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Showing posts with label 1988 specialized rockhopper comp. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1988 specialized rockhopper comp. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Grenading a Bottom bracket and some work on an old friend.

A little more than a year ago I picked up a little project that I have been playing around with when I have time in the way of a 1988 Specialized Rockhopper Comp. It is kind of the bike that started me in on my "Buy fix sell at a profit" thing that I do from time to time with bicycles but there is something about this one that I liked so I could never bring myself to sell it. The frame is an 18 inch and I can ride comfortably on a 19 to 21 inch frame depending on the bike so it is a tad small but with the stem up as high as it can go and the seat is up almost as high as it can go I can ride the bike comfortably. Whats your point Mister Meatball? I'm gettin' there, I'm gettin' there, Last weekend I grenaded the bottom bracket on my K2 AKA my main bike and I ordered a new BB/Crankset but the catch is that it will not be here until Monday the 13th and there ain't no way I'm going to not ride until I get the BB and get it installed. I suppose a 300 plus pound fellow Hammerin' on a bike for the past two years warrants the equipment failure, especially as it appears that the BB that was on the bike when I bought it was not of the highest quality so onto an upgrade it is.

Here is the Rockhopper the day I brought it home mangled and forgotten.... until that day.

So I looked to the Rockhopper with soulful eyes and requested its help, it looked at me as if to say that there were some conditions to this arrangement and I listened. I did an initial clean up and rust scrubbing a while back and got the bike looking decent but never finished the job to a point where I would call the bike perfectly ride-able. This time around she ended up with a new pair of shoes even if they are only 26 x 1.95 instead of the 26 x 2.2 that I normally like, some Brandy spankin' new grips and I cannibalized a seat and post from an old Trek that I have just sitting there doing nothing in particular. I figured that since She was getting a make over and going into temporary service I may as well pull out some touch up paint and hit the spots that were chipped up. Since the bike was going to be in service for a bit I may as well give it a proper tune up while I was at it right? so that I did, out came the tri flow and the tool bag and 15 minutes later she was right as rain.

This is what it looked like after my first go at it to get the heavy rust and grime off.

New grips, new/old tires, cannibalized seat and post, changed out the bottle cage, touch up paint and a tune up this is as she sits right now, sorry for the cell pic.

New/old seat, its pretty comfy I do have to admit

New grips, no more styrofoam these are knock off Oury grips I think, Origin 8 is the brand, knock off or not they are comfortable and very grippy.

After the tune up I took the bike for a quick ride around the lake and I have to admit it rides really nice for a 23 year old bike that a novice like myself had a whack at fixing up, I like it. It is a tad too small like I mentioned but it is honestly comfortable enough that I believe I can make a 20 mile ride without issue on my body and plan on testing that theory out on the weekend! I have exactly $22 into this bike and some of my time and am very pleased with how it has come out so far, I may just keep going with it and make it "nice" I think right now as it sits it looks pretty cool and is a good solid road ready Vintage mountain bike, not bad for $22!

The K2 will be fixed sometime next week after I take possession of the new crankset and the repair is not exactly a surprise. I knew the BB was going because of a noise it has been making and I am looking at it as a chance to upgrade something rather than "damn I have to fix my bike", gotta look on the bright side sometimes. If the Specialized ends up being a good rider on longer rides for me I will very likely upgrade the pedals to a set of Odyssey Trail Mix pedals like I have on the K2 but otherwise I like the fact that this old bike is what it is, an old, well used vintage mountain bike that is still bringing enjoyment to someone riding down a trail on it and won't change too much more.

I have been more than busy with the new addition to the Fam and trying to stay on my bike as much as possible (I almost have my 2010 legs back) but am trying to get back to daily blogs again, I promise! Putting my time where it is needed most is what I am doing and I love writing this blog but it is just not possible for me to find enough time in every day to get here and post up my thoughts. I am on track with my calories, I am riding my bike LOTS! and I am in fact down 26 pounds from where I was just a tad over a month ago so trust that I am doin' what I do where my health is concerned.

Until next time..

That's all I got for tonight...

As Ever
Me

Thursday, January 6, 2011

My bikes, my obsession?

Its a later than normal post and I have been playing around with some of my bicycles getting them ready for the spring and Craigslist. I believe that I know which ones will be kept for myself and which are going to new riders, maybe I don't but it dawned on me that I have photos of each of the bikes that I have and thought I would do a more bike kind of post since I had a minute. When I was 500 pounds there wasn't a chance in hell that I would have been able to take a spin around the block on a bike and since losing the weight I am well..I'll just say it, addicted to messing about with older bicycles. It all started with an idea and a walk through a sporting goods store, that idea ended up with me driving home with a brandy new 2009 K2 Zed in my car, from there I was obsessed with bikes again. When I was a kid I had an old Huffy Santa fe' 10 speed, that turned into a Schwinn Super le' tour which ended up getting stolen off of my back porch in the early 90's and that was the last time that I owned a bike until the K2. I thought it would be fun to post up my little collection that I have acquired over the past months since I got a couple inquiries as to "what kind of this or that" do I have lately, so here goes.

The one that started it all my K2 Zed, this was a birthday gift from my wife in June of 2009 I was very self conscious about getting back on a bike because of my size and I even had my father pop off a quick picture of me sitting on it in the store before I bought it for that reason. This picture is exactly how I got it and there have been some changes to the bike since then but I figured it was a good shot so there she is, I started off riding about a 3 mile loop near my house and ended last year with 20 mile runs on the local rails to trails.

I picked this 1991 Schwinn Crisscross up just last week for a decent price and the frame is my size, its a really comfy position when I am on it and I will not be getting rid of this one any time soon. The plan is to upgrade a couple things and make this my secondary ride, or for when I am going to be doing more riding on the street than the rail trail.

From what I can tell this is a 1994 Trek 750 multitrack, I like the way it rides and it fits me but is a little small but it does adjust to a comfortable fit. I was thinking that if it adjusts down to closer to my wife's size that I would give it to her but it may be just a tad too big for her but since she hasn't checked yet I don;t know if it would work, my guess is that it will be just a bit too tall for her. This will likely be up for sale in the spring unless wify ends up liking it but she is more of a hiking kind of gal so chances are it will be on the list of craigs eventually.

I haven't looked into the year too much on this one, its a Trek 220 mountaintrack and is a kids bike, I suppose a small woman could ride it too but its more geared for kids. I thought about giving this one to my son as an upgrade to his bike but his is brand new (a year old) and he didn't seem to like this one so much when I brought it home so again it will probably end up on Craigslist at some point.

This is a 1995 Specialized Hardrock Sport, this frame is way too small for me but the bike is like new! if Wify does want a bicycle this will likely be the one that I make more comfortable for her. There is not a lot that I can say negative about this one besides a broken grip shifter that still works, I rode this one around the lake last week when it was warm and if it was my size I would keep it for sure. I am replacing the grip shift and it will go onto the list of craigs unless wify fancy's it once I have it 100% with the new grip shifter on it.

This one for whatever reason is very cool to me and I can't figure out my attachment to it! its a 1988 Specialized Rockhopper Comp and other than some spots that could use touch up paint rides awesome! I think that its all of the work that I put into it to get it looking good, this thing was covered in dirt, grime and all of the chrome bits were covered in a light rust. I spent more than a couple hours cleaning her up and was the first of my "addiction" after the K2, perhaps that's where the attraction is. It has new tires on it as it sits now (the tires in this image are gone) and its all cleaned up and ride ready, its a bit small for me but it is comfortable, more than likely it will go up for sale come spring but I don't want to let this one go.

Just a small unknown year Murray Legacy, this one will definitely go up for sale come spring, its too small for me, my son doesn't dig the looks or the only 10 speeds and ita gotta go so I can make room for more new old bikes.

Early 1990's Specialized Hardrock sport, I picked this one up last spring and cleaned it up, tuned it up and sold it to my brother in laws girlfriend, She seemed happy with it, I am happy that it got sold so win win for everyone. I was able to sell a bike so this proves that I can do it! so Wify knows that I have it in me to actually let go of a bike and our basement is starting to look like a bike shop between all of the parts I have accrued and the eight bikes that live down there currently not to mention the one in my bedroom.

I may have traded addictions or perhaps just found a hobby that helps me nurture a healthy lifestyle, either way I enjoy playing around with bikes and I like riding them even more. None of my bikes are the end all of high end two wheeled vehicles but they have all in their own way helped me to stay on track in one way or another along the way. As far as hobbies go I will take this one over my Playstation and Final Fantasy 11 online any day but it wasn't the case once upon a time and I am still a Final Fantasy geek even if I don't play online anymore.

That's my fleet? stable? pile O bikes, some I will keep, some will be sold in order to buy more bikes, this is my hobby and it is in fact an integral part of how I am able to keep the weight off. When You love what you do for exercise its not hard to go out there and do it every day, I even for some odd reason miss it if I can't get to the gym and take a ride on a spin bike or a stationary bike, it suits me.

That's all I got for tonight.

As Ever
Me

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

I have an addiction thanks to my weight problem.

Addiction is a funny thing, for some people its the burn in the back of their throat from a stiff drink and others get it from drugs and then there the people that get it from a good solid workout. There is a group of people that are addicted to food and I do believe that I fell into that group for a good long period of my life. Addictions can control us in ways that no one would ever want to admit because they show our weak side, something that can control us, decide our fate for us. This weekend my wife has discovered that I have an addiction, and this addiction is not made of ground beef a hardy roll and a half pound of toppings, this addiction is not made from plastic and electronics that display digital characters running through Batilla downs on the tv and computer screen, it is much different.

My daily rider K2 ZED that started it all.

1988 Specialized Rockhopper Comp which I cleaned up and it is tuned and ridable, it has new tubes and tires on it now but I haven't taken a new photo yet.

Old Murray Legacy, this is no where near big enough for me but the price was the same as a 6 pack so I couldn't pass it up.

1990 (dated from component dates) Specialized Hardrock sport, This bike is very fun and I have been riding it twice a week or so in place of the K2 just for kicks.

This is a Trek Mountaintrack 220 that I picked up yesterday from craigslist, its a kids bike but fits my son perfect so I will likely clean it up and let him ride it a little bit as he is riding on a Next MTB currently.

I have in the last year been consumed by bikes, reading about bikes, buying bikes, and most importantly riding bikes, I have come to love bike riding once again. I see biking as a huge factor in how I lost most of my weight on this trip to the half as I started off on a used stationary bike bought from Craigslist back in the beginning and I loved it even back then on that old used monstrosity of a bike looking thing. I ride a stationary bike at the gym and then come home and ride my bike around the lake that I live on, When you are caged and unable to participate in something that you know is enjoyable it hurts. Biking was something that I knew I loved because when I was a kid I rode everywhere on an old Schwinn Super Le Tour with my best friend, like clock work we meet in front of the house and headed over to the corner store to fill our bike bottles with 25 cent juices and off we went.

Missing something and not knowing that you miss it is unfortunate because it could have been a huge motivational tool for me with my weight loss a lot sooner if I realized how much I actually enjoy riding a bike. This is an addiction that I am proud to say that I have, I love my bikes and am planning on a few more before the summer is over which should make the boss lady happy as she tells me daily to move this one or that one out of her way. I would love to find myself an old Super le Tour in dark blue with the chrome fork tips like back in the day for nostalgia's sake so I am always keeping my eyes out for one of those to pop up, mine was stolen from my back porch back in about 1993 or so. Last night I told Wify that having all of the bikes was a lot better than having all of the video games and systems with a side of big fat cheeseburger addiction and she agreed wholeheartedly so they get to stay.

Finding something that we love to do that will keep us fit while we spend precious time doing it is more than a good thing, its the absolute to sustain a healthy life. If we enjoy what we do for exercise then it becomes a hobby more than exercise and we want to do it every day if not every minute.

So I am more than proud to say that I have an addiction, that addiction is going to help me excel with my health and fitness level all while giving me views that I have not had for quite some time on top of a frame and some wheels pedaling my ass off every day.

Hi, my name is Tony and I am an addict...

As Ever
Me

Friday, June 18, 2010

Shifting focus, A tale of a clyde and his 1988 Rockhopper.....er something like that.

Though I have not been on game lately with my calories and exercise I have been staying on my bike and I am starting to realize that I enjoy riding my bike as much as I enjoy anything. Now I know this is not really a bike kind of blog but biking plays a HUGE role in why I am where I am with my health and weight loss today so veering into a project that I picked up isn't really that off the beaten path. A while back I picked up a bike on Craigslist for a great price, the title of the post was "Specialized Rockhopper comp FREE" and when I saw that there was no way I could let an old Rockhopper not be mine for that price. When I got to the owners house I then saw how much worse the bike looked in person than in the picture that was posted but she was mine at that point and off we went home with the dirty ol girl and into the shed it went. Yesterday I had an hour and a half to myself and decided to wash it up and check out where we stood on the real condition of the bike and after a good bath it actually looks pretty good.

The bike is a 1988 Specialized Rockhopper comp which is a fact that I found out with some research and it is adorned with all Shimano Deore components that are all in good working condition. I will need to replace the shifter cables and possibly the brake cables though the brake cables look like they were recently replaced so I may leave those alone, it will need tires, tubes and possibly a chain though I am going to try and rehab the chain that is on there now. I snapped a few pictures of the bike post scrubbing and was actually considering making a blog for the project to chronicle in detail how its coming along but I might just do it here instead, anyways here are a couple of the photos.

This is the day that I brought it home, check out that rear cassette in this image and then the next one, I wish that I had taken more close ups before washing it.

A side shot post wash, the pictures do not do justice to the difference from before to after, I think when I get new tires on it that it will look awesome.

Front shot, You can see the difference in the wheels in this one, they look almost new close up after the scrubbing they got.

Here is a shot of the biopace crank which looks a lot better than it did, I am planning on doing a more in depth cleaning but even with just a wash there is a big difference.

Finally a look at the Cassette and you can see part of the rear derailleur and how clean it came out.

After washing it up I noticed that a lot of the chrome bits had some surface rust on them and I started researching how to remove said rust, I found lots of different methods posted by lots of different people but I found one that I had all of the stuff on hand so I tried it. It was said that using some crumpled up aluminum foil with some automotive polish/rubbing compound should take the rust off but leave the chrome alone as the foil is softer than the chrome, I was skeptical that this would work but to my amazement it had incredible results! The seat post had a section at the top where it was pretty rusty (more so than the images above show) and the clamp to hold the seat post was also rusty and now they both look great.

This clamp looks like new after polishing with the compound and aluminum foil and I am planning on doing some more of the small parts this afternoon.

This is the polished seat post and you can see the damage to the upper part where the rust was, it shows up in the photo much more than with the naked eye because it looks almost perfect in person, either way I am pleased with how it came out.

I did adjust the seat and filled the tires with air to see how everything functioned but the bike will need two tubes as they leaked out pretty fast but I did get to ride a short distance which was long enough to find out that it shifts and brakes as it should. I am trying to refurbish this bike as cheap as possible but am willing to drop a few bucks into making it function and look good, New tires and tubes will probably be next on the list. I may just swap the Kenda Klaws that are currently on my K2 onto this bike as I was planning on changing to a more road friendly tread on that bike anyways so tubes will really be the only thing that will be bought to complete that part of the project. Hopefully I can save the chain that is on there now, it moves freely except in one spot where it binds slightly but I am hoping that some elbow grease and oil can work that out for me, a new chain is only about $15 so its not too bad even if it does end up needing to be replaced.

The paint has a lot of small chips in it pretty much everywhere, I do like the paint scheme and there is something cool to me in keeping the original paint job on an older bike like this but I haven't decided whether I will repaint it or just touch up the chips. The decals are in ok shape though they could use some love and ultimately decal condition may determine the bikes future in the looks department. I was thinking of an olive drab paint job on the entire frame with a flat white star somewhere and maybe "no step" in a pseudo military theme leaving all of the chrome and aluminum parts alone besides polishing them up a bit while the black parts stay black but like I mentioned I am not sure just yet, opinions would be great.

With everything that's happening right now in the stress department taking on this little project that I had hanging in the basement is taking my mind off of things and well, I'll take it. I am back to counting the calories and am heading out shortly for a bike ride with the kids as school is over so getting to the gym will be a tad harder and the bike will be my go to for exercise for at least a while until I figure out a compromise with a sitter. I will keep updating the status of this bike in this blog and may still create a specific blog for that project but that's to be found out I mean if I am finding it hard to update here lately imagine if I had two to update.

Keep on keepin on and all that and I'll do the same, that's all I got for today.

As Ever
Me

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

100 best blogs for weight loss support? moi? and a project oh dear!

This week has been interesting because as I was coming off of my being sick with a fever and just plain old feeling terrible my daughter now has it so I have not had much free time where I was feeling up to par. Getting to the gym has not happened in about a week and that time was coming off of being sick as well so to say that I have not exercised much in the last two weeks is an understatement that I am not happy about. Monday did not afford me a chance to go to the gym and neither did yesterday but I am planning to get out there tonight after dinner as my daughter is home from school sick again today so going earlier than that is an impossibility. I have been eating like I am maintaining this week and its partially because I am coming off of being sick and I was eating slightly more for no real reason other than I am home more so wandering aimlessly throughout the house bored. Sunday I was a decent amount over on my calories as I did not write them into my spreadsheet, I was eating because I was on the run all day but when I added them up at the end of the day I was around 2200 for the day, otherwise I have not gone over 1800 calories per day and have done ok.

Exercise, I mentioned that I haven't been to the gym in a long while but that's not to say that I have had zero exercise because I have done some. It has been simply gawjus around here all week and I did get in a couple bike rides, a few walks and on Saturday I spent about 3 hours cleaning up the yard in our garden beds but I don't like calling things that I need to do regardless exercise. I also picked up a new project over the weekend in the form of an older mountain bike that I got off of Craigslist for the low low price of $0.00! its a 1988 Specialized Rockhopper comp with all Shimano Deore components and other than needing a good scrubbing, some new cables, tires and tubes its in pretty decent shape. The size is somewhere between Wify and me but closer to her size and I am planning on fixing it up so that she can ride it around BUT I do like it so it may be a dual purpose 2 owners kind of bike because I am greedy like that and like I said I like it!

She is no beauty contest winner but that won't be the case for long if I have anything to say about it.

A shot of the biopace crank just for fun.

In my email box I found a message from a fellow named Ken who is with Nursingschools.net saying that I was included in their article for the "100 best blogs for weight loss support" and I am humbled by that! seriously. They have it set up into categories like "Those losing weight", "Those who have lost their weight" and "Coming back from Obesity" which is the category they put my blog into, along with a few more categories and I see a couple familiar blogs but I also see some that I haven't read yet and am planning to go through and read a few. I started this blog back in 2008 so that I would have a place to post my progress and have some accountability that was just kind of out there floating around in the virtual space of the internet and for someone to think that my blog belongs on a list of the 100 best for weight loss support really floors me. Knowing that other people find what I am doing helpful is something that I honestly never thought about when I started this blog, I started it for me, I still write it for me but I have to admit that the fact that other people read this blog and can take something out of it is an awesome thing for me. I know that losing weight, getting and staying healthy is not a simple thing for most of the people that try, me included and if I can be of some help even to one person trying to get healthy than that is a rock solid reason for me to write this blog every day on top of my original reasons, and again I am absolutely humbled by that idea.

This week I believe that I will see a slight gain in my weight from last weeks weigh in but its not something that I am worried about even slightly as I am getting back to the gym tonight and will beat the fat into submission once again. I know that I am up in weight as of this morning because well I am a scale addict and I check in almost daily with Hariet my scale just to have a baseline for each day. I have also found in my email box as well as some comments over the past few weeks a couple of requests to share my menus once again on the blog so I will try and get some of them posted again in future posts as I do enjoy doing that as well and if there is a request for them why not right? With the passing of my whatever it was that had been ailing me its back to business as usual for me and I am planning on easing back into the gym so that I don't over work anything right off the bat. Tonight he plan is to ride the bike for 25 minutes followed by a trot on the arc-trainer and a walk on the treadmill but I will stay away from the weights for tonight adding them back in when I return to my earlier in the day workouts when the kiddo is feeling better.

For today, thats all I got so keep on keepin on and all that, I shall return again tomorrow morning with the next episode of as the fat guy turns.

Fini.

As Ever
Me
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