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There are, but the sidewalls of a RH, tire are WAY more flexible in the sidewall than other tires, so the suspension is far better. Might be worth the price. If your looking for a mid-rage in price...

... I, as well as at least one other redditor, run DMR Supermoto's [Non-Affiliate Amazon Link].

While this review says the loose dirt grip itself isn't great, they ran the tire at WAY too high a pressure (60psi), and I would recommend running them at closer to 45psi. The dirt performance will be better. The sidewalls are thin, but not RH thin. They roll quite fast, and feel more than supple enough on the street and on washboard. I enjoy them quite a bit, and found pretty good value for the money.

If you're below 200lbs, you could get away with running an even lower psi (40'ishpsi).

Are RH tires, better? Probably, they're supple like crazy, but I've had a great time with the Supermoto tires on my 90's resto-mod adventure bike.

I also hear good things about the Maxxis DTH, but can't speak to that from personal experience.

Thanks! I almost pulled the trigger on a HardRock when I was looking for a 90s MTB frame! HardRocks have such good paint jobs. Can’t wait to see your build.

Re: Helpful build list. While I did a lot of research online, ultimately I got the best suggestions when I was talking to the guys at the LBS. Parts bought at LBS here cost on an average 25-30% more than online but I value their advice a lot so it’s worth it for me. This is my first build so I got a lot of input on how to put the bike together. Shout out to guys at The Peddler Bike Shop in Austin TX!

The Tektro Levers I used are from an older failed Rockhopper conversion. They’re linear pull so they should be fine with V brakes (open to be corrected. They seem to work great for me). They’re Tektro RL520.

If I didn’t have these levers on me, I would most likely have gone with cantis since I love the way they function and look (I was looking for a good looking bike as well).

Hope that helps.

Haha, tis okay. We're all jealous of your score, and that great choice of bars and tires.


How about these pedals, in white? I rode singletrack with them on my mountain bike. They worked great before I switched to clipless pedals.

Edit: I also own a set of these which cost about twice as much, but are very well made and great value for the money. I think they're as nice as $100+ MTB flats. I think either the black or grey ones would look nice on your bike.

Hey guys, my Antelope 800 is staring to take shape. I'm waiting on some tubeless sealant before I mount these. After throwing some swept back bars on this and riding for a week I can really tell this frame is going to be great for me in the long run so I'm more open to upgrades than I was at first but still want to keep the whole thing on the cheaper side.

I have a bunch of creature comforts on the way but I've been weary of any major drivetrain stuff.

Stuff I have on the way:

-platform pedals

-uno seatpost

-charge spoon

-koolstop pads

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I also snagged some bontrager square taper crank arms with a 104 bcd for $15. It doesn't help me now but it should be easier to 1x with the smaller BCD in the future and I've needed this in the past but couldn't find em cheap enough so I figured I'd just grab em.

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Looking for advice on drive-train.

I started looking into converting this to a 1X6 setup as I actually really like the stock rear 6 speed gearing already. The drive-train probably isn't super high quality and its a freewheel which limits my options as far as extended gear ranges goes.

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I'm wondering if I should just hold off on any major drivetrain changes until I can find a cheap doner cassette wheel instead of freewheel. But that would require a new derailleurand shifters and everything.

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For a minute I thought I found the perfect fix in this https://www.amazon.com/USA-Made-SharkTooth-INTEGRATED-drivetrains/dp/B01NAT2NWS/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_3?keywords=shark+tooth+pro+28t&qid=1557779307&s=gateway&sr=8-3-fkmrnull that would fir mt 104 bcd crank and it provides the 28 tooth that matches the middle chainring I currently have and like. But then I read it has issues with 6 speed chains.

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Any ideas of the cheapest and simplest way to go 1x? Can I switch to a 9 speed chain and grab the sharktooth chainring? Keep my stock middle ring and cranks (with shorter bolts) and get some kind of tensioner/guide?

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Go for a 30 tooth chainring and get a wider range 6 speed freewheel?

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Give up and just never shift the front derailleur?

I can't really comment on that, as "regular backpack" is very subjective. The Wald 137 is 13 in x 8 inches at the bottom of the basket, but it opens up to 15 in x 10 in at the top. If you measure your pack, you should be tell whether it will fit or not.

I can say that my Fjallraven Kanken backpack squashes into the basket, as long as I don't stuff it all the way full. My WW2 US military issue M-1941 haversack fits perfectly in the basket. My Chrome Barrage Cargo backpack won't lie flat in the basket, as it's a little to long.

But a cargo net makes pretty much every pack fit as long as it can sit in the basket.

Here is a pic of my Fjallraven stuffed full in the basket, with a net over the top.

Thanks! I've been having a blast on this thing.

I put this 90mm stem on it. I mainly chose the shorter stem to accommodate the drop bars. I think the stock stem was a little longer than 110, but i'm not sure. The bike definitely turns a bit quicker. I prefer the handling with the shorter stem.

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TIL what "cold setting a frame" is. I'm on what i think is the original wheelset. I think i like this frame too much to experiment on.

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I kept as many components as i could. that's also the original drivetrain i got with the bike (minus the chain and shift levers). The bike was in relatively great shape when i got it.

I scored this Rockhopper for $50! Now I’m looking to modernize pretty much the whole thing. Please critique my build list below. Would you get anything different, or better, or maybe anything else that would be better value? Did I miss anything? Do you think all of this will work together? It will be my adventure bike for bike packing, gravel, off road touring.

FOMTOR 25.4 stem 60mm 35 Degree Bike Handlebar Stem Riserhttps://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07G71CZG6

UPANBIKE Road Mountain Bike Bicycle Stem Riser Adapter 1 1/8" φ22.2mm https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071LLR8PR

Action 1-1/8" W/Adjuster Black Cable Hanger Fronthttps://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XCSKWCQ

KMC X9L 9 Speed Chain Gold Coatedhttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B0789HPV7M

Wheel Set 26 x 1.5, Mavic x M117, Deore M530 9Sp Hub, Blk SS Spokes, 32Hhttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B0033H53VI

Shimano Deore 9-Speed Mountain Bicycle Rear Derailleur - RD-M591https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003OWPRLI

Maxxis DTH 26 X 2.15 60A Kevlar Blackhttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B004XIT4YS

XCSOURCE MTB Mountain Bike Crankset Aluminum Bicycle Crank Sprocket and Bottom Bracket Kit 170mm CS400https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LWXUV7I

RaceFace 104mm Single Chain Ringhttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D3FG6ZW

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Edit: Adding Shifters and Cassette

SHIMANO Deore SL-M590 9-Speed Shift Lever
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IKVJF8Y/

JGbike Sunrace 8 9 10 Speed MTB Cassette 11-40T 1 Wide Ratio Including 22mm Extender - for SRAM Shimano-Type splined freehub Body
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MRLWHEO

1. Proofide: slather it on.
   
2. Sunshine (or a mild controllable heat source like a blow dryer): This will heat the seat and assist the absorption of the oils into the leather
   
3. A percussion massager (like this https://www.amazon.com/Percussion-Adjustable-Intensity-Interchangeable-Shoulders/dp/B073H51W6N ): Get one that is roughly the same distance between the massage heads as the distance between your ischial tuberosities (your sit bones). This massager can replicate the action of of your sit bones weighting and un-weighting on the seat while cycling. It can do this so much more quickly than your butt can. Use the massage heads on your seat only where your sit bones rest.
   
4. Repeat until comfortable

New Rear Wheel - had a 6 speed before so had to get a new wheel to fit the 11 speed and just shoved it in there to spread the dropouts.

New rear mech, cassette, shifter, chainring, and chain SLX m7000 - may or may not be real Shimano.....

New Crankset and Bottom Bracket - came wrapped in chinese newspaper. But.... it all works wonderfully!!!

It's this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075FL98Y8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I looked everywhere for an inexpensive riser stem that wasn't adjustable, but they were usually really expensive. This one fits the bill perfectly.

Thanks! This stem adapter and this cable hanger.

It's the Velo Orange PassHunter Canti rack: https://www.amazon.com/Velo-Orange-Passhunter-Front-Stainless/dp/B004JKIA5E.

Looks to be pretty similar to https://velo-orange.com/collections/racks/products/vo-rando-front-rack-cantilever, except mine doesn't have that adjustable piece.

Here's a set with Mavic for a little more than $100. I haven't shopped wheels for a couple years, but there was a time when everyone was blowing out rim brake Deore wheel sets. A deeper search would probably turn some up. That said, the Mavic/Deore wheels would cost a good $180 in parts. All ya gotta do is seat the spoke heads and tweak the tension. I'd prefer Sun rims over Mavic. Last I checked they can take about 15kgf more tension as the alloy isn't as brittle.