260$ for the fork, I would get something nice like a Marzocchi MX Pro, its currently goes for 230$ or so for the 2005 120mm version (at blueskycycling) or you could go with the 105mm MX Comp and get matching fork travel for your frame and save 20$. https://www.blueskycycling.com/cat-fork-accessories.htm
So yeah for 600$ you can get awesome wheels, awesome discs and levers and and awesome fork, although I would also look into getting new shifters and derailleurs (go SRAM for sure, something like X.7 would be awesome) but then you might also want to make the jump to 9 speed with a new cassete and a new crankset but you would need a new bottom bracket since your current one is square tapered... but that would be an upgrade for later (or you can cram it into your budget by getting deore hubs on some other cheaper rims, a cheaper fork and use your current altus levers or something).
So yeah for 600$ you can get awesome wheels, awesome discs and levers and and awesome fork, although I would also look into getting new shifters and derailleurs (go SRAM for sure, something like X.7 would be awesome) but then you might also want to make the jump to 9 speed with a new cassete and a new crankset but you would need a new bottom bracket since your current one is square tapered... but that would be an upgrade for later (or you can cram it into your budget by getting deore hubs on some other cheaper rims, a cheaper fork and use your current altus levers or something).
06-07-06, 04:52 PM
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Originally Posted by Chone
Your Hardrock is fine and for 600$ you can perform some really nice upgrades, first and foremost if you want new brakes get discs, otherwise just swap out the pads in your current Vs and tune them up properly (and straighten up your rim). For 150$ you can get Sun Rhyno Lite XL rims laced to XT disc hubs or something similar, for 70$ a piece you can get BB7s and for 50$ you can Speed Dial 7 levers, so for 340$ you could have a very sweet disc/wheel setup. That leaves you with 260$ for the fork, I would get something nice like a Marzocchi MX Pro, its currently goes for 230$ or so for the 2005 120mm version (at blueskycycling) or you could go with the 105mm MX Comp and get matching fork travel for your frame and save 20$. https://www.blueskycycling.com/cat-fork-accessories.htm
So yeah for 600$ you can get awesome wheels, awesome discs and levers and and awesome fork, although I would also look into getting new shifters and derailleurs (go SRAM for sure, something like X.7 would be awesome) but then you might also want to make the jump to 9 speed with a new cassete and a new crankset but you would need a new bottom bracket since your current one is square tapered... but that would be an upgrade for later (or you can cram it into your budget by getting deore hubs on some other cheaper rims, a cheaper fork and use your current altus levers or something).
So yeah for 600$ you can get awesome wheels, awesome discs and levers and and awesome fork, although I would also look into getting new shifters and derailleurs (go SRAM for sure, something like X.7 would be awesome) but then you might also want to make the jump to 9 speed with a new cassete and a new crankset but you would need a new bottom bracket since your current one is square tapered... but that would be an upgrade for later (or you can cram it into your budget by getting deore hubs on some other cheaper rims, a cheaper fork and use your current altus levers or something).
but...Sure you can drop $600 on a low level hardtail and make a pretty good bike out of it or you could just not hassle with getting all the parts and paying shipping and taxes (Chone forgot about that part
) and buy either a Hardrock Pro ($710) or Rockhopper Comp (same price). Dropping $600 on a $400 bike just doesn't make a lot of sense. It's fun but doesn't make a lot of sense. Now if the bike were say a Stumpy, I'd put any amount of money in it that I could (and have 
)Wait. Get a summer job and save your money for something really sweet - like that Stumpy.
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Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
06-07-06, 05:13 PM
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Originally Posted by cyccommute
Let me preface this with: I upgrade bikes all the time. I swap parts and put on new stuff so often that the bike shop guys know me by name and my credit card number by heart but...
Sure you can drop $600 on a low level hardtail and make a pretty good bike out of it or you could just not hassle with getting all the parts and paying shipping and taxes (Chone forgot about that part ) and buy either a Hardrock Pro ($710) or Rockhopper Comp (same price). Dropping $600 on a $400 bike just doesn't make a lot of sense. It's fun but doesn't make a lot of sense. Now if the bike were say a Stumpy, I'd put any amount of money in it that I could (and have )
Wait. Get a summer job and save your money for something really sweet - like that Stumpy.
but...Sure you can drop $600 on a low level hardtail and make a pretty good bike out of it or you could just not hassle with getting all the parts and paying shipping and taxes (Chone forgot about that part
) and buy either a Hardrock Pro ($710) or Rockhopper Comp (same price). Dropping $600 on a $400 bike just doesn't make a lot of sense. It's fun but doesn't make a lot of sense. Now if the bike were say a Stumpy, I'd put any amount of money in it that I could (and have )Wait. Get a summer job and save your money for something really sweet - like that Stumpy.
06-07-06, 06:02 PM
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When you really break it down, most $600 or so hardtails come with the kit (or similar) that Chone is recommending anyway. For $600 you can get a Fisher Tass, a Rockhopper Comp, or the likes. Add the value of your Hardrock used ($150 or more I would think on eBay) and you've got a nice pile of money to buy a good bike with. There's NOTHING wrong with your hardrock, it just doesn't make sense to put that kind of cash into it.
Last edited by Gorsar; 06-07-06 at 10:17 PM.
