http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SPECIALIZED-GENTS-ROCK-HOPPER-MTB-19INCH-FRAME-RARE-HARDTAIL-/250912139038?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item3a6b87671e#ht_500wt_1204

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Specialised-Rockhopper-Mountain-Bike-Very-Rare-Nitanium-Model-/320776667930?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item4aafc7831a#ht_500wt_1204

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Specialized-Rockhopper-Mountain-Bike-/280756156229?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item415e5ef745#ht_500wt_1204

So rare infact that there are three on ebay all at the same time! Im looking because it was my first proper mtb so the is an element of nostagia, i wish i had never sold it.

3rd one must be much rarer as it’s a different colour

First one does look in good nick,but a £450 starting price seems a bit OTT.

Nitanium?!

Unobtanium 😉

I used to sell them when I worked in a shop in South West London, we were one of the few shops of the group that sold lots of steel ones. Good bikes, in fact that was a good year for SBC. Man, I miss working in cycle shops 🙁

Neil ,what is the frame made of then ?

got a 2004 frame you can have, very rare example

As far as I can remember they were tange prestige (definately tange but may not have been prestige)

They did indeed have a sticker saying “Nitanium” on the seat tube.

I used to have one of them. I think “Nitanium” is just CroMo. They weren’t expensive bikes, there’ll be nothing too exotic about them.

obvious not worth what he’s asking but nice frames. I particularly like the middle one the steel tubes with the silvery blue looks really good.

used to have a 1996 Rockhopper. i gave it to a mate in Zurich and the last time i saw it it was tied up to the fence outside the Starbucks at Central in Zurich.

No-tanium more like! Its a joke price. Nostalgia is a funny thing, I sold my Timberline and missed it like hell for no good reason. The guy who bought it came to show it to me once. i didnt recognise it at all and he hadnt done anything but take care of it, same bike, same components etc. Nostalgia? more like neuralgia! 😉

Probably genuine sellers. My otehr halfs brother has a giant frame that he was told was worth a grand and ‘limited edition’. He still won’t believe me when I say it’s just cheap tat!

Ritchey Nitanium ?

Niobium is an effective microalloying element for steel. Adding niobium to the steel causes the formation of niobium carbide and niobium nitride within the structure of the steel.[20] These compounds improve the grain refining, retardation of recrystallization, and precipitation hardening of the steel. These effects in turn increase the toughness, strength, formability, and weldability of the microalloyed steel.[20] Microalloyed stainless steels have a niobium content of less than 0.1%.[47] It is an important alloy addition to high strength low alloy steels which are widely used as structural components in modern automobiles.[20] These niobium-containing alloys are strong and are often used in pipeline construction.

*wikipedia

yeah im not sure why i want one again as at the time i wanted something lighter that had a disk mount. I seem to remember paying somewhere between 400-500 pounds new so the price is pretty comical!

Golden Stumpy 007 by Pablo’s Feet, on Flickr

Mmmm, Nitanium!

I had one of those rockhoppers, err a 2000 or 2001 model…black frame. £450, fully rigid, mix of lx and xt bits…oh and some deore shifters which are still going strong having been on a fw bikes since….currently a ti456.

Nice frame, but nothing special.