This week’s Readers’ Rides comes from our home base of Santa Fe, penned by Ship of Fools Pedal Club and the Santa Fe Fat Tire Society‘s own Blake Hendsch. Below, Blake writes about a fun Specialized Hardrock basket bike build. Let’s check it out!
Planning and building a bike project often brings a sense of satisfaction that rivals riding, or at least, that’s my experience. The urge to create, to piece together a machine from a jumble of parts, is a powerful force that can often be all encompassing. Projects come and go, but there’s always one silently brewing, whether it’s sitting in my shop or mentally tucked away in my mind. The parts and frames accumulate, take up space, dusty and scattered, a jumble of chaotic potential. It may take years for that potential to be fulfilled, but when it does, the satisfaction is immense. This was the driving force behind this Hardrock build.
Three years back, my partner Emily’s last bike met its untimely demise in an unfortunate crash, leaving her in need of a replacement. I had just finished a single-speed build and selfishly was itching for another hit. I had a stash of vintage 90’s Shimano parts that I’ve been carting around for 15 years, begging to be paired with a frame of the same era. With Emily’s slightly hesitant approval (she knew this was more for me then her), I embarked on an eBay adventure and unearthed a true gem of a 1993 Hardrock Ultra with a pink and purple fade. It fit us both, and those colors caused a flood of nostalgia, taking me right back to my youth in Marin County in the early ’90s.
The initial build was a slightly unusual affair. I had most of the necessary parts, which were all very nice, and while some might question the wisdom of using “overly nice” parts on a modest Hardrock, I find that mindset silly. The drivetrain was primarily a nearly complete XTR M900/950 groupset (salvaged from my father’s long-neglected, rusted out Otis Guy beam bike). The XT rear wheel and original Kooka cranks (since replaced) came from my childhood Bontrager X-lite, a bike that saw countless miles of Mount Tam. A 1-inch King GripNut headset needed a home (or an eBay listing), so I installed it. And finally, I quickly bought a pair of 2.2 Maxxis Rekon tires online to finish off the build. Everything came together and was ridden extensively through the summer of 2023.
Over time, the Hardrock has continued to be a “project”, and I’ve gradually added new components: A Paul front wheel (an unreasonably low $50 find at the Santa Fe Bike Swap!) was thrown on. The purple and blue Cook Bro’s cranks were a result of a late-night, insomnia-driven eBay search for color matched parts. A Thompson Elite 26.6 seatpost was sourced from the late, great Kenny Gonzales (RIP). The front rack was salvaged from a bike shop trash bin, due to slightly bent stays and it being aluminum (metal fatigue be damned! I should probably replace this…). A pair of brand-new, never-mounted 2.4 Maxxis Ardent tires, came from a generous friend (A little work with a hacksaw and a file to the dropouts allowed for the extra tire clearance).
Unfortunately, due to unforeseen medical issues, Emily is currently unable to ride. As a result, I’ve more or less adopted the Hardrock as my townie/basket jammer for urban dirt rides. Emily will eventually be back, but until then, I’m more than happy to keep it warm for her.
Build Spec:
- Frame: 1993 Hardrock Ultra
- Shifters/levers: XTR M950
- Brakes: XTR M950
- Rear Mech: XTR M900
- Front Mech: Shimano 400cx
- Front Wheel: Random Paul FHUB laced to Mavic X517 rims
- Rear Wheel: XT M750 laced to a random rim
- Tires: 2.4 Maxxis Ardent
- Cassette: XTR M900 8 speed
- Cranks: Cook Bro’s Dog Bones
- Chainrings: Mix of Profile Racing, Shimano, and Avitar
- Pedals: Omnium
- Seatpost: Thompson Elite
- Saddle: Selle Anatomica x2
- Headset: King GripNut circa 1996
- Stem: Nitto Technomic
- Bars: Random parts bin find
- Rack: Bent Soma Demi Porteur with a Wald basket
We’d like to thank all of you who submitted Readers Rides builds to be shared here at The Radavist. The response has been incredible and we have so many to share over the next few months. Feel free to submit your bike, listing details, components, and other information. You can also include a portrait of yourself with your bike and your Instagram account! Please, shoot landscape-orientation photos, not portrait. Thanks!