Help me pimp my bike!

[okgo]

Hello guys,

Been doing more and more riding of late, and I have noticed that I could perhaps make the bike better for the riding I do.

Its a Specialized Rockhopper Disc from around 2006.. Now it has some ok bits and some probably not so ok bits.

Spec..

Mavic xc rim on the front laced to deore hub.
Sun xc rim on the back laced to deore hub.
Stock Specialized tyres
Deore Hydraulic brakes F+R
Deore chainset all round, bar LX rear mech.
Stock bar and stem.
Manitou Axel Plus Fork (read you can lock them out, don't know how though)

Now the type of riding I do is primarily road based, or off road every now and again. I am thinking about using it to cycle to work, where can improvements be made to make the job easier?

Edited by okgo on Monday 20th April 21:04

[john_p]

Semi-slick tyres like Schwalbe City Jets. It's probably overkill for road use, as it's a pretty reasonable spec as-is. I wouldn't bother with any upgrades until stuff breaks!

Edited by john_p on Monday 20th April 21:04

[Beyond Rational]

As mentioned, road biased tyres and lighter tubes will make the most difference to the on road performance, you could consider a carbon seat post or handle bars to improve comfort. Might be worth a good service/new chain if it hasn't seen one in a while as well.

[anonymous-user]

new grips might help comfort on the road.

nothing wrong with the bike really that would be a worthwhile upgrade bar the tyres, a more road orientated seat might be worthwhile as opposed to the sofas that most bikes seem to come with....

[mk1fan]

Buy a commuter bike, then get some proper tyres on the Cockhopper for off-road use.

[okgo]

pablo said:

new grips might help comfort on the road.

nothing wrong with the bike really that would be a worthwhile upgrade bar the tyres, a more road orientated seat might be worthwhile as opposed to the sofas that most bikes seem to come with....

My seat is quite road based already IMO. Grips don't bother me.

I am thinking I might well just invest in a carbon bar,seatpost.

Thanks mk1fan, I can't really warrant throwing £££ at another bike. I rarely go off road (London) and I can always swap tyres if I am going on a day of mixed stuff.

[mk1fan]

okgo said:

I can't really warrant throwing £££ at another bike.

You can always warrant spending £££ on bikes.

[Roman]

Possibly some Onza Liteguy or Flyguy rigid forks. You can easily switch back to the original forks for off-roading, will save around 2lb in weight (or you can get carbon ones on ebay for a little more £)

www.allterraincycles.co.uk do some very light and reasonably priced BBB carbon & ali bars. www.probikekit.co.uk do a good cheap carbon seatpost.

[littleandy0410]

mk1fan said:

okgo said:

I can't really warrant throwing £££ at another bike.

You can always warrant spending £££ on bikes.

The correct number of bikes to own is n+1, where n is the current number of bikes owned.

[LRdriver II]

or a set of mtb disc hubs laced up with 700c rims. Then you can have best of both worlds. Simply swap wheels when you want to go off roading.