Submitted by
Jon
a Cross Country Rider
from westminster colorado usa
Date Reviewed: December 2, 2010
Strengths: The strengths are its shifters, gear ratio, tires, and brakes.
Weaknesses: Weaknesses are its rear gear box, low petals, it hates mud, spare parts cost a ton, on 12/1/10 the fork got weird it was turned very soft. But when i came home it went hard, so hard that you could not move the shock. Until you rode the bike over jumps the shock would not move. One last thing the rear axle needs lubrication.
Bottom Line:
The bike is great it is fast on road and fast of road. While parts are expensive you wont need a lot. The bottom line very reliable and built very well. I LOVE IT
Bike Setup: 06 Hardrock CUSTOM setup for dj and urban asault with dj pros fsa cranks atomlab stem and bar sram x7 derailleur sun ringle singletrack rims raceface BB, wellgo platform pedals, shimano hubs, shimano mechanical disks.
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Submitted by
matt
a Cross Country Rider
from lala land, CA
Date Reviewed: December 18, 2005
Strengths: strong, you can beat the hell out of it with out feeling too bad. reliable, cheap, pretty light for its price / age. steel frame is indestructable.
Weaknesses: only 1" steerer tube so i couldnt put on a susp. fork. seat tube an odd size. canti brakes.
Bottom Line:
found this bike mostly dead with rear wheel kicked in and seat post stolen. after a few months of walking by it, i decided to bring out the bolt cutters and give it a home. replaced the broken / missing parts with cheap replacements and used this bike for the next 5 years as my only ride. worked wonderfully. last year i decided to get seriously into mtb riding and continued to use it on all the local so-cal trails. after a while, i wore out the chain, killed the bottom bracket, wore out the derailleur, and that was about it. i put on a bigger casette to get up the steep hills, and this bike just kept going and going. i have a friend with an '04 stumpy and i routinely ride faster and more confidently than him. my only problems were that the steerer is threaded and 1" and i cant find a good susp fork for it, and the canti brakes dont have quite enough ooomph. riding rigid builds character, but after a while my heart longed for something a little more up to date. i saved up and bought a khs alite 4000 frame and am building it up. and sold my trusty old hardrock for exactly the same price i bought it for: nothing. i will miss it.
Similar Products Used: huffy crap, murray crap, schwinn crap, etc.
Bike Setup: 1991 hardrock, mostly stock.
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Submitted by
Andrew
a Cross Country Rider
from KS, Lawrence
Date Reviewed: October 3, 2005
Strengths: 1996 Hard Rock FS - Fairly comfortable steel frame. Durable bike. It's lasted 9 years of moderate riding and is getting me by while I build up a better frame. Still riding stock Specialized FS tires! (They're huge and heavy)
Weaknesses: Pretty heavy bike, has alivio or cheaper components. Came w/crap fork, put on a '98 mag-10 which still is doing great! Outdated component size/compatibility.
Bottom Line:
In my opinion the old specialized bikes were less gimick and more performance. I know the new square tubing is for strength, but come on, thin, round aluminum tubing worked fine until a couple of yrs ago. Anyway, if you want to get into mountain biking get one, they're tough and decent quality. Not a good bike for someone who is looking for lots of performance or light weight though.
Similar Products Used: 2005 trek 4300 disc w/EXR Pro fork (got stolen!!!! lock your bike w/a U-lock or keep it inside - don't use a cable lock!!)
Bike Setup: stock except for replaced rear derailleur and put on the mag-10 fork.
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Submitted by
Kevin
a Weekend Warrior
from Houston, Tx USA
Date Reviewed: May 5, 2005
Strengths: Light weight,very durable, first to have v-brakes; awesome breaking power.
Weaknesses: After 8 years the cranks started creaking, and finally broke the factory grip shifts. The rims are bent little, but not to bad, it's alloy aluminum, gonna bend sometime. Front suspension didn't come factory at the time.
Bottom Line:
Specialized is the way to go!! This bike takes the cake and spanks the others monkeys!
Similar Products Used: None Specialized has lasted my abuse for 8 years and still rides as smooth as the first day off the store.
Bike Setup: 1996 Hardrock Sport all stock,
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Submitted by
Gregory Engstrand
a Cross Country Rider
from Brighton, TN, USA
Date Reviewed: January 27, 2005
Strengths: Stout
Bottom Line:
I've got two hundred bucks in this bike and runs like a top, just yesterday I used it to do some GPS survey work on 4 miles of rural cotton fields. I had to negotiate 3 creeks and lots of mud, this '96 Hardrock is a work horse. I'm going to upgrade to a front suspension after that episode but was surprizingly impressed with the performance, especially how smooth it was back on the road after all that punishment.
Bike Setup: Shimano thumb shifters, derailleurs, crankset/BB. Bell grips, pedals. Schwinn saddle.
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Submitted by
John
a Weekend Warrior
from Warrington, Cheshire, England
Date Reviewed: January 5, 2004
Strengths: Sturdy, Light, Very reliable, Simple to fix and operate and Amazing! value
Weaknesses: Can honrstly not think of any
Bottom Line:
This is one of my first mountain bikes but within the first few weeks of buying it i was ridin my local area every night after school and going with my mates on some long rides at the weekend. They were pretty jealous since i could hack twice the speeds they could and won them hands down on my local BMX track, This is expecially good since one of them has a £600 GT tempest or summit.
I recomend this bike to any beginners to the subject, who are likely to crash and dont want a bike that can snap.
Similar Products Used: Had a demo on a (specialised) Enduro comp
Bike Setup: Standard black sport (INTL) setup, light green drinks holder, Cannot see the point of upgrading or aford it.
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Submitted by
Me BruHaHa
a Weekend Warrior
from Mobile, Alabama, United States
Date Reviewed: August 30, 2003
Strengths: This is a great bike, very solid. I've cleared many tall trees and it soars through the dirt hills. I've never had many problems with it. For outdated parts, this one can sure handle like a modern day bike. The is an awesome ATB bike, I can commute any where I want to go, and at the days end, I can take it on the trails. It's a great bike.
Weaknesses: Well, the outdated parts are a little difficult to maintain, but other than that I've only had problems with the chain slipping, but only when riding off road.
Bottom Line:
This bike is great, maybe not top of the line, but still it handles like a charm. I've crashed this bike many times out on the trails, and it's still standing strong.
This bike is a all-around good bike, maybe not for the expert rider though, but it's cheep, and stands strong. I love this bike.
Similar Products Used: Don't really know, never needed to try anything else
Bike Setup: All the original parts, I bought it brand new from the shop.
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Max Play
a Weekend Warrior
from Middle-of-Nowhere, KS, USA
Date Reviewed: August 7, 2003
Strengths: Rugged little no-frills MTB. Great commuter/go-anywhere/fun bike.
Weaknesses: Dated components, but still very serviceable. Stock saddle manufactured before the newer, ergonomic designs.
Bottom Line:
I love this bike! Sometimes I think about updating to an Expedition with it's cushy suspension for my old butt...but, I love this bike! It's almost retro cool--if you can call something less than 10 years old retro. I use it mainly for commuting to work and riding the local bike trail (paved). I've thought about getting more street-oriented tires and a better saddle for it, but can't decide if that money wouldn't be better spent going toward the previously mentioned Expedition. I'm probably going to be better off doing the latter, but I don't think I can completely part with my little red Hardrock GT.
Weaknesses: Levers, Crank, Cant-Front break, pedals, forks, high maintance on the hubs, weight,
Bottom Line:
I bought this bike in 1986, and after some needed upgrades, I got it to were I liked it, it,s been to aust, japan, africa, singapor, hong kong, all along the pacific rim, after quite a few thousands miles, and many tires. I have to say this bike is a tank, a heavy tank, it won't get you their fast, but it will get you their, I give it a five chilis, after 16 years its still going strong, every now and then, you got to kick the derailer so it can shift, but it works,
Last year I wanted to buy a cheap rigid bike for commuting. Then I started getting back into mountain biking, specifically dirt jumping and downhill trails.
I'm glad I bought this bike because the frame is actually pretty good. It's made from 7005 alloy, has gussetted top and down tubes, clean design, strong backend with simple dropouts, weighs around 4lb and seems to take my 100mm Judy fork without the steering being too slow.
When I purchased the bike, I changed the tires, bars, pedals and seat (payed additional £75). Since then I had to replace the cranks, bottom bracket, seatpost, chain, cassette, both v-brakes, front hub, etc. Much of this damage was from commuting 100 miles a week through London (it really messes up your bike) as the stock equipment was too weak to take the strain. This doesn't make the bike seem like a good value...
However, I payed £300 GBP and now have a capable bike worth £650 without the shock of paying for it all at once. I went riding a gnarly downhill yesterday and everyting held together very well, I was overtaking people on full-suspension (I raced National level Downhill back in the day on full-suspension)..
I've jumped it too, and the frame hasn't cracked or popped anywhere.
Overall, I highly recommend this bike if you're looking for a cheap ride worth upgrading. Specialised have always made good, solid, light frames that are worth more than the rest of the bits. You find this same frame on their £450 Hardrock model too.
Problems? The frame won't take anything bigger than a 2.1" rear tire, any more travel than 4" will mess up the steering and will probably put too much strain on the headtube.
Future plans are to pass this frame onto my girlfriend and buy an Identit Dr. Jekll and get some discs.
Submitted by
Nick Abel
a Downhiller
from New Palestine, IN, US
Date Reviewed: July 14, 2000
Strengths: Light weight
Weaknesses: Some factory parts like fork, handlebars, and stem are not very strong
Bottom Line:
THis bike is a great beginer bike.i like it alot!$300.00 is a great price for this bike i give it a A+++ for its performance! i have put $3oo.00 into it with new protaper handle bars, and answer manitou shocks. this bike has pretty good handeling, responsive, and take off! i would recomend this bike to anybody that is ready to start out there mnt biking.
Found a guy selling a 2011 Specialized Hardrock Disc 29er. He bought it in December of 2011 and is looking to sell it now. Edit. Picture look like it is is new shape.
TIA! Read More »
First of all, here she is.
[IMG]http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll43/raptorTC/2012-02-04_16-03-18_832.jpg[/IMG]
As you can see, its time to upgrade some components. (And remov Read More »
Hey everyone...i'm just getting into the sport and am looking for some advice. There are two bikes i've found locally, and i'm going to purchase one of them....i just need your hel Read More »
