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.

there are times...

There are times when being a cyclist with a budget can be tiring.

It starts with me looking at VeloNews to see what is up in the world of bike racing (something that I am still interested in despite all of the scandal to rock the sport of late). From there, I see adverts for nice bikes, read a review on the site about some pro's this or that, look at a pile of very well taken pictures of the top pros (men and women) doing their thing on their nice machines, and then, I end up in a vortex of online window shopping and wishful thinking.

I end up at the online stores of some of the high end Canadian bicycle retailers like La Bicicletta to drool over some bicycle componentry. I want a new seat post. The "Kona" brand one on my cross bike needs to go. Don't ask why. Just assume it needs to go. I want to lower the center of gravity on the bike and that is the best way to do it based on how the bike is now. I already have a hollow ti railed Specialized saddle on it, so that is already done. It is light and fits me like it was made for me. Cool beans. Carbon would be good for the seat post, but Zipp makes a nice aluminum one that is not too heavy. Looks cool too. Is more adjustable than what is on the bike right now. A lower center of gravity makes the bicycle more lively and handle better.

I also want a new wheel set. The Shimano RS10s on the bike now are ok. I get a nifty wiggle (I can see it flex side to side) when I fly over bumps mid turn. They don't come out of true. But that is disconcerting. They are also heavy. And rumour has it prone to spoke breaking not that I have had an issue with that yet. Knock mass out of the wheels, and the bike goes faster. It also climbs better. It is a very good place to reduce mass. Less rotation mass is a good thing.

And that leads to looking at different wheel sets. I would like to get a good set but don't want to go crazy on it because that gets kind of spendy. It would be easy to blow over $4000 on a set of wheels. Very easy.

Not. Going. To. Happen.

However, getting a nice but not crazy nice new wheel set in the next year actually makes sense. In about five years, I want to get a Cervelo R3 or the equivalent. Supposing Cervelo does then what they do now, the frame will be top notch, the components good, and the wheels kind of blah. So having good wheels already (something Cervelo supposes that people buying the R3 actually already have) makes sense. To me. Kind of. So Reynolds, Ambrosio, Mavic etc all get a visit from me. So does Zipp, but that is mostly so I can laugh. Spendy. Ouch.

Besides, nicer wheels will make the next few years both more fun and therefore more better... or something. And they would put off the urge to replace the bike further into the future since the bike would feel better to ride which is good to. Right? Guess not if you are Cervelo, but guess so if you are me and actually having to pay for it. I do like my Kona Jake the Snake 'cross bike, but it does lack in a few things (how they keep the cost down dontcha know).


Looking at this stuff leads me to look at stems, bars, and other Kona brand things on the bike which leads to more day dreaming and more mouse clicking and then a serious problem: Good bike stores stock good bicycles. And I like good bicycles. A lot. Italian stuff is what I really want. Names like Pinarello, Campagnolo, Gipiemme, Modolo and the like give me goosebumps. For real. In my heart of hearts, I want a Pinarello with Campagnolo record components. I really do.

Oop.

Remember that budget?

Le Sigh.

Thankfully, if I spin my desk chair in the living room around and away from my computer, there behind me is my bicycle. Stuck on a trainer. Sitting there looking at me.

And I like it. And it likes me.

And that is a good thing. It provides a nice reality cheque...

ever have one of those days?

Recently, I had a birthday.

I am well on my way towards being 50 (eek!! how did that happen?!?) and am planning my mid-life crisis. I am funny that way. I don't have crisis' like normal people do, I plan them... and I figure that 50 is as good a time to have a crisis as any, so...

I am planning a crisis for when I turn 50.

Like most of these things, my crisis' tend to centre around bicycles (and maybe sometimes cameras, but this one will be about bicycles). I am planning a new bicycle for my 50th year. I am not sure which bicycle exactly, but it will definitely be a road bike of some sort. I am not the sort to run around after unattached women (and make a fool of myself and ruin my family) or to go out and buy some stinky sports car, but I am always in the mood for new bicycles.

My last two bicycles that I have been riding on the road have been cyclocross bicycles. More or less, these are road bikes that are a bit over built with clearance for mud and mud tires. My most recent one is a 2013 Kona Jake the Snake. I love it and have no desire to replace it. By the time I am almost 50 though, it will be nearing the end of its life cycle as the main road/rail trail machine.

I am wanting to put my bike that slots into the Kona's position in the fleet with something special next time. Something Specialized in fact.

I was thinking one of these:

Shawing mobile?!?

Why this bike and not something else?

Well, I would like a carbon fiber road bike. The whole notion of a very light and very tough and very fast machine appeals to me greatly. I know very well that the determining factor is me. What makes the bike go is my legs, heart, and lungs and a will to suffer. But, a bike like this makes working me a lot more fun and enjoyable.

Carbon fiber has come a long way from the days when frames used to come unbonded and fall apart in splintered shattered wrecks. Specialized does some nifty things with their frame manufacturing. The frame is in seven parts. Four of these parts make up the chain and seat stays, and three the rest of the frame.

The area around the seat is one piece, with extensions pointing towards the steer tube, crank, and seat stays. The bottom bracket is also one piece, with extensions pointing towards the chain stays, steer tube, and seat. The steer tube section is one piece with extensions pointing towards the bottom bracket and seat. What makes these frames cool is that for different sized frames, they don't just change "tube length" but actually make different sized and proportioned parts for the three main frame components so that ride characteristics for the different frame sizes remain the same regardless of frame size. Once the bits are assembled, using aircraft adhesive, several more layers of carbon are wrapped on the frame as a whole to finish the assembly process.

The carbon is wrapped in such a way that the frame, once assembled, with flex slightly up and down but won't flex side to side. This gives a very good ride without compromising performance. You can do this with carbon much more effectively than with other frame materials. Super stiff steel/aluminum bikes will pound the daylights out of the rider while more comfortable ones will flex too much to be stellar performers. Carbon can be tuned more specifically.

Stress tests on modern carbon frames show them to be less likely to shatter or break compared to metal ones. Specialized has proven to my satisfaction that their carbon frames are stronger than metal ones regardless of the metal (steel or aluminum) while being lighter in the process. I had a very interesting talk with a bike mechanic friend of mine who had been to a "Specialized Weekend" in Montreal to play with their new stuff and learn how they are made and what stress testing is done on the frames to ensure their durability. They are tough. Full stop. Carbon wheel sets are also not what they used to be. They can withstand significant forces before breaking, more than aluminum ones will.

This bike has a groupo on it that I have been wanting to try. There is nothing wrong with Shimano. In fact, every bike I have owned since my first serious bike has had Shimano stuff on it. But I want to try SRAM road componants. I like the notion of the front derailleur which twists with its shifting to line up better with the rear of the bike and rub less. The reach adjustments are better for the brake/shift levers than Shimano (SRAM uses infinitely adjustable set screws vs fixed spacers). Specialized wheel sets are good, and this one has a carbon set - should be very light and strong.

The only question for me at the end of the day is whether to go with a Tarmac (like above) or with a Roubaix.