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I built a late 80s Specialized Rockhopper as a bush basher to live at my dad's place in Castlemaine, and it quickly became my daily commuter. I'm currently building another for a friend out of a custom built Gotty Hansen frame.
I'd say that they don't really fit into any of those categories; they're a little sluggish and heavy, and not very blingy or attractive, except in an 'old worn t shirt' kind of way. I'd call it a Dirt Tourer.
If you need more bar rise, try using a Dirt Drop stem, Nitto still make them and they can be bought through Ben's Cycles in the States.
For tyres, I'd go for something lightweight and with a soft casing, because damn they're sluggish enough as it is. I went for Resist Nomad 2.15" tyres on a friend's recommendation and haven't looked back. They can be found locally. They're far lighter and have a softer casing than Marathons, and make for a buttery smooth ride. I've had one flats in just under a year, which is good considering they spend most of their time in the broken bottle capitol of Melbourne.
2.15s wont fit in my friends frame, so I'm looking to get a set of
Compass 26x1.75 tyres, which look even nicer.
For cranks I'm happy with the 110bcd Specialized triple that came with it, previously set up with a 28-39-48, but now without the granny as I rarely used it. Combined with the 32t cassette it gives me enough range to do nearly anything, including mountain biking, but a smaller inner might be better. I always wanted to set it up with a triple as a double but running a single 'commuter' ring on the main spider, say a 46t, and then one granny MTBing/arse hauling ring on the inside triple, say a 32t. Fun times.
Anyway here's a few pictures of a recent ride through the Otways for build inspiration. I have since gone back to 44cm Nitto Noodle bars, instead of the 38cm SR Randonneurs pictured there, because I preferred the width and I needed that Technomic stem for another bike. Replaced it with a Nitto Dirt Drop stem.
IMG_2665 by
biekomelbourne, on Flickr
IMG_2670 by
biekomelbourne, on Flickr
IMG_2684 by
biekomelbourne, on Flickr