In the stable I currently have a specialized Stumpy FSR and a Specialized rockhopper hard tail.

I have a Cotic BFe frame on order whoch I am going to build up using the rockhopper as a donor.

This leaves the rockhopper frame going spare…….

I did have a road bike but sold it because I wanted something more CX/commuter/touring based as the roadie was too full on race insprired for me.

I’m thinking of building the rockhopper into a touring bike…..good idea??

Im thinking, Rigid carbon forks, light wheelset, small discs, cable operated disc brakes, 11-28 cassette, triple at the front, bar ends.

Does this sound like a reasonable spec/wishlist for a light weight commuter/CX style bike??

Cheers
Col

Do you have much in the way of spare parts for the build or just the frame?

If you only have the frame you may find you end up spending a fair bit on components and end up with something not all that suitable.

There are a few complete builds that may end up being more suitable if you are spending £600-£1000

Planet X london road/kaffenbak
Evans Pinnacle range
Boardmans
Ribble cycles

You’d probably end up with a nicer bike for the job.

I have done this in the past, but generally ended up back on the road bike as it was quicker. I have a few nice offroad shortcuts, hence now building a Tripster to replace the road bike and the all rounder rigid mtb, hoping this will be the answer and have one less bike in the garage.

I have a frame,bars, chainset, cassetts, rear deraileur, chain, tyres, stem, grips, seat post, saddle, shifters, wheels but could do with lighter ones really.

All I really need to spend out on is a rigid fork and cable operated disc brakes so £150.00 I recon??

Wheels add another £100.00 so lets say £300.00 tops inc changing cables and maybe bearings/headset.

It will never be as quick as a roadie but if I can keep up with my mates on a CX bike on the canal paths and still use it to get to work every once in a while with a few off road shortcuts I think it would do the job??

I have an old Specialized HT frame that I used as a basis for a mongrel training / pop out for a spin bike, perfectly feasible and works pretty well.. was drop barred as well into the bargain.

Is it an old style steel Rockhopper? they should have mudgaurd bosses and capability for rack as well if for touring..

Its an M4 alloy frame.

I think it has rack bosses on it already from memory.

M2 somewhat modified from original intent –

If it’s an older frame (i.e. better with <100mm travel) I have some Bontrangeer Switchblade carbon forks I’ll be moving on shortly, drop me a mail if interested.

Also have some Deore hydraulics to shift which apart from being a bit heavy are about the best brakes I’ve used, but can understand going for cables.. and some skinny fast tyres (Conti XC 1.5) – might be worth getting in touch and making up a box 😀

If you have al those bits then you’ll be ok cost wise.

Narrow tyres and relatively light wheels will help. I’d go with flat bars but consider your position. If you aren’t doing loads of technical riding then get the front end low to make it more aero. Remove spacer, flip stems, fit narrower flat bars and bar ends.

You might not need all the easy gears but until stuff wears out don’t use them. Cheaper road casette and bigger chainrings may help.

I rode a bike like this for ages but eventually got a SS road bike as the mtb wouldn’t cut it on road club runs in winter.

You might get deores cheaper than cables and they are easier to set up and more reliable in my experience.

That is a far cry from it’s original form!

I have got spare hydraulic brakes but was just thinking cable ones would be cheap and light weight.

Brassneck
It was a frame designed for Rockshox torro 100mm forks
What price have you in mind for the forks?
What price have you in mind for the tyres?

Thanks
Colin

I just put 2 inch big apple slicks on my hard tail

It seems to perform very well in this role

Went for a ride with a mate on his £1800 Croix De Fer build and he was fitter than my. But the bike seemed similarly capable

i built up an old ( 26” titanium ) hard tail with carbon cx forks, flat carbon bars, 50/34 chain set and a set of 700 cx wheels with 30mm cx tyres. weighs in about 9 kilos
i use it for adventure races, trail quests and touring. i love it, it flies along nearly as fast as my road bike, its great on the rough tracks and lovely for multi day tours.
the bottom bracket is a little higher than a road or cx bike, and the wheelbase is 7 or 8 cms longer. it is very stable and very reassuring cornering on poor surfaces.
i should add that i think 700 wheels roll much better than 26″ wheels, even if they do have narrow tyres

Harvey I have thought about something like that for mine one day

Does it handle OK?

How have you done the rear brake or are you on disc bakes?

yes it handles great, i actually don’t notice it handling particularly slower than the road bike. it is a v brake frame. so – the front is easy, cx fork and avid mini brakes. at the rear i have taken v brakes and used a little strip of aluminium bolted to the brake arms to extend the brake pads to fit 700 rims . i saw this years ago on a forum, it is easy to fabricate, some day i will upload photos ! alternatively you can use a mavic adapter, it works well just isn’t quite as elegant, or use an A to Z disc adapter for the rear dropout
i find the brakes work well, if the terrain is muddy cx type going, the pads wear quite quickly. other than that they are powerful enough to lock up the wheels but wouldn’t have much ‘modulation’

i rode it last month in the gaelforce west race; long climbs, sharp descents and muddy rocky bog roads and it was a pleasure to ride. next month it goes for a weeks touring in carcassonne, it is an excellent n+1 bike !

Thanks

Mine is my road bike (1+1) and therefore I value its versatility.

(Well strictly speaking I do own a road bike but it was an 18th birthday present 30 years ago. Nive 531 frame but it seems crazy short in the top tube now)

I am tempted by 700cs. The bigger rims I think are essential for really thinner tyres. That’s one reason for currently using 2 inch tyres, they give a better diameter.

Its getting ridden a fair bit at the mo, we’ll see if that continues

inspired by pics on here I built up an old trek frame with carbon cx forks, drops, sti’s, 700c wheels, cantis, mtb chainset- built it up because I wanted a bike could ride on gravel forest tracks and bridleways to link up to quiet lanes – wanted drops because of persistent headwind riding out to the peak – used it for quite a few multi day rides and on road in the alps – give it go, in the end went to a Kinesis pro6 as wanted discs and sold my road bike

less successfully more recently took an old Merlin Malt with 26″ wheels, chinese carbon fork, slicks, 1 x 10 and flat bars – not sure if the geometry or the flat bars but its basically rides like a hybrid (worst of both worlds rather than a good compromise) and rarely gets
used

Was thinking of doing it with an old steel voodoo wanga – I bought some project forks for it a while ago so I think I can use 700cc wheels in it, and it has disks, etc.

rocketdog on here has built a wanga up like this, although he used some different forks.

Brassneck
It was a frame designed for Rockshox torro 100mm forks
What price have you in mind for the forks?
What price have you in mind for the tyres?

Around the £50 mark for the forks (they are cosmetically poor, can supply pics, but functionally sound, been using them on my second bike, a charge skinny duster for years) and a tenner for the tyres assuming I can squeeze everything in the same box. Mail is in the profile, I can sort out a list + pics.