Am I nuts for considering this bike? It’s old but I think it’s extremely cool! Price is a little high but isn’t everything? I’m 5’11” so that’s the other thing that is keeping me from pulling the trigger.
by ballparkfranker
Am I nuts for considering this bike? It’s old but I think it’s extremely cool! Price is a little high but isn’t everything? I’m 5’11” so that’s the other thing that is keeping me from pulling the trigger.
by ballparkfranker
39 Comments
Yes, you are nuts. Way too much money for that bike. Cool bike but maybe $250 tops.
As a bag of cats.
Outdated drivetrain. It looks like a threadless stem adapter, shit center pull cantis.
Yes. This is a rip off. That was a $300 bike when new 30 years ago.
No no no! (shaking you) dude this bike is tiny for your size and $450 on a good day. Walk away!!
35 years old! Your money so if you want to spend $800 on a 35 year old MTB GO FOR IT.
Do a hard search for why rim brakes aren’t installed on even WalMart brand Gravel bikes.
No such thing as a gravel bike or even OG-G in 1993 but it was a MTB at that time; if you want to make your own statement on Gravel with a ride of your own Go-For-It! 3X7 drive train ain’t a thing but there’s allot of riders out there that can’t part with their beloved bikes that they’ve had for what, 35 years and now want to make it something more like today’s if at all possible….
We found a similar vintage rock hopper for my son at our local bike kitchen for $150. It’s a trim with an 8 speed LX drivetrain and the Tom Ritchey wheelset.
It’s a fun bike and I’m tempted to “borrow” it quite often. (Manuals and wheelies all day!)
But I would have balked at $800 and a “gravel conversion”.
It’s cool looking but that’s about the only thing it has going for it. I’d consider paying $800 for a bike with lots of modifications but these aren’t even good modifications. It’s a 3×7, so presumably a freewheel. I love triples as much as anyone can but it’s hardly any sort of upgrade over original spec. It’s a quill stem. It’s a 26″ wheel with rim brakes… the tech of 1990… it’s 2025.
Nothing here justifies the asking price. I think asking $400 would get an eyeroll from me, but at least that is defensible if the bike were in excellent condition (new chain, freewheel, chainrings, tire, brake pads, cables/housing, bartape, etc.). I would never put all that into an old frame like this because I wouldn’t expect anyone would be willing to reimburse me for all the work put into it even if it were heads and shoulders above a new bike sold at the same price.
But $800?!? Oh, hell no. That’s just laughable. That would be a good joke even if they took the time to upgrade the wheels and completely modernize the bike but at least that would be somewhat justified. This isn’t justified, it’s just a lazy flip with a few colorful bits.
I would hard pass on this for few reasons:
1) Price is stupid high for what it is. Old Rockhoppers are cool but not $800 cool, not to mention there is not a thing listed in the posting that warrants this type of price. As often said over on r/xbiking, this type of post is likely someone being asked to downsize and putting up a fake effort, or someone deluded into thinking other people should fund their hobbies.
2) 90’s MTB geometry make for terrible drop bar conversion. There are so so many regret posts on this. If you absolutely must have a 90’s steel bike with drop bar conversion, hybrid bikes are much better candidates.
Also at the end of the day it’s your money, but I could never rationalize something like this with a “everything is expensive these days”. This is just a blatant rip off.
Fixing up old bikes seems like a more promising career change than I thought.
You can build one in a weekend for much much less. Buy if money isn’t a concern, it is probably a fun ride if it fits you. Again, financially not worth the price, but fun factor might be higher on your list than what it costs.
Way too expensive. I bought a Stumpjumper in 1993 for $800.
We have that same bike, I’d say $175-200 well, ours is OG
I see the appeal but it is way too stock to be asking that price. I’d go $350, maybe $400 fill cuz it’s cool.
Paying $800 for a $300 bike is nuts.
Nothing justifies the asking price other than possibly finding someone who doesn’t know a damn thing about GRAVEL, or Gravel bikes who is willing to BLOW $800 on a RELIC MTB
As others have said WAY WAY overpriced. And I wouldn’t even bother making an offer as the seller is either way out of touch with reality or just willing to part way with a fool’s $800
I wouldn’t buy this, but I would build it myself 😂
This just goes to show how good photography makes all the difference when selling stuff. Guaranteed this would be worth only $100 if it was just some crusty barn photos.
$80 is closer to the value than 800. I’d pay $150 just becuse I like those frames, the drop bars actually lower the value since these bikes suck with them.
I’d feel better about that price if it had a modern drivetrain and rear hub. It’s too much with that 3×7 setup.
It’s 800 CAD which is more like 575 usd, but still overpriced . I know this person who built this and is selling it too. I wouldn’t trust their mechanical ability whatsoever lol
Have you considered that maybe it was personally curated by ronnie romance? you may be able to get him to throw in a pair of rawhide chamois. Honestly it’s a deal
It’s crazy expensive for a Rockhopper without even a modern drivetrain conversion. I have an 89 Stumpjumper I did a similar thing to out of fun and I sunk €219.79 in it (140 for the bike +parts, no tires though).
It’s also too small for you
I think you are better off building your own franken bike. You will have a frame that fits you and pick your own parts. Even if you are not good at building, you can screw on the parts and let your bike shop build for you.
The only nutter is the person trying to sell it for that
I hate to say this but at 5″11 you aren’t going to fit into this frame and if you try.ots going to be uncomfortable. The price isn’t right for what’s being offered. Good frame but a drop bar conversion ≠ high price. I’d say $200 at the most. Maybe 250 with the tires.
Yes.
I don’t know much about the components, but the seller says it would fit someone 5’4″, and you’re 5’11”.
Why would you even consider it?
Yes.
It’s cool no doubt but this price is drugs.
having ridden that model when they were brand new, yes you are crazy
you can do so much better for $800
If it was dripping with boutique parts, sure. This one is not.
It’s probably nuts, but you can always come down on price if someone is interested. It’s a lot harder to go up on price once negotiations have started.
30 year old wheels? oof.
also, i like the trend and am a sucker for keeping my old bikes running, but there are limitations: youre going to need to source old-spec parts for everything and that’ll get annoying fast.
This thing is clean. I think if that’s the original condition it’s close to the right price. I think for some, the upgrades would make it worth less than the original build would have justified.
My feeling is that this is the price for the owner to part ways with it… someone out there will pay it, and I suspect the person is in no hurry to sell it.
Yes, hell no to old tech bike for nearly a grand.
Not worth it. You can get an actual gravel bike that fits you for that price. You could even get an Ozark Trail gravel bike from Walmart and throw $400 worth of upgrades on it and you’d be far better off.
I would spend that much on upgrade parts on a $20 frame anyways.
Edit: thought this was r/xbiking .
My position still stands