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To all you Specialized turd-brown bike owners

5K views 26 replies 18 participants last post by  Captain_America1976 
#1 ·
I have a 2009 Rockhopper 29er in the afore-mentioned turd brown. I wasn't too thrilled about the color, but hey, the bike was a great deal.

One day I was looking at the chainstay, where S had put a clear chainstay protector, and the paint under that was gorgeous! It bought out the color and especially the sparkles in the paint, so I thought "wtf" and ran out & bought me a spray can of gloss spar urethane.

Here's what the finish looks like now. Sorry, I don't have any 'before' pics, but trust me, it was flat, dull, and borrring.

And be warned, I have been advised that this may possibly void the warranty. :confused:
 

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#2 ·
So... wait...

Finch Platte said:
I have a 2009 Rockhopper 29er in the afore-mentioned turd brown. I wasn't too thrilled about the color, but hey, the bike was a great deal.

One day I was looking at the chainstay, where S had put a clear chainstay protector, and the paint under that was gorgeous! It bought out the color and especially the sparkles in the paint, so I thought "wtf" and ran out & bought me a spray can of gloss spar urethane.

Here's what the finish looks like now. Sorry, I don't have any 'before' pics, but trust me, it was flat, dull, and borrring.

And be warned, I have been advised that this may possibly void the warranty. :confused:
Was it like a matte finish before, and you applied a glossy coat? Nice! Good work!

Yeah, Specy pretty much looks for any excuse to void the warranty.
 
#3 ·
Finch Platte said:
I have a 2009 Rockhopper 29er in the afore-mentioned turd brown. I wasn't too thrilled about the color, but hey, the bike was a great deal.

One day I was looking at the chainstay, where S had put a clear chainstay protector, and the paint under that was gorgeous! It bought out the color and especially the sparkles in the paint, so I thought "wtf" and ran out & bought me a spray can of gloss spar urethane.

Here's what the finish looks like now. Sorry, I don't have any 'before' pics, but trust me, it was flat, dull, and borrring.

And be warned, I have been advised that this may possibly void the warranty. :confused:
cool have the same bike , it is very flat looking . did you use just reg. spray clear coat
 
#6 · (Edited)
tmhar28 said:
cool have the same bike , it is very flat looking . did you use just reg. spray clear coat
Yeah, it's just flat-out ugly. As I mentioned in the original post, I used gloss spar urethane. It's what they use on boats, so I figured it would be a little more resistant to the elements.

After I applied the first couple of coats, I sanded it really lightly with an extra fine sanding block, wiped off the dust. Put about 3 more coats on it after than, w/ no additional sanding.

It was pretty easy, especially after a couple of beers. :thumbsup:
 
#9 ·
shiggy said:
..and waxed!
Yep, this ;) . If you have a good working relationship with your shop, should be good in the event of any warranty issues. I believe they actually use a matte finish clear to give it the dull look! WTF are they thinking? I have seen a glossy finish when the outer coat of clear gets a scratch on these matte frames.

BTW, that's Rootbeer Brown Metalic. What's this turd talk?

Now if someone higher up from Speshy reads this...
 
#10 ·
Malibu412 said:
Yep, this ;) . If you have a good working relationship with your shop, should be good in the event of any warranty issues. I believe they actually use a matte finish clear to give it the dull look! WTF are they thinking? I have seen a glossy finish when the outer coat of clear gets a scratch on these matte frames.

BTW, that's Rootbeer Brown Metalic. What's this turd talk?

Now if someone higher up from Speshy reads this...
I like the glossy Goldrush Brown on my Ala Carte. It goes matte when scratched, though.
 
#14 ·
jeff said:
The next question is how is the ride. You were a bit unhappy at first. Getting use to it?
God, I love this bike and the whole 29er thing. I'm just a convert to 29ers now. I feel like I went fom a boy's bike (26") to a man's bike.

Great bike (after I switched out the crap Alex wheels got new wheels built)!
 
#15 ·
Nice paint job fp

Finch Platte said:
God, I love this bike and the whole 29er thing. I'm just a convert to 29ers now. I feel like I went fom a boy's bike (26") to a man's bike.

Great bike (after I switched out the crap Alex wheels got new wheels built)!
I too have gone from kids to mans wheels. Though I'm still a kid at heart out on the trails.
So what wheels did you switch to and what gearing have you settled in with?

TIA.

Jmac (nuther old dude on an SS)
 
#17 ·
Sure I remember....

Captain_America1976 said:
I rode with you and a bunch of other MTBR folks.You were scary fast going up and down on that Voodoo. I would hate to see you on big wheel.
.....Randy...I think. Have to say I'm probably a little more scary then fast now though!!

I picked up a kona frame cheap that came with a steel fork. Running cx wheels that I had until I get a real 29r set. A SUSPENSION fork first though!! ;)
 
#18 · (Edited)
JMac47 said:
I too have gone from kids to mans wheels. Though I'm still a kid at heart out on the trails.
So what wheels did you switch to and what gearing have you settled in with?

TIA.

Jmac (nuther old dude on an SS)
A friend of mine up at Sports LTD in Redding built me up a couple of DT Swiss 470 rims with Woodman hubs. 32 hole, straight spokes. The front one is way more awesome than the wheel it replaced, and I'll see how good the rear is when I pick it up this weekend.

Can't POSSibly compare to cyclocross wheels, tho! :eekster: :D

Gearing is 34/20, I think. Spun out quite a few times at Auburn last weekend. Bummed about that- I wanted to go wayyyy faster. :p
 
#20 ·
Right.....

Finch Platte said:
Can't POSSibly compare to cyclocross wheels, tho! :eekster: :D :p
Fugov you. Economy build so I had to use what was layin' around. Besides i'm not a fat azz and can get by with the sub-par-9r wheels for now. :D

Good god what part in Auburn were you not able to go faster on? Thought it was all up and down.....:skep:
 
#22 ·
pimpbot said:
Yeah, Specy pretty much looks for any excuse to void the warranty.
Well being a former warranty manager for a few bike shops...you couldn't be more wrong with that statement. Specialized was probably the BEST for honoring warranties, better than Trek, Cannondale, Rocky Mountain, Kona, and others I worked with.

Maybe it is different now...
 
#23 ·
mtnbiker72 said:
Specialized was probably the BEST for honoring warranties
That's been my experience too. Walk in to my local Specialized shop with a broken part, walk out with a replacement or an order just placed for one.
I just went through this with a saddle (snapped Ti rail) and repeatedly with the buckles on my Pro shoes.
 
#24 ·
Hhhhhm

mtnbiker72 said:
Well being a former warranty manager for a few bike shops...you couldn't be more wrong with that statement. Specialized was probably the BEST for honoring warranties, better than Trek, Cannondale, Rocky Mountain, Kona, and others I worked with.

Maybe it is different now...
So you're saying Kona shouldn't be too bad then? Besides as for fp, I highly doubt he'll be worried about warranty replacement for cosmetic blemishes. He's got a very good complection!
 
#25 ·
xhx said:
That's been my experience too. Walk in to my local Specialized shop with a broken part, walk out with a replacement or an order just placed for one.
I just went through this with a saddle (snapped Ti rail) and repeatedly with the buckles on my Pro shoes.
I don't own a Specialized bike but have shoes and I have warranty them 3 times no problems...
 
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