I have a Rockhopper in the shed (bought in new in the 90s), same vintage, same style decals but in pink on a blue/green frame, which is crying out for this treatment. Thanks for the inspiration. Needless to say, I also think this is my favourite of your bike builds.
My ideal amount of wabi sabi present on the finish of a bicycle... that amount that cannot be removed by lovingly caressing the finish by hand. I approve this restoration effort.
I had the exact same bike And I know where it currently lives...so wish I had it back now...his son works in one of our local bike store and plans on giving it some loving ..thank goodness!
My 92 stumpjumper looks beaten to crap compared to this and possibly beyond repair, but this video gives me some hope that a bit of polish and effort will bring it back from the brink of a full respray.
Great timing. I was just about to do the same with my '93 Trek 930. I didnt know exactly what to start with. Thanks. TIP: For an old steel frameset (especially with ugly rust chips in the BB shell ) I would recommend using corrosion protection for closed sections. I think its called Cavity Wax in english. They sell it in spray cans with a very long elastic hose that allows you to spray every tube from the inside. The metal is protected from the outside with all the layers of paint, wax etc. But from the inside its very vulnerable.
I just found the the same bike same color ,,it’s a “expert “ this week here in the Canary Islands . In a backyard. Sitting for years . Just stripped it today.... It was sitting outside for years. Lots of rust but surprisingly cleaned up really well. You’re right about the paint. They really did a great job on the quality. Thank God it was owned by a lady.. ,,,wish me luck !
I know this is an old vid but I gotta say, excellent purple bike. Just got me an old purple Nishiki from ‘85 that I’m gonna follow this process on. Great video, love the content!
Based on your video, I followed this procedure on a bluish-purple '94 Univega Via DeOro that was so dusty and dirty the purple nearly looked black. Used Turtlewax polishing compound and wow did the colors pop!
Dope ! 👍🏾 Very nice finish. BTW, clay bar removes paint contaminates. The stuff you don’t see that makes your paint gritty. Fantastic content. As always, thanks. Happy Turkey day, Gobble Gobble✌🏾🦃
just spend 3h in the garage stroking my tubing to get it slick and shiny... on a bianchi 1989, gonna wax it tomorrow. i just love those (theres a good word for it but cant remember, not native) repeditative/meditative tasks the give you time to reflect. 9/10 will restore bikes again, when wallet heals(i need a set of silver perferably campa shamal for it)
My 1992 Specialized Crossroads is the hybrid cousin to that Rockhopper. It still has the original drivetrain (except for the chain) with the Biopace triple chainring.
Ok. So I just completed a restoration of a vintage mtb. It turned out great. However I didn’t go through a process like this to restore the paint. I only did the last wax step. I’m totally doing this process!!!! Thanks. Yours looks amazing!!!
Thank you sir! Funny, your comment yesterday came out right as I was making this video, and I was thinking “well Rolando will be happy to see this upload” hahaha
@@Spindatt Thank you for hearing me. You sir have truly reignited my love for bikes. I spent too many years racing and taking myself and cycling way to seriously. Don’t get me wrong I still have my high speed low drag bicycles dripping in carbon, but I’ve recently restored 4 bikes, completed my first dad bike conversion which is my favorite bike to ride right now, and have just acquired a bike to start a monster cross conversion. For this recovering racer, you’ve been a really healthy change of pace. Thanks keep it up.
Very nice !! I cleaned up an 80’s Bianchi frame that will soon be a single speed but now I will have to see how much better it can be .. thanks for sharing !!
Cool! I have an all original Trek 8200 that I have traced the serial number back to September 1986. I was twelve. I love this bike and several of my buddies have tried to get me to strip it, repaint it and build a "true" gravel bike out of it. It would make a great one, but it is in such great shape that I hate to do that to it. I have been threatening a tear down and good polishing, as all of the aluminum is looking pretty rough. So I am pretty sure this video, coupled with seeing some OldShovel videos where he polished the aluminum...dude I think that y'all have inspired me.
Eric would you be so kind to sum up the details of all the product that you used? I have a 1992 Rockhopper in faded metallic green with pink/purple decals waiting to get build. Can't wait to get started!!! Cheers!
Nice I got a 2 steel 18 inch rockhoppers 1 red with green logos, one black with pink or purple logos. Want to turn my black one into a gravel with the new surly bars.
I've been subscribed since the old days.....What a great video from the best cycling channel I'm subscribed to.....Home mechanic stuff is just great and the satisfaction of building a bike from scratch is rather satisfying... I've been jotting down some of these tips (as it always pays to have a pen and notepad alongside the PC.....old school, but it works) on polishing a battle scarred old frame...... My 2014 Boardman CX bike needs to have the same treatment with the wax and polishing...It's done about 18k miles since I bought it (and it's now 1x, tubeless and other parts replaced as and when blah, blah etc) and I'll leave all those dings and scratches (rather like guitars) as that sort of thing, always gives a bike some character.... Really thinking about getting an old 26" rigid frame and doing the gravel bike thing myself as I have a myriad of spare parts and suchlike just stored in boxes.....Spend a bit of cash on the few parts I haven't got and you never know, it might turn out OK.....I used to ride old Kona's back in the early '90's, so that might be a starting point for a frame and fork (old Project 2's) but I do remember people riding purple Rockhopper's back in the day eh ? That's the thing about being 57 years ole.....you've witnessed all the improvements in technology....There's still some mileage in keeping old retro bikes going.....and that's pretty damn awesome in my view. Great channel.....Keep up the next level work......Everything has gone up a tad in levels....more pro......Nice.
Nice! I rode a green one of these from Malaga in Spain, over the Rif and the Atlas in Morocco, then down to La Youne on the Western Sahara border. In 1987. Deffo worth restoring. Still riding a 1990 black and fluoro green Competition Cannondale here in NYC.
Beautiful. I have an 84 Trek Single Track Series MTB that has 95% of original finish and decals that is getting taken down to the frame for a Dutch-Canadian Winter build commuter. I so need to detail it out just as you did the Rockhopper. Inspired by Calgary Winter bike You Tuber.
Awesome content as always! Could you or any of your viewers recommend the correct procedure for cleaning up a very old dusty frame that's been sitting in a shed for a while? The paint looks very promising, but I don't want to scratch it while removing the thick dust layer.
I've just bought an old Kona frame and plan to follow this, thank you! I was curious did you consider doing a coat or two of clear coat to help maintain the shine? I'm not sure if that's advisable or works especially if decals are a little "roughed-up".
Nice work. For polishing up metal bits, I've been using Never-Dull magic wadding polish or one of several similar products available. Might work nicely on the paint too, but I haven't tried that yet.
Looks great. I just can t stop myself saying it needs a different crankset to make it even better. That current one is out if place. I’m sure you ll take care of it soon ;)
Awesome job on reviving the beauty and sheen of your bike's paint job. One question that I had, in order to preserve the luster of that shine, would applying another coat of clear coat permanently preserve it, instead of having to re-wax your paint to maintain its beauty?
This is beautiful! My question is how much time did you spend working in it compared to just staring at it? I'm now going to look on market place to find a 90's mountain bike in my size. I've wanted to do this kind of project for so long. You've been the catalyst. Thanks Eric!
I'm curious, I have a black '94 Rockhopper FS that I've finally come around to restoring after abusing for years but if I gave it this same treatment and forego the wax and instead use the compound to get it semi-smooth could i clear coat with a automotive 2K clear coat to at least "capture" the patina charm and give it a little gloss or is this a bad idea?
after you finished you must be thinking what else i could polish and i would replace that seat post clamp for somthing newer or somethin that looks les heavy
Could you please make a list of the cleaning and waxing agents that you use? I've been all over Amazon but I'm lost now. And btw... I'm seriously interested in that shiny silver jacket that you wear at the beginning of the video. Where did you buy that?
How big is that front sprocket? Did you swap the full back wheel or just the cassette? Just picked up one and would love any insight into a modern 1x groupset
Very nice work! Wish I had seen your video before I started restoration of a 1989 Rock Combo. I'm the second owner, original purchaser is a good friend of 50 years. The bike was bought at a shop within 50 miles of where I live now and in the town where my friend and I went to college. So it has some sentimental value that I wanted to preserve even though it was in much worse shape than you RockHopper. I was able to find matching touch up paint, restored the down tube decals, and am waiting on a top tube decal. What year is the RockHopper? Did it come with the drop bars?
So how do you shine up a powder coated bike? My Karate Monkey which is less than two years has less shine than this bike. I had a 20+ year old Gary Fisher that had more shine as well.
Nice vid. I've build a similar bike based on this concept with an old Giant Track Expert. Didn't you have some live feed with other TH-camrs to discuss bike builds? I would like to send in my bike to have it discussed by you :).
U just added 5 lbs to the bike, cuz now U gotta carry a U-lock on it everywhere U go, Looks so Sharp!
By far my favorite bike in your collection. Keep up the great work sir!
Mine too!!!
Honestly want one because of this channel.
Love the vintage rigid mtn bikes ....the original “gravel grinders”
Keep it up 👍🏻
I bet it will be even more beautiful with the sun shinning on it.
Just waiting to have that moment again!
I have a Rockhopper in the shed (bought in new in the 90s), same vintage, same style decals but in pink on a blue/green frame, which is crying out for this treatment. Thanks for the inspiration. Needless to say, I also think this is my favourite of your bike builds.
Cyclesmith tech here, thanks for keepin' the sticker man
I always polish and wax my builds. Makes for good protection and looks.
My ideal amount of wabi sabi present on the finish of a bicycle... that amount that cannot be removed by lovingly caressing the finish by hand. I approve this restoration effort.
I had the exact same bike And I know where it currently lives...so wish I had it back now...his son works in one of our local bike store and plans on giving it some loving ..thank goodness!
My 92 stumpjumper looks beaten to crap compared to this and possibly beyond repair, but this video gives me some hope that a bit of polish and effort will bring it back from the brink of a full respray.
Great timing. I was just about to do the same with my '93 Trek 930. I didnt know exactly what to start with. Thanks.
TIP: For an old steel frameset (especially with ugly rust chips in the BB shell ) I would recommend using corrosion protection for closed sections. I think its called Cavity Wax in english. They sell it in spray cans with a very long elastic hose that allows you to spray every tube from the inside. The metal is protected from the outside with all the layers of paint, wax etc. But from the inside its very vulnerable.
We need to see more of this bike, it’s soooooo fuc*in beautiful 😍😍
Combining two of my favorite things in the world, bikes and paint correction. LOVE how it turned out.
This is my favorite bike you have built, and now it looks so good your not going to want to ride it and get it dirty again.
I just found the the same bike same color ,,it’s a “expert “ this week here in the Canary Islands . In a backyard. Sitting for years . Just stripped it today.... It was sitting outside for years. Lots of rust but surprisingly cleaned up really well. You’re right about the paint. They really did a great job on the quality. Thank God it was owned by a lady.. ,,,wish me luck !
I know this is an old vid but I gotta say, excellent purple bike. Just got me an old purple Nishiki from ‘85 that I’m gonna follow this process on. Great video, love the content!
Based on your video, I followed this procedure on a bluish-purple '94 Univega Via DeOro that was so dusty and dirty the purple nearly looked black. Used Turtlewax polishing compound and wow did the colors pop!
Dope ! 👍🏾
Very nice finish.
BTW, clay bar removes paint contaminates. The stuff you don’t see that makes your paint gritty.
Fantastic content. As always, thanks. Happy Turkey day, Gobble Gobble✌🏾🦃
You did an amazing job, no way would I want to paint over that beautiful original color 👍🏽
holy crap that looks good.
really appreciate your philosophy on restoration - preserving the character of the bike and its life to that point
2:27 Look kids, even Eric washes his chain and cassette.....once in a while. ha ha Love what you did with the bike! Paint wise that is.
just spend 3h in the garage stroking my tubing to get it slick and shiny... on a bianchi 1989, gonna wax it tomorrow.
i just love those (theres a good word for it but cant remember, not native) repeditative/meditative tasks the give you time to reflect. 9/10 will restore bikes again, when wallet heals(i need a set of silver perferably campa shamal for it)
That's great, you can totally see the difference.
My 1992 Specialized Crossroads is the hybrid cousin to that Rockhopper. It still has the original drivetrain (except for the chain) with the Biopace triple chainring.
Oddly satisfying. Thanks for taking the time to post this.
Ok. So I just completed a restoration of a vintage mtb. It turned out great. However I didn’t go through a process like this to restore the paint. I only did the last wax step. I’m totally doing this process!!!! Thanks. Yours looks amazing!!!
Thank you sir!
Funny, your comment yesterday came out right as I was making this video, and I was thinking “well Rolando will be happy to see this upload” hahaha
@@Spindatt Thank you for hearing me. You sir have truly reignited my love for bikes. I spent too many years racing and taking myself and cycling way to seriously. Don’t get me wrong I still have my high speed low drag bicycles dripping in carbon, but I’ve recently restored 4 bikes, completed my first dad bike conversion which is my favorite bike to ride right now, and have just acquired a bike to start a monster cross conversion. For this recovering racer, you’ve been a really healthy change of pace. Thanks keep it up.
Nice job! There's something really satisfying about giving a bike a deep clean whilst keeping the original patina.
Great job on the old girl, I do this regularly on my Ridley and it’s amazing how much easier it is to clean after a nasty ride…….
You’re absolutely right about what clay bar does. Never thought doing a detailing job on a bicycle frame. Bike looks fantastic! 🤟🏽
Nicely done!! it is only Original once!!!
Very nice !! I cleaned up an 80’s Bianchi frame that will soon be a single speed but now I will have to see how much better it can be .. thanks for sharing !!
This is the coolest bike on the channel. So good.
This is called LOVE!
Cool! I have an all original Trek 8200 that I have traced the serial number back to September 1986. I was twelve. I love this bike and several of my buddies have tried to get me to strip it, repaint it and build a "true" gravel bike out of it. It would make a great one, but it is in such great shape that I hate to do that to it. I have been threatening a tear down and good polishing, as all of the aluminum is looking pretty rough. So I am pretty sure this video, coupled with seeing some OldShovel videos where he polished the aluminum...dude I think that y'all have inspired me.
A beautiful way to use and bring back to life a retro frame. It looks absolutely awesome 👌
Wicked. Helicopter tape on that bad boy to protect the key areas of the frame where it's likely to be get damaged and you're good to go!
Bike looks great. Fantastic restoration work. They try to sell you the same bike today for several grands as a "gravel" bike.
Love it! All about the left field tinkering oddball approaches you take.
Very cool outcome.
Eric would you be so kind to sum up the details of all the product that you used? I have a 1992 Rockhopper in faded metallic green with pink/purple decals waiting to get build. Can't wait to get started!!! Cheers!
Wow! There's hope for my vintage Specialized after all! In all seriousness though, Outstanding!
Cool idea! I restomodded a Norco mountaineer with this bike as inspiration, and it could definitely use this treatment!
Nice I got a 2 steel 18 inch rockhoppers 1 red with green logos, one black with pink or purple logos. Want to turn my black one into a gravel with the new surly bars.
Awesome video. Many thanks from Montreal.
After seeing how nice this turned out, now I have to do this to my well loved Surly Ice Cream Truck!
I've been subscribed since the old days.....What a great video from the best cycling channel I'm subscribed to.....Home mechanic stuff is just great and the satisfaction of building a bike from scratch is rather satisfying...
I've been jotting down some of these tips (as it always pays to have a pen and notepad alongside the PC.....old school, but it works) on polishing a battle scarred old frame......
My 2014 Boardman CX bike needs to have the same treatment with the wax and polishing...It's done about 18k miles since I bought it (and it's now 1x, tubeless and other parts replaced as and when blah, blah etc) and I'll leave all those dings and scratches (rather like guitars) as that sort of thing, always gives a bike some character....
Really thinking about getting an old 26" rigid frame and doing the gravel bike thing myself as I have a myriad of spare parts and suchlike just stored in boxes.....Spend a bit of cash on the few parts I haven't got and you never know, it might turn out OK.....I used to ride old Kona's back in the early '90's, so that might be a starting point for a frame and fork (old Project 2's) but I do remember people riding purple Rockhopper's back in the day eh ? That's the thing about being 57 years ole.....you've witnessed all the improvements in technology....There's still some mileage in keeping old retro bikes going.....and that's pretty damn awesome in my view.
Great channel.....Keep up the next level work......Everything has gone up a tad in levels....more pro......Nice.
Just LOVE how much you love bikes...great, great job. Looks incredible. Inspired me to do the same to my vintage ride. Norton would be proud!
8:20 y'all needed some corny 70's porn music for the slo-mo segment 😂😂
I was thinking the same thing! I imagined some Barry White ultra deep voice...
Nice! I rode a green one of these from Malaga in Spain, over the Rif and the Atlas in Morocco, then down to La Youne on the Western Sahara border. In 1987. Deffo worth restoring. Still riding a 1990 black and fluoro green Competition Cannondale here in NYC.
that is AMAZING! you can start a side job as an bike detailer! i want to take out my rockhopper and polish it up now, Great video!
Beautiful. I have an 84 Trek Single Track Series MTB that has 95% of original finish and decals that is getting taken down to the frame for a Dutch-Canadian Winter build commuter. I so need to detail it out just as you did the Rockhopper. Inspired by Calgary Winter bike You Tuber.
Awesome! I‘m currently building up a 1992 Stumpy in the same purple but with metallic blue decals. I will go for a MTBMX with BMX stem and bar.
Sweet Potato Fries! I have to find one of these purple frames. Thanks for the video Eric!
Holy moly, this is such a cool bike. It looks so awesome
Looks great, lovely colour.
Wow, you nailed it! The bike looks so good!
Hope you got some frame saver in there.
its in there don't worry!
@@Spindatt Phew! Glad to hear it, it's a lovely build.
I'd ride that thing every day. Damn!
Love the look. Shiny skinny steel Specialized bikes are cool.
Don't worry about the relic marks man 😎
Good job…Amazing bicycle 🎉😮
Great video, very nice bike. You inspired me to fix up an 1998 GT Palamor. Thanks
I didn’t get to finish the video last night. But damn... it looks amazing now!! Come polish my hopper. I’m not that tedious. Lol
Gorgeous sir love the purple
Beauty! Inspirational too... Cheers!
Oh no now Eric is going to start cleaning chains!!! Lol!
Never! This one is just kind of new hahaha
Looking good 👍
Looks great Eric. Loving the daily uploads. Keep up the great work 👍
Looks great. Have you ever sprayed clearcoat over a really bad, faded paint job? How did it turn out?
SO beautiful!!! Great video:).
Definitely need a sunshine shot!
Awesome content as always! Could you or any of your viewers recommend the correct procedure for cleaning up a very old dusty frame that's been sitting in a shed for a while? The paint looks very promising, but I don't want to scratch it while removing the thick dust layer.
Looks good bro! Definitely a big difference and I'm sure the camera still does it no justice.
Looks amazing! Didn’t expect that. Nice work
Great content really enjoyed this. The bike looks amazing.
Thank you!
I've just bought an old Kona frame and plan to follow this, thank you!
I was curious did you consider doing a coat or two of clear coat to help maintain the shine?
I'm not sure if that's advisable or works especially if decals are a little "roughed-up".
Sick work bro, love the colour so much
Nice work. For polishing up metal bits, I've been using Never-Dull magic wadding polish or one of several similar products available. Might work nicely on the paint too, but I haven't tried that yet.
Extraordinaria quedó la pintura¡¡
Looks great. I just can t stop myself saying it needs a different crankset to make it even better. That current one is out if place. I’m sure you ll take care of it soon ;)
Great vid thanks ! I do the same thing on some of my bikes but by hand, I have to get one of these orbital sanders ... That purple...
Awesome job on reviving the beauty and sheen of your bike's paint job. One question that I had, in order to preserve the luster of that shine, would applying another coat of clear coat permanently preserve it, instead of having to re-wax your paint to maintain its beauty?
another coat of clear would probably be the best bet. though I will just keep waxing it.
looks great! not something I'm going to do, no I don't think so.
okay being the white scuffs are gone, maybe I should do this...
This is beautiful! My question is how much time did you spend working in it compared to just staring at it? I'm now going to look on market place to find a 90's mountain bike in my size. I've wanted to do this kind of project for so long. You've been the catalyst. Thanks Eric!
Lol I looked at it for WAY too long
Love a bit of old school 'patina'
Patina was the word my head was searching for during the entire dialogue of this video hahaha
@@Spindatt having watched Salvage Dawgs/Barnwood Builders it's firmly etched in my head !
Your hopper has more character than mine.
I need to put my front brake cable stop on the fork like yours. The sad thing is that I have the part too.
Quit dragging your feet about it! Get it done haha
@@Spindatt lol. I don’t feel like unwrapping the bar to make a new cable housing. I’m lazy ok?? 😂
I'm curious, I have a black '94 Rockhopper FS that I've finally come around to restoring after abusing for years but if I gave it this same treatment and forego the wax and instead use the compound to get it semi-smooth could i clear coat with a automotive 2K clear coat to at least "capture" the patina charm and give it a little gloss or is this a bad idea?
looks DOPE!
after you finished you must be thinking what else i could polish and i would replace that seat post clamp for somthing newer or somethin that looks les heavy
Could you please make a list of the cleaning and waxing agents that you use? I've been all over Amazon but I'm lost now.
And btw... I'm seriously interested in that shiny silver jacket that you wear at the beginning of the video. Where did you buy that?
How big is that front sprocket? Did you swap the full back wheel or just the cassette? Just picked up one and would love any insight into a modern 1x groupset
Use some speed shine with the clay bar.
please put a black headset spacer to cover silver stem adapter that is showing please
Very nice work! Wish I had seen your video before I started restoration of a 1989 Rock Combo. I'm the second owner, original purchaser is a good friend of 50 years. The bike was bought at a shop within 50 miles of where I live now and in the town where my friend and I went to college. So it has some sentimental value that I wanted to preserve even though it was in much worse shape than you RockHopper. I was able to find matching touch up paint, restored the down tube decals, and am waiting on a top tube decal.
What year is the RockHopper? Did it come with the drop bars?
Hi,
What size are the rims the bike you have in this video?
Thanks
Celeste bar tape to "match" the tires!
Where did you get this tires? I'm struggling to find nice 26 inches rimes here in Spain...
So how do you shine up a powder coated bike? My Karate Monkey which is less than two years has less shine than this bike. I had a 20+ year old Gary Fisher that had more shine as well.
Nice vid. I've build a similar bike based on this concept with an old Giant Track Expert. Didn't you have some live feed with other TH-camrs to discuss bike builds? I would like to send in my bike to have it discussed by you :).
So when you used the clay bar, did you go all the way down to the paint or was that just used to even out the clear coat?
Clear coat only. No sanding