Trying to get fit and to do this have started going out on the bike which i am taking a bit of a fancy to. I’m now trying to get out for an hour or so most nights. I live in Northwich in Cheshire and have literally in the last couple of nights started venturing to Delamere.

I’m riding a 2000/2001 Specialized Rockhopper Comp with a bouncy squeaky fork 🙂

Once i get a bit fitter i’d like to start going riding some other cross country trails but am wondering if my bike will hold up to the abuse. I’ve been looking at new bikes but am wondering if its worth keeping what ive got but maybe upgrading parts on it, or should i just bite the bullet and get a new one? I see the Voodoo Hoodooo seems to be a bike that a lot of people rate for the kind of money i can afford to spend.

Any advice or guidance would be very much appreciated.

Cheeeeers 🙂

PS sorry for the usual nooby questions i bet you see so many of.

my new bike sense is tingling . . .

my advice, spend as much as you can…

classifieds is always worth a look, a lot more bang for your buck there

classifieds scare me a little as im not well up on bikes so run the risk of being sold a nail 🙁

As long as its in good nic, then no reason you couldn’t go anywhere in theory!
– however, Delamere is very tame for the most part (Its my local trail and I love it for a general blast), and I’d not fancy personally , even somewhere like the Llandegla Reds on anything that wasn’t in good shape and had a half decent fork – you could build a decent hardtail like a 456 for pretty cheap, using s/h parts that you could ride pretty much anything on confidently.

My tuppence-worth: that’s a perfectly adequate bike for most XC in this country, though it won’t be the most comfortable. You wouldn’t get much for it s/h so I’d suggest hanging on to it while you explore other trails and decide whether you want to pursue mtbing. If it hasn’t been maintained much over the years, check out creaks and rattles carefully. And if you do stick with it, new-bike wisdom suggests investing in a good frame before components, though modern inventions such as disk brakes will make a big difference.

Maybe I will look at getting the fork serviced then for now. It’s got a Manitou Magnum R on it. How much do you normally pay to service a fork? Is it worth servicing? It squeaks (the fork) when riding like I am just bouncing on a un-lubricated spring.

Magnums are dead basic inside. Take it apart, clean and regrease with appropriate grease, and you’re good to go!

I rode one for a year, and my father rode it for years after. Never did either of us any harm!

I suggest hanging onto the bike u have till you really know what you want.

Then if your really addicted spend as much as you can on a new/sales/good condition second hand bike.

Dont bother trying to upgrade because if your already thinking of a new bike you will upgrade and then still want a new bike.

Which means you will have spent twice.

Also MTB bikes seem to be going through a particularly changeable period at the moment ie tapered forks/larger bars/different Bottom Bracket standards/10 speed/possible 11 speed/15mm axles/Dual Chainrings.

Im not sure how this would affect your decision but might be an idea to get as many new standards as possible.

Personally I dont think 10 speed will last too long it makes a lot of sense to go straight to 11 speed and 1 chainring if they can do it cheaply enough.

. It’s got a Manitou Magnum R on it. How much do you normally pay to service a fork? Is it worth servicing?

No unless u do it your self, as stated above.

Personally I’d just sit tight and buy a whole new bike when u can and also more importantly when u really know what u want.

I’d hang on to the bike for as long as you feel it’s not hindering your progress.

Most of us rode all sorts of trails on far worse bikes than that in years gone by. As your main goal at the moment is increasing your fitness rather than competing against (or keeping up with) other folk then a little inefficiency is no bad thing.

I’d have a look at the fork even if only to stop it squeaking but other than that just carry on riding and enjoying until you have a good idea of what you would want over and above the rockhopper. Then decide how much you can afford and take a look around at what’s available at the time.

rockhoppers are good starter bikes, I had a 1998 one, in fact the frame is still in my basement. If it’s the right size for you I’d go with upgrading forks & brakes, since manitou weren’t nicknamed manipoo back then for nothing.

Thanks for all the responses 🙂

ok will give the fork servicing a go 🙂

Do I need a particular type of grease. I also believe the R had damping oil in to so I guess i will probably need some of that to

Any recommendations on where to get all this stuff from?

Cheers
🙂

Just out of interest. If i was to replace the fork if mine was knackered. What is it that you look out for? Is there compatibility issues or do all forks fit all bikes (within reason).

Cheers

First there is the steerer tube.

From about 1997 to recently this was a standard 1 and 1/8th of an inch width.

Almost all forks will have forks with a steerer tube of this width.

But recently 1.5″ and tapererd forks (1.5″ to 1.125″) has started to appear these wont fit. (Neither will really old forks just 1″).

Then there is the length of the steerer, different frame has different head tube lengths. You need to make sure there is enough steerer for your bike. (what size bike do you have). New forks will have an uncut steerer but 2nd hand might have a shorter steerer. 220mm should fit most bikes.

Then there is the Frame geometry. Frames can be designed to fit different lengths of fork. Getting to long a fork can lead the frame to lean back and the steering to be too slow. A short fork might lead to the opposite.

Generally forks with the same travel (ie 100mm) have the same length this might not be true.

If you get 100mm Rockshox I would imagine it would fit your frame.

Lastly there are brake mounts. Do you have discs or V brakes ? Old forks need to just have V brake mounts. Fork from about 2000-2007ish have both, and newer forks tend just to have disc brake mounts.

Just out of interest. If i was to replace the fork if mine was knackered. What is it that you look out for? Is there compatibility issues or do all forks fit all bikes (within reason).

The things to look out for are the diameter of the steerer tube which should match the one you currently have and the length of the steerer tube which needs to be at least as long as the one you currently have, only really an issue if buying 2nd hand as new forks have extra long steerers that are cut to suit the bike to which they are fitted.

The other thing you might want to do is match the amount of travel as closely as possible to the one you currently have. If your forks are supposed to have 80mm of travel then you don’t really want to go adding 150mm travel forks on the front as it will change the way the bike handles. There’ll be a little leeway to this last point so I wouldn’t get too hung up on trying to find an exact match but equally I wouldn’t stray too far from what you have at the moment.

[EDIT]
Or what he said above ^

ride your bike till its ridden into the ground.

by then you will be enjoying it so much you will be able to justify spending several times what you think you can right now.

ride your bike till its ridden into the ground.

by then you will be enjoying it so much you will be able to justify spending several times what you think you can right now.

agreed

Once again cheers all for the responses, its realy helping me 🙂

The bike is a 19 inch frame i think. Ive determined that by measuring from where the pedals go through, to the top of the seat tube.

I’ve been out this eve round delamere on some of the more out of the way tracks and really enjoyed myself. One thing I noticed is the need for disc brakes! All that mud doesn’t bode well when it comes to braking down hill 🙂

Any advice on upgrading the brakes? Is that an expensive job?

You can get a perfectly good set of shimano deore hydraulic brakes for around £80.

you can get disc brakes quite cheap second hand and even a fork. But you need disc ready wheels honestly just save u buy a new bike.

If u do this everything else will be upgraded too.

I’m in Sandiway, so if you ever fancy riding out then just sling out.. I know Delamere very well, so would happily show you around..

think i’ll need to get myself fit before i can keep up with you professionals. I felt like dieing when i got back last night hahahaha 🙂