Like a lot of people, my first 'proper' mountain bike was a Specialized Rockhopper hardtail. It has been an entry-level fixture in the brand's line up since 1985 and has brought thousands of riders into the sport as a simple, value offering for novice riders.
For 2021, Specialized is updating the hardtail with a new frame that brings it more in line with modern trends and geometries. Specialized mentions the "stiff competition" it is facing in this category so has worked hard on delivering a high value, entry level bike.
Updates to the frame include lighter weight, new geometry, internal cable routing, a threaded bottom bracket and dropper post compatibility. Recognising this bike may be used in the city as much as on the trails, Specialized have also added stealth rack and stand mounts too.
Specialized used to have the Rockhopper for 29er duties and the Pitch for 27.5 wheel fans, but the two lines have now merged and wheelsize will be dictated by frame size and model. The geometry is on the XC end of the spectrum for this bike, with a 68° head angle and a reach of 445mm for a size large.
Sizes XS to M can have 27.5" wheels while S to XXL are able to take on the big wheel duties. A few things to note here - not all the the models get the full range of sizes and the US will also get an XXS option with 26" wheels for younger riders. Also size-specific is the tune, travel and spring of the shock, this is a concept borrowed from Specialized's full suspension range and should ensure consistent geometry and feel through the range.
The full specs of the range are below:
Specialized Rockhopper - £379/ $500 / €500Specialized Rockhopper Sport - £449 / $600 / €600Sizes - XS, S, M
Specialized Rockhopper Comp 2X - £549/ $750 / €700Sizes - XS, S, M
Specialized Rockhopper Elite - £699 / $950 / €1000Sizes - S, M, L, XL, XXL
Specialized Rockhopper Expert - £899 / $1125 / €1200Sizes - S, M, L, XL, XXL
In my age group it was either a Specialized Hardrock, or a Kona Stinky as our entry bike
Deore is the Sram Killer. At the same time I don't get the point of SLX anymore.
They (or Shimano) could have left cassettes the same number of speeds and just made the cogs a bit bigger. From the many comments similar to yours above, it seems like Shimano would really have a market for the 10-45 in 11-speed for the new hyperglide+ groups. I wish they'd actually make those.
Bro has nx on his fluid ht, absolute junk! Heavy as hell, and pain to adjust.
I have the previous generation deore 1x10 on my built up "hybrid", absolutely wonderful piece of kit! Cheap, setup is a breeze, any adjustments are a snap (in fact, had to tweak it on the trail a bit, everything is setting in, all it took was a quick blip with the multi-tool, and was back up and rolling). And all the claims to "Shift Under Load" are completely true! I'm a heavy dude (240 lbs of chronically ill blubber), and it hasn't let me down once in all the year I've been running it. Heck, I can run through all the gears, while putting the power down, up a 15-25% incline, in loose sand/gravel/dirt . And the clutch derailleur is simply phenomenal, especially being paired with my race face affect 32t crankset.
And again, can't disagree, 11 speed is all there needs to be, even that's to much. Give me a wide ratio 11-50 tooth 10 speed cassette, and i'll be more then happy. Heck, 46 is good enough, if you have strong legs .
I disagree with reguards to slx. It's there for guys that want to shave some weight over the deore, but don't want to spend all the big $ on the xt. It's a nice option to have, especially if one doesn't want to mix-match groups/aftermarket.
Now, what say you Waki!
Expecting you to come on full troll mode, please live up to your name...
Though with SLX I (kinda) don't get the point of XT anymore but, you know, price point etc etc.
Now here's a thought, what if Shimano came out with 10 speed at acera, and below?... Man, the market would go crazy!
I got the Acera drivetrain on my fully ridged ht, that I pulled off my franken build. Love it for what it does, but i'm missing that 10th big plate. Other then that, anything shimano is bullet proof.
When I upgrade wheels/drivetrain on franken, the deore is going on the ridged.
I do love my sram guide brakes, but sram's drivetrains are a fail, compared to equivalent kit from shimano.
Ya, I guess you could say slightly lighter weights/tech as you climb models (like sram), but that comes at a hefty price tag. Like with anything, the higher you go up on the charts, the more you pay. Everyone has a price they're comfortable going too, that's why we have so many choices.
We should all be very thankful to the people that are shelling out the big bucks, for the fancy stuff, there's a nice trickle-down to us tight-wads.
I guess it goes like this:
Atlus for kids/entry level bikes.
Alvino and Acera for the teenagers/better entry level bike.
Deore for broke college students/low-upper low tier real mtb's.
SLX for working tradesmen/mid-upper tier mtb.
XT for upcoming racers/upper-high tier mtb.
XTR for full on racers/high tier mtb.
XTR Electronic for mtb god's/top line mtb.
Hope that helps .
Sarcasm? PB posters often miss stuff like that.....
Joking aside, 32ers are probably waaaaaaaaay down the pipeline, if at all. To set-up production for an entirely new wheel system, would be extraordinarily cost prohibitive i.e. $$$ for each tire at the end of the day.
To give one company credit, I can't remember which, they did come out with a 32er a few years ago. Never caught on...
Why go any bigger when 29 and 27.5 (and not to mention a few 26ers kicking around), do everything, and do it well... The market is so saturated with awesome bikes, fitted around those wheel sizes, that it makes no sense to change out. If anything is in the works, it'll be at least 10 years down the road.
What say you king of the trollers?
Fair points... I did get a little "overblown" didn't I.
It's like my brakes, need to bleed some air out of the system...
No sarcasm: Do we really need anything bigger then 29er's? Like I said, 27.5 and 29 do everything, and do it well. Now we got guys going mullet's, and lots of guys still like 26". Man, things are getting confusing out there! Like I read all over bike forums, 29 gets a lot of hate, but who knows whos right. Mullet sounds like a happy medium, you got the 29 out front rolling over the big stuff, and the 27.5 out back to keep things lively. Here's another point to consider, bike look really good around 29, and less. You start going bigger, things start to look out of wack. Remember the saying, too much of a good thing, is usually really, really, bad. Everything will have to grow bigger, how much of a bike do you really need? Even a big like myself... I'm more then happy running 29ers.
Bike shopping is super confusing as it is, add even more standards... Man my head hurts just thinking about typing that sentence.
Ok, what say you O' master basher?
My buddy made himself a groovy 32" wheel "mini-Penny Farthing". Couple other guys followed suit. Soon, there might be a velodrome event featuring them.
www.instagram.com/p/BuzklLdlvDe/?igshid=109p8hs5q71ol
Now look at a road bike with rims having 700mm rims:
www.instagram.com/p/BvundCollKy/?igshid=1np3zdh3m94z7
The problem with folks welding themselves huge bikes is thar they often have zero clue about bike handling just like 99% of those hipster builders making bikepacking bikes. With absence of good tires who would chose to ride that?
Just to let you know, i'm coming from a styling/looks standpoint, not engineering/handling side of things. I like my bikes, and cars to look good (like classic 70's muscle cars). When everything is designed proportionate to each other, then it works. Cars are the most blaring example. No matter how good a bike handles/is designed, if it doesn't look good to the eye, nobody will want to ride/buy it.
I can't explain in writing what I see is wrong with your design, if we had a couple hours to sit down and go over things, then we probably come to a happy medium .
Now that road bike looks awesome! Everything works much better together, and like you know as an engineer, it's the sum of each part, working together with said total parts, that makes a overall well designed machine. Cars have shown this time and again.
O' what say you, master wacky mountain biker .
Is it just to create demand for their higher end products when riders start to out ride their entry level bikes quicker?
I would imagine a cheap hardtail with a 67/66 HTA would clean up for the people who are actually riding trails, not just hauling their kids in a chariot on hardpack gravel. Seems like an easy win...
My 65HA XL hardtail doesn't fit on bike bus racks, just to name one of the inconveniences of slack long hardtails for casual city path/dirt use.
The Growler is even more aggressive while still being affordable at ~$1200CAD.
Then there's the Norco Fluid which is a wicked bike for the price.
That said I will never fking do that haha.
Fast and safe as a full squish? Hell no.
Fun? Hell yes.
For a beginner bike I think 68° is fair
www.decathlon.co.uk/am-100-ht-mountain-bike-275-id_8543080.html
killer value
In answer to the head angle, anywhere from 66 to 69 (even 70 if you take it slow and steady), is fine for perty much anything you would want to do on a ht. Personally my sweet spot is between 68-69, for what I ride, good enough.
Bro has the Norco fluid, one hell of a bike. Burly, and built like a tank. That plus rubber sure can bull over some gnarly stuff . But that's his type of riding, i'm more of a cross country/trail dude. Like a light, nimble bike, something that when you put the power down, she get's up and goes.
It's like picking any bike, figure out what you want to ride, and pick a bike that's suited to said task. And it doesn't hurt if it looks good too .
How do you like your Orange? I'm not familiar with the brand at all, and most of what I hear is mixed opinions.
Matter of fact, The Giant Talon is a great entry to mtbing. Both these bike are very upgradable, as your skills/knowledge progresses.
The HTA mostly affects steering speed (lazy vs twitch steering) and front-center wheelbase length. A longer front-center is great- modern bikes almost never have that over-the-bars feeling that we all grew up with from pre-2014 bikes. But this is best achieved with a longer top tube or reach combined with a short stem.
The faster you go, the twitchier the steering feels for a given HTA. The slower, the lazier, for a given HTA. Hard tails are slower than fullies, no matter how "aggro" you make your hard tail. Hard tails also become much less enjoyable the faster and rougher your terrain. Aggro hard tails that allow you to ride really, really fast are downright painful. The comprimises needed to ride that fast make the bike feel way to lazy in 90% of normal riding. They aren't highly maneuverable. They aren't as fun to jump. They aren't precise. They aren't playful.
The TL;DR: in my experience (I've designed and manufactured my own bikes, fullies and hard tails, experimented with anglesets, offset bushings, etc) a hard tail that is actually fun to ride should have short chainstays, 66-68 degree HTA, 120-130mm travel, and needs to be decently light. Otherwise your typical 130mm travel trail bike is going to be better for nearly every single type of riding there is. The numbers I provided allow a hard tail can go as fast as you want one to, while still being super playful and precise.
How am I supposed to go through the day complaining on here? I hate it.
Oh, wait, it's the big S. That's a valid reason. I hate it even more.
and I agree the big S get immediate hate.
They also have the Fuse for more serious riders who actually care about these kind of things.
Now that I'm strictly through axle it's really damn obvious I bent a rotor. It happens much more often than I care to admit.
www.specialized.com/us/en/fuse-27-5/p/171070?color=263309-171070&searchText=96020-7101
Man u can have a blast on any decent functioning bike. Just be glad u can ride, improve your technique and have fun
This thing doesnt have 470+mm Reach, no 64° headangle... Totally unrideable.
/S
www.jensonusa.com/Hope-Pro-4-135mm-QR-Rear-Hub-PURPLE-36H-10135
135mm X 9mm QR parts are easier to find than some of the SuperBoost stuff.
If you want to get weird about it you can get get a DT hub that uses with a 10mm RWS skewer.
That's no bueno.
If you have a preference on axle size and hub width, maybe you shouldn't be looking at this bike. Entry level bikes aren't for people who are concerned with POE on a hub, they aren't worried about a clutch on a derailleur. They want a bike, and a water bottle, maybe a helmet.
Thru axle is better, but qr won't hold back no bike/no one.
There`re completely different in term of attempts, researches, features, prices... BUT: as long as they can provide pleasure... ;-)
12x but 9x135!! Have a listen to the latest Downtime podcast with the PNW boys. They talk about exactly that.
How difficult it is to optimise low budget and prioritise what they think buyers value at that end like shit stuff you can't see but a better rear mech. One of them used to work at Specialized.
Also forget the crappy Pitch, bring back the 2010 FS Pitch. That was badass. I'd actually considered a Specialized again then
God knows where it would fit in their current range though, perhaps rename the Stumpy Evo?
The Spec looks like it could be outgrown quickly unless the rider just sticks to the easier side of XC and they might need to splash out for an 'in-between' bike (like the Sentier) before having the budget (or the will to spend more) for their first FS.
To be clear, I"m in no way knocking budget hardtails. And I guess we all need a bike to suggest to newbie's we think might never move beyond tame rides? Just doesn't seem like whoever is throwing these BigS bikes out has a clue what the average PinkBike audience is likely wanting to buy... ?
They gotta do a changeover for a new production run anyway. More up to date geometry wouldn't have cost them any extra.