Specialized Hardrock Disc 29er – Review
Specialized Hardrock Disc 29er Review
NOW ON SALE AVAILABLE AT ONLY £350
First impressions: The Hardrock Sport Disc 29er comes with a modern cockpit featuring a short stem and mid-width flat bars. Wider handlebars offer more control and better riding position, the 660mm wide bars on the Hardrock offer good stability. As with all control components you may find yourself upgrading or tinkering with the cockpit of the bike in the future and even wider or riserbars may be a suitable upgrade. Handlebar grips are a low cost component to any bike, the grips on the Hardrock are Specialized own brand – no problems here!
Brakes: The Specialized comes with Tektro Novela Mechanical disc brakes. More responsive than rim brakes and enables you to stop aggressively but with a good amount of braking modulation. Disc brakes offer a confidence boost for riding at speed downhill, but these Mechanical discs are not a patch on hydraulic offerings at a higher price point. To my knowledge there are not any sub £400 29er bikes offering Hydraulic brakes – so these Mechanical discs will be fine until you wish to upgrade.
Gears and Groupset: The bike comes with Shimano 8 speed trigger shifters and offer great performance and trouble free gear shifting. The Shimano set-up is great and takes less getting used to than SRAM brand shifters where you use your pointer finger and your thumb to up-shift / downshift instead of using your thumb for both.
Suspension: The Suntour front forks feature lockout and 80mm travel. They’re durable, cheap and cheerful. Suntour are a standard OEM part at this price – the forks will offer you a degree of comfort and increased control – but they are not going to offer you much in the way of real offer road performance. They will however run fine on the bike with minimal maintenance for ages and are certainly worth having over a rigid front fork.
Tyres and Wheels: 29” wheels roll over everything with ease, but the tyres on the Hardrock let the bike down a little. The Fasttrak sport tyres are more suited to tarmac and fire-trail than off road mud, roots and rocks. If you are serious about taking the bike offroad then consider investing in some proper rubber for the job. The Specialized own brand tyres let the bike down a little. Perfect for hard pack and canal tow path riding they give minimal grip in the mud. A Something like the Continental Trail King would be ideal at Only £19.99 each.
Conclusion: The Hardrock 29er is designed with the recreational rider in mind and is perfect for tackling easier single tracks, cycle trails, commuting and fire roads. If you are familiar with the trails then Sherwood pines blue run would be ideal, the Hardrock could manage the red run but new tyres would be a must and if you had the dollar than an ebay upgrade to the front forks would be a suggestion.
All in all the Hardrock is a versatile and comfortable bike, and has everything you require to get into big wheel MTB and touring. At £350 the Specialized offers great value and almost unrivalled value for a 29er bike. NOW ONLY £350
With a smooth SR Suntour fork featuring lockout, powerful Tektro disc brakes, and double-walled 29-inch alloy wheels, the Specialized Hardrock Disc 29er 2014 Mountain Bike is prepared for mountain trails and urban jungles.
- Frame:
- Specialized A1 Premium Aluminium, 29er Geometry, ORE downtube, externally relieved headtube, forged dropouts, reinforced disc mount, replaceable alloy derailleur hanger
- Fork:
- SR Suntour SF13-XCT–MLO 29″, coil/MCU spring, 1-1/8″ steel steerer, mechanical lockout w/ preload adj., 28mm stanchions, post-mount disc, 80mm travel
- Front Derailleur:
- Shimano Tourney, 8-speed, 34.9mm clamp, top-swing, dual-pull
- Rear Derailleur:
- Shimano Acera, 8-speed, SGS Cage
- Number of Gears:
- 24
- Shifters:
- Shimano ST-EF51, 8-speed trigger, w/ integrated brake lever
- Chainset:
- Alloy, square taper spindle
- Chainrings:
- 42/34/24T, steel
- Bottom Bracket:
- Square taper, cartridge bearings, 68mm shell
- Cassette:
- Sunrace, 8-speed, 11-34
- Chain:
- KMC X8
- Pedals:
- Composite platform, w/ reflectors, 9/16″
- Front Brake:
- Tektro Novela, mechanical disc, dual pad angle adjustment, 160mm rotor
- Rear Brake:
- Tektro Novela, mechanical disc, dual pad angle adjustment, 160mm rotor
- Brake Levers:
- Shimano, included w/ shifter
- Handlebars:
- Specialized flat bar, alloy, 640mm/660mm wide, 8-degree backsweep, 4-degree upsweep, 25.4mm
- Stem:
- Alloy, 4-bolt clamp, 10-degree rise, 25.4mm
- Headset:
- 1-1/8″ threadless, loose ball
- Grips:
- Specialized Body Geometry XCT, Kraton w/ gel, 132mm
- Rims:
- HR Disc 29″, alloy double-wall, disc, pin joint, 25mm, 36h
- Front Hub:
- Disc, alloy, double-sealed, loose ball, steel axle, QR, 36h
- Rear Hub:
- Disc, alloy, double-sealed, loose ball, steel axle, steel cassette body, QR, 36h
- Spokes:
- Stainless, 14g (2.0mm)
- Front Tyre:
- Specialized Fast Trak Sport, 29×2.0″, wire bead, 40TPI
- Rear Tyre:
- Specialized Fast Trak Sport, 29×2.0″, wire bead, 40TPI
- Tubes:
- Standard Schrader valve
- Saddle:
- Specialized Body Geometry Hardrock, steel rails, 143mm
- Seatpost:
- Alloy, 2-bolt, micro-adjust, 12.5mm offset, 30.9mm, 350mm/400mm
- Seat Binder:
- Forged alloy, 34.9mm, QR, nylon washer
- Weight:
- Not Specified