A bicycle reborn: 1998 Specialized S-Works M2 HardBike

Dateline June, 1998.

A new bicycle enters the fleet.

The Specialized S-Works M2 Hardtail.

Since then, the bicycle has been ridden and ridden hard. It was showing signs of serious wear, but I could not bear to part with it. The fundamentals of the bicycle though, remained sound.

The most worn part was the suspension fork. After 16 years, the seals were mostly gone, and the fork was not functioning properly. To replace it, even as a bicycle store employee, was prohibitively expensive. Why? To do it, I would need the fork, a new front wheel, a front disk, calliper, and brake lever. Why? There are no good forks which work with my XTR v-brakes so I would have to switch to disk brakes on the front.  I could likely get a new bicycle for the price of all of that stuff, which I can not afford to do right now.

So enter the HardBike.

The HardBike in all of its glory.

The HardBike has no suspension.

The solution to the bicycle's suspension woes was to do away with the suspension.

One seriously stiff unsuspended fork.

The M2 frame designation.

S-Works and Chris King.

The bike is a mix of the new (and old new).

Matching Easton cockpit. The stem and bar are older, but fully serviceable and give a nicer riding position for me. Note the old school extra long stem.

Old school again - XTR Rapid Rise derailleur and SharkFin.

The original Specialized S-Works strong-arm crank with brand new Shimano XT pedals.

My old Mavic Cross-Ride wheel set with a new no longer made XT rear cassette.

So, enter the antics of the HardBike.