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That kids gonna be stoked! I gave away a 24" mongoose cruiser bmx to a friends son after fixing it up and now I see the boy riding it to school every day. Good feeling.

Loved this video. I'm recently retired and need something to do. This looks like a totally edifying hobby. Pick up used bikes refurbish them and give them away to a deserving kiddo. I'm going to fix up my sun room that doesn't serve a purpose into a bike repair studio. Thanks so much for uploading this video. I can see myself doing this. I might be a girl but I'm mechanical, this video made me realize that this is very doable. Plus, stop paying the bike shop for overhauls on my own bikes.

*Bike stores hate him.* *Evapo-Rust loves him.*

Your pretty much teaching us bicycle repair and restoration, for free. I wouldn't mind working at a bicycle shop lol

I have no bicycle but here I am.. watching this like I own one for years. You explain things so well, it’s mesmerising, thank you.

Thanks. You're partly responsible for me presently doing this same process to a beat up 1995 Raleigh USA M-80. It's a fun and educational project.

I repair & build bikes myself,but from time to time i refare to some of your ideas such as some tools you make if you can't redaly buy them.You are a excellent teacher & a big help to many. Thank you.

Love this video. I do the same type of work. Bikes given to me to refurb and they usually go to a deserving person. This serves two purposes: 1) gives new life to a bike and 2) gets a bike to a person who can more than likely not afford it. It’s all good.

What's good about RJ is that he explain things to u as he restore the bike the other guys don't explain anything to u when they retore a bike on You Tube a matter of fact they don't even talk , RJ gives u the break down and also a math equation on fixing the bike, thumbs up RJ you are a genius on fixing and restoring bikes.

It would be awesome if you did a video about where you get some of your supplies, like the cable, housings, ends, and any other consumables that you use a lot... Thank you soooo much for all of your videos!

Hi RJ A fellow is giving me an older Hardrock about the same vintage for me to refurbish for a young guy who needs a bike. Thanks for showing this example of helping someone out. Thats what life is about.

This is really informative. I can't wait to have my own garage so I can start doing projects like this :)

Learning a lot. I wish I had this knowledge with my past 6 bikes. The 7th bike is coming.

Awesome! A specialized hardrock was my first real mtb. I learned basic trail riding and jumping skills and progressed with that bike until i got my first dirtjumper! It also survived my first downhill experiences and a year and a half of bicycle messerger jobbing. A very sturdy and long living bike for sure!

I have an older Hardrock Comp HR, but it's like in new condition for a 2004 model, I bought it used in 2005. The only reason for that is the lack of use and having it properly stored indoors. However, I've been hooked on mountain bike videos for the past few weeks and I'm ready now to start riding. Your video was very helpful for identifying certain parts, cabling and other misc bits of information that will add to my knowledge base. Nice work bringing the bike back to useable life.

I learned so much by watching this video. I'm a 64 yr female and thinking about fixing my old Schwinn 10 speed mountain bike and you given me more tips than our local bike shops. I don't have a bike stand and I don't plan on buying one, but I'll figure something out to hold this thing.

When my kids were small every weekend I would work on their bikes if friends bikes and all the kids in the neighborhood that was over 25 years ago now they're all grown and they tell their kids what I did very nice feeling

Specialized Hardrocks are amazing bikes! Mine is still in great shape after 24 years. I think the front shocks need a tune up and that's about it.

I might just get into biking again after 15 years since childhood days. Learning some free knowledge, thanks!

Fantastic !!! You are awesome my friend, not only did I get a wealth of mechanics but there's a person who will be enjoying this labour of love. Thank you and God bless you.

Man your videos are just fantastic. I love rebuilds like this...especially on the mountain/gravel side with something that's pretty current.

When you install new brake cables I pull all the slack from the the cable so the pads are tight the rim and pre stretched the cables by pulling the brake lever they should leave a nice tight break with no need to adjust the brake cables after a few rides

Like you, found a garage sale Specialized… you, clearly demonstrated a thorough clean up/upgrade process. Excellent video and explanation. Thank you!

the bigest relief on this project was the removal of the kick stand. soooo satisfying.

Great idea on wrapping the handle bar with the saran wrap like that! In the past I have taken 2-3" diameter PVC pipe with a sealed end and put the item down in it and fill with evaporust. Then put a loose cap on the open end and let it sit in an upright position. (I have restored the legs from old pinball machines this way.)

You’re awesome sir. Top 3 professors teaching at KZfaq University. 👏

Thanks RJ. Great tips, tricks and insight. Have not repaired a bike since 40 years ago. Now I'm pumped to fix the same HR .

Thank You Sir! I have enjoyed riding MBikes ever since I was a kid , and after serving as a Marine Infantryman it has been an uphill battle trying to get even one full bike working so I can attempt to stay in shape. You good Sir are my savior....You make it so easy to understand and follow along as I fix my own POS bike...(well, the one for my semi-foster-adopted 17yr old daughter first) and I can feel good and proud to have fixed the shit myself and maybe even teach her how to care for her own bike. A True Gentleman and a Scholar. Many thanks, new sub after this video.....Semper Fidelis!

You definitely have to make a video on the reaction of this kid!

Thanks for all you do RJ - just recently picked up a used bike for my son and have applied many of the lessons learned from your videos to breathe new life into it. Keep up the great work!

Removing warning stickers and polishing the frame makes it look a lot better and shinier, it takes half an hour at most if you’re super meticulous and it’s pretty cost effective

$15 specialzed.... For the longest, I figured a $25 Haro F4 (2005) was a steal😉! all it needed was crank and brakes and tires odyssey gyro and upgraded to a heavy chain and 33t sprocket.... but you sir are legendary!!! Yeah, Covid -19 has spurned the teenager bike builder in me 👍thanks for this

about disc brakes....I've found wheels to be erratic consumables: with rim brakes, you can wear down the rim. with any wheel, you can seriously damage it via ruts, branches, potholes, even just being a heavy person. And then the spokes....wear out, break, become corroded where you can't adjust them. So my point? An active rider may run through rear wheels fairly often, and at least in my experience, rim-brake wheels cost about 1/2 what a disc brake wheel costs. You just have to look at what kind of rider you are; if your rims last you forever, then the reliability of disc brakes makes sense. If you're on a budget and are hard on the wheels, then the rim brakes still do a nice job (though wet weather is not the most fun).

I guess this is the best bike reassambly walkthrough on youtube. Love the channel.

for getting off grips, instead of pouring alcohol, you can blow air from an air pressurizer under the grip while lightly pulling the grips off. It has always worked for me

Wish I saw this video two weeks back when I was fixing up my old bike! Had to view a dozen other videos to try and lean everything in this one video. Thank you for this video!

RJ.. might i respectfully recommend you invest in a sand blasting cabinet, powder coating kit and mechanics parts washer? i use these items to restore my 30yr old bikes and they came out looking and functioning like brand new.

I just pulled my old 90s Trek bike out and started working on it. Thanks for the video! Very helpful.🚴‍♀️

I remember tinkering with bikes during my teens with just two crescent wrench and channel locks, you have cool tools i wouldn't mind getting in the near future

The kid must really be happy :), Thats a very nice bike to have especially as a kid

"Im going to remove the kickstand here so i can clean it up, by clean it up i mean taking it off and leaving it off" lmao

I have owned my Hardrock for over 30 yrs. Bought it used for 60 bucks back then. Great, low maintenance, simple mountain bike.

i must say, all fix it projects i have that i dont know how to do, i always come to your channel. your eficient, knowlegdeble, and u arent aggrivating in fact, ur entertaining. you are by far the best internet source for how to stuff involving things men fix. thank u for your time, work, and most of all shared knowledge. i literally check out my options, do what i can, watch you, order parts, then do the rest. one stop shop, no fuss, all buisiness , puttin in work like a boss, and teaching all the first timers and confused dudes no frills, exactly wtf to do. keep it up, even though i dont have a clue what new bike projects u havent put on youtube.u are the mf dude sir, and thank u for all the help u bring the bike life community. i hope u realize what an important asset u have been since vid1.

This one video covers a ton of information to work on bikes...I would love to see more!

Thanks a lot Mr RJ. I'm from Mauritius and I learned a lot from your project keep going on.

that's why it is 15, not 50. nice job. I learn a lot more every time i watch these type of videos. Unfortunately I don't have all the tools that fix it myself.

I love doing what you did to bikes... It is very satisfying to have new life to a bike..

This is great therapy

Do you have a bin of kickstands in the corner of your garage?

A couple of points when refirbishing bikes: 1) Check the bottom bracket and wheel bearings. If needed, clean and re-pack with grease. If a bike like this has sat outside, the grease in the wheel hubs and bottom bracket has had water get in and contaminate the grease. 2) Check and adjust wheel trueing. Reason being is that many times, a bike left outside will have misaligned or bent rims. And if those aren't within tolerance, riding the bike after cleaning and adjusting everything else won't matter, if the wheels won't roll true. Believe me, if you've got a bent rim or two, your brakes will let you know very quickly the work you may need to do, in order to have straight wheels again. I literally readjusted and re-trued my 29" rear hardtail rim last night, because I ride my bike everywhere, and was feeling a more than slight wobble in the rear wheel. I also adjusted the rear pads, because I was hearing some rubbing with the brakes released.

Great starting mountain bike for a kid. I had that exact bike. I found the frame and cranks too flexy myself, and the front fork almost threw me over the handlebars on hard cornered edges with its rebound. Good choice to replace it even if it wasn't cracked.

vaporust seems amazing

Don't take a drink every time RJ says "here." You'll regret it.

In every video, it is always a delight to see RJ forget what grease is for like 2 seconds, "So I was going to put some uhhhhhhhh grease around in the race here."

I keep a 30 inch long piece of 4 inch ABS pipe with a glue on cap at the bottom and a screw on cap at the top filled with evaporust for restoring antique woodworking tools, would work perfect for bars.

I like that you replace only what is needed to make it work again~ Thanks for the vid!-)

I can't say I've ever seen a fork go like that before - poor bike was certainly not as well looked after as I prefer it to be. But a little elbow grease and some TLC it's back in working order. So glad that didn't get tossed into landfill like most bikes that get into that deteriorated state do.

It's kinda cool to see basically a full fix-up of a screwed up bike you could find on an ad online and fix up yourself using this video and probably about 20-30$ worth of parts. Not counting the fork.

I am a self/internet taught wanna be bike tinkerer and avid rider, swapping out bits from pre-liked bikes I find in hard rubbish. In the majority of the maintenance/fixing tutorial vids on youtube the dudes are working on top end, clean, new bikes, with all the fruit in their toolboxes stored nicely in their well-lit workshops and their hands are too clean! I am outside, braving the elements with an army knife, WD-40 and some electrical tape in a country where I don't even speak or read the same friggin language as the yocals, making my old bikes rock. Enough about me, this is just one of the most informative and simply instructive tutorials I have seen. Well done mate. Plus, I find your voice calming, helps me meditate, like working on the old rusty steeds. On a side note, does anyone know how to tell when a chain is f@cked and when to switch it out with another shite chain? I just can't get the gears to sit right on one of my rides.

I`m guessing you realized by now, but, the reason the brake levers were bottoming out, and the noodle boot was getting crushed is the brake pad spacer orientation. I`m guessing by the long travel of the V-brake arms that the short spacers/ washers of the brake pads are on the inside of the arm and the thick/ tong spacers are on the outside. Maybe switch those around and see if if fixes the problem. In the current config I`m pretty sure you can`t unhook the brake quick release. Hope it helps!

Great job! I wish you were my neighbor. 😄 P.S. Those rubber boots...OMG!

Tip. A hyperdermic syringe, gets the alcohol under the hand grips better. Thanx for all the info.

Great idea with that rubbing alcohol. Evaporates quick, and clearly does the job. I will try next time. Thanks for the great tip.

fluorescent green cable ties would have been a nice touch. other than that, perfect.

Those rubber boots aren't worth using they are ruining the beautiful overhaul on this bike. Great video Guy.

RJ, you have an air-compressor. All you have to do is shoot compressed air between the handlebar and the grip, and the grips will break free and slide right off. You can also install new grips the same way, shooting compressed air, while pushing the grip on.

Just installed a $7 kickstand on my $40 garage sale bike. Thought that you'd appreciate that upgrade. Keep doing what you're doing. My Rockhopper is now ready to ride!

"by cleaning it up i mean taking it off the bike and leaving it off" hahaha i was dying thats so funny but so true kickstands make you look like a noob

DAMN GOOOOOOD! watched A ~ Z and leaned a lot... thank you bro!

Good job of reconditioning an old cheapo bike without spending a lot of money. It helps that he already had another fork in his parts bin. He saved that bike from the trash can, really. I doubt anyone else would have taken it. I found an old 7 speed Raleigh MTB lying up against the dumpster a couple of weeks ago. Gonna do an El-cheapo reconditioning job. Will replace seat, grips, tires and tubes, pedals, cables and housing. Repack all bearings, lube running gear and call it a day. Probably cost around $100-150 max. Probably sell it for what I put into it.

Hi RJ....Your videos are second to none. Been having a blast modifying a 1999 Marin Rock Springs Enduro bike. Thanks for all your excellent videos from Shocks to Brakes...Wonderful Work.....

use a compressor to take the grips off

nice job but you forgot the seal in the top of the headset

Damn. I always wanted a Hardrock. And this piece for 15$? That's a steal. Nice job

I had one of these bikes, 2006 model I believe. Super durable and easy to fix, a great first MTB that can take real off-road abuse.

you always have tons of soda in your garage 😂😂😂

thanks for the update video..looks good..im surprised though you didnt take the shifters apart OR try to clean them and put a little oil inside? How about the bb? did you take it all apart and clean?lil oil on front and rear derailleurs?seat post removed,cleaned and lil lube? IM sure you did things and didnt film every single minute?

Great idea for, the paper towels and, plastic wrap. Brilliant!

The young man would have loved getting this bike, well done Sir on another quality bike restoration 👍👌👍

Whoever disliked this must hate their life. Thanks RJ for making how to videos. I've been meaning to say this, bike rebuilds has a lot of sexual references 😂😂

noooo! you can't just cut zip ties Rj: *haha ziptie go snipp*

Very educational - thanks. Also your video was very useful to get to know all the names of / terms for the various bits and bobs that you have on a bicycle - the component names etc. Also, I was really surprised how well that anti-rust solution that you had worked. cheers JB

love the way how you take a very practical approach to bicycle repair

15$? That's cheaper than my pedals. What luck!

Any specialized is better than no specialized but dang those graphics are ugly, thou the Rockshox makes it look soo much better. I'd imagine the kid's like it and if getting a quality - pro setup bike like that gets the kid interested in a lifetime of ridding then that's all that matters.

Tips - remove handlebar grips by putting the end of bars in hot water, protect hand with rag/glove. After cleaning/removing rust from parts with moving parts - eg. Skewers, derailleurs, seat clamp, shifters, brake levers - put the parts in a tub of 50:50 atf:kerosene, lubes and rust protects. Good to soak new shift/brake cables in before installing also.

Have you ever tried the reverse plating method for rust removal RJ? I cleaned the rust off all the brackets on my vintage 60's Ford Mustang using this method. Just add 1-2 tbsps. of Muriatic acid (Toilet Bowl Cleaner) to each gallon of tap water in a PLASTIC container big enough for the parts (Kitchen garbage can works well for large parts like handlebars. Maybe a whole Steel frame in a XL garage garbage can). Then with picture hanger wire wrap all your parts in series. Immerse all the parts COMPLETELY in the container with H2O/ Muriatic solution, with a length of wire hanging out of the container. Hook the wire to the Negative terminal of a 12V car battery charger and the positive terminal to a thick nail or bolt thats immersed part way in/out of solution but NOT TOUCHING the matal parts or hanger wire. (best to clamp it to container). Set charger at 1-2 amps. and charge long enough to remove rust. The nail/bolt will gradually get thinner and may need replacing. make sure to thouroughly dry parts afyer to avoid flash rusting. Works GREAT for removing even stubborn deep rust (but takes a couple days of chargong for SUPER RUSTY parts, a few hrs. for slightly rusty parts). Do this in a well ventilated area, outside preferably, to avoid breathing in the toxic gasses.

How does a hard tail bike handle on rough trails? Thanks RJ hope you go for a ride on it

I'd have re-used the rusty chain (once re-lubricated) and the old control cables. I'm cheap!!

The sound of cutting cables is so satisfying

Very good practice to first clean any frame with a good cleaning product and check the tubes and welds etc for safety. I also purge all bearings etc with WD40 prior to teardown to prevent seizing and stripped threads. RJ does great work!

Have you taken this off any sweet jumps???

RJ why do you have a tent in your garage?

If I were purchasing this bicycle for my son I would be very confident in the purchase if I saw this video or if I knew how good your reputation is as a bike enthusiast. A job well done. It's also a relaxing video to watch... almost therapeutic.

I think the boy who is receiving the bike will be wowed,excellent restoration. 👏

Yeah to the ONE guy complaining , he has to replace the whole fork...don’t you feel silly now

I’ll take those junk forks gladly

Just found your channel and like what I see. I enjoy restoring mechanical equipment and especially bicycles. I just picked up an abandoned Specialized Sirrus that I will be road testing on my morning ride tomorrow. Thanks for sharing your expertise.

I bought this exact bike today at a flea market. I’m going to use your video as a guide to get it in shape. Thanks!