Goodbye To Nova’s Rockhopper

Nova purchased her Specialized Rockhopper in late 2002 shortly after her Hardrock was stolen in Las Vegas. It’s the bike she’s taken on the majority of our trips and has more miles than any of her other bikes.

Last year I noticed it had a crack in the head tube making it unsafe to ride. She was reluctant to let it go but finally gave me the approval this weekend to retire it. I stripped it down to it’s light aluminum frame saving all of the parts.

If I had to guess as to how the headtube cracked, I’d say while the bike was in the fork mount rack in the back of the truck when we’ve driven it somewhat “offroad”.