Identify this older Specialized Rockhopper bike
July 25, 2017 6:18 PM   Subscribe

Can anyone help me identify this Specialized Rockhopper bike from a list of some of its components, please?

A neighbor let us have this bike for my 13-year old son. I found the serial number, but apparently that doesn't tell you anything on a Spcialized. :7(

The bike has the following components:
  • Shimano SRT60 grip-shifts
  • Shimano Deore LX FH-M565 rear hub
  • Shimano STX rear derailleur
  • Specialized "Ground Control" front tire
  • black nylon toe straps (!!)
From reading through the kind of dodgy listings on bikepedia.com, I am guessing it's a 1996 or 1997 Specialized Rockhopper A1 Comp FS. Or something?

If I knew the year and model, I would know enough to make a decision to keep it or let the local bike shop guys fix it up and donate it. Everything is in good shape, except that the seat is missing. Is it worth buying a seat and turning him loose on this?

(And would a picture help? Every picture I have seen isn't big enough or bright enough to show details, color, etc., in a useful way.)
posted by wenestvedt to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (6 answers total)
 
If it was still daylight I'd check my bike in the shed :) I have a 2002 Specialized Rockhopper Comp. No idea of gear other than Shimano.
posted by intermod at 6:32 PM on July 25, 2017


What color is it? You can try googling for specialized catalogs.
posted by czytm at 6:48 PM on July 25, 2017


If it has cantilever brakes, it's 1996 or before. V-brakes came in in 1997, though some of the Rockhopper Comp FS 1997 seem to have the older brakes.

As long as the frame isn't cracked or rusty, this is a solid bike. A bit heavier than bikes today, but that explains why you still see a bunch of these on the road.
posted by scruss at 8:22 PM on July 25, 2017 [1 favorite]


Rockhoppers are great bikes, I ride one as a commuter. And that's a decent trim level. Definitely keep it if it fits him, they tend to be the tall or lanky person's bike of choice.
posted by fshgrl at 9:10 PM on July 25, 2017 [1 favorite]


STX was mid-90s components. Buy a $10 seat and let him ride it.
posted by LoveHam at 9:17 PM on July 25, 2017 [2 favorites]


Response by poster: scruss: If it has cantilever brakes, it's 1996 or before. V-brakes came in in 1997, though some of the Rockhopper Comp FS 1997 seem to have the older brakes.

It has cantilever brakes, so I think I am going to call this as a 1996 model.

The seat post itself is also missing, but that plus a seat shouldn't cost much more than forty or fifty bucks -- in any case, far less than a crummy steel WalMart bike would cost new, to say nothing of a comparable model.

With the nice aluminum frame in such good shape, this "hangar queen" looks not to have been ridden much at all in the past 20 years! I have a 1993 Gary Fisher Advance and my son & I will go out riding together on our wheeled fossils. :7)

Thanks, everyone!!
posted by wenestvedt at 9:45 AM on July 26, 2017


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