# 89 Specialized Rock Combo #? of 500



## fatchanceti (Jan 12, 2005)

Maybe some of you saw this on the Facebook page. Arrived a bit ago. Overall a pretty decent survivor.










Sorta straightened out:









Clean









Clean but heavy - especially the rear wheel









Not sure where these tires came from, but I'm not going to ride them - (rear clearance is also a bit tighter than I'd prefer). They sure do seem soft and new.












































The Suntour stuff is cool, but I'm awfully tempted to throw my complete XT M735 build on it, the patina is pretty close.









Nothing super exotic, but there were only a hundred handfulls of them made, and other than a few details (stem, tape, cables, tires) this one is pretty much all there. It fits me well, although the bar will take some getting used to (I think I like the Midge shape a bit more, but that may be a familiarity issue, combined with the quickish steering).


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## MendonCycleSmith (Feb 10, 2005)

Not being a ToolBook guy myself, nope, never saw it, but man, that's cool.

I vaguely recall seeing one or two over the years, but never knew the deal. 

Was it some kind of hybrid attempt, a tip of the hat to drop bar west coats style bikes, or what?


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## fatchanceti (Jan 12, 2005)

I did a little research on it while the bike was in transit. Here's an interesting bit of dialogue form an old google groups message board, including a snippet from the then Product Manager? at Specialized (Bryant Bainbridge, hence the BB-1 handlebar)



anonymous said:


> I have to say, Rich, Scott has this one right. The RockCombo was
> actually pretty different than the Rock Hopper, a much lower BB and
> also significantly more aggressive steering. I've owned one and
> ridden both, and they feel -very- different on the road / trail.
> ...





BB said:


> Well, it's kind of a sad story. The bike that got designed was not the bike
> that got built due to a manufacturing screw up. The design was a 72 degree
> parallel main triangle with 1 3/4" rake and about a 17" rear end. I don't
> remember exactly but the BB height was down around 11". The idea was to take
> ...


and another:


BB said:


> Well, it was never a clone of Grant's bikes and in fact Grant started making flared drop bars after I produced an aftermarket set for Cunningham at Specialized. This bike was modeled after various drop bar mountain bikes I had been making in the shop I ran prior to coming to Specialized. At the time we were the only shop to sell Cunninghams and sold his flared Cinelli bars and LD stems by Potts and later Ibis. I had busted my back in the 83 Rockhopper (a race before it was a bike for Specialized) and had spent the years after trying to find a way to still ride on smooth dirt roads without pain. Lots of experimentation with modifying various offroad frames & cross bikes led to a final design which I had Ibis build as a prototype. Wish I still had it because it was quite nice. You are correct about the factory substituting heavier tubing and the wrong BB height, but what really killed this bike was the idustry's move to 700c as the format of choice for the emerging hybrid market. Grant Peterson and I had agreed that we would both use 26" as the wheel of choice, a decision that did not work out for either of us. In the end, no one wanted hybrids aimed at the performance end of the market and we folded this one up after one year.
> 
> -BB (my name on the bars there)


Unbiased (ha!) review from back in the day


















I see from these reviews that my bike also lacks the original brake levers (mine came with Shimano 600 Aero levers installed instead of the Suntour GPX aero specced). I rode it a bit last night after swapping wheels and tires on it. It definitely steers quickly and the position down in the drops is quite low and aggressive. The 1.8 tires I threw on there temporarily definitely are a better fit than the 1.95 Hardrock'r ones do.


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## MendonCycleSmith (Feb 10, 2005)

Neat! Thanks for the history dig. 

So, Brian mentions Grant Peterson in a way that maks it sound like Grant worked for Spesh, and that's something I never heard before. 

Or am I simply misinterpreting the relationship?

Too bad the factory messed up......


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## fatchanceti (Jan 12, 2005)

I don't think Grant was at Specialized, but I think they were just maybe friendly behind the scenes discussions going on. There was speculation that the RockCombo was Specialized's MB-1 knockoff or something. More of their collaboration to try to make the hybrid 26" wheel thing a "thing"

That's how I read it.

Also, the position in the drops of this thing is pretty stretched out an aggressive as mine arrived. I'm fairly flexible, but it's pretty long and low. I'll probably end up running a Nitto MT-10 stem on it.


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## Jak0zilla (May 16, 2010)

Nice! There was one of those bikes in the window behind my workstand while I worked for several years in the early 90's. Definitely a bit of a head scratcher - it took a couple of years to sell. 

I ride a similar bike (Handsome XOXO) as a commuter, I like the 26" wheeled-drop bar "dead branch" of the hybrid tree. I like that I can swap around all of my MTB wheels and a lot of the 26" tires that I have. I feel like the 26's are a bit quicker handling on the pavement, and they are definitely stronger than 700's. 

Cool score, have fun with it!


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## Jak0zilla (May 16, 2010)

If you need an MT-10, I have one of the 10cm ones that I tried out while getting comfortable on my bike that I'd trade you something for if you want. 

I ended up going with a Nitto MT-3 because the front end of my frame is a bit higher and a felt a bit too Technomic'ed up there.


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## MendonCycleSmith (Feb 10, 2005)

fatchanceti said:


> I don't think Grant was at Specialized, but I think they were just maybe friendly behind the scenes discussions going on. There was speculation that the RockCombo was Specialized's MB-1 knockoff or something. More of their collaboration to try to make the hybrid 26" wheel thing a "thing"


Makes sense.

Funny that Specialized ever paid enough attention to Grants work that it came to such an idea


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## colker1 (Jan 6, 2004)

That's a 17in, right? Cool bike.


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## fatchanceti (Jan 12, 2005)

colker1 said:


> That's a 17in, right? Cool bike.


Yup. Smallest one they made.


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## colker1 (Jan 6, 2004)

You could raise the stem and if needed swap the hbar for an off road drop bar w/ less reach


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## fatchanceti (Jan 12, 2005)

colker1 said:


> You could raise the stem and if needed swap the hbar for an off road drop bar w/ less reach


yup. Anybody out there want to swap me their 25.4 Midge for a BB-1?


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## Jak0zilla (May 16, 2010)

Planet X is having a crazy sale on Midge bars. Only white in 25.4 though, but they're cheap.

EDIT: Nevermind. The shipping is insane.


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## fatchanceti (Jan 12, 2005)

Yeah, that shipping. Insane.


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## Fillet-brazed (Jan 13, 2004)

Pretty sure the XO bikes weren't around in that period so not sure what he's talking about with Grant and him agreeing to 26" wheels on a hybrid. Maybe the CB bikes?? But those had flat bars. I wouldn't really call the Rock Combo a hybrid either.. I would venture to guess the reason for it dying was simply demand for a mid-grade mountain bike with drop bars was weak. They should have done this with the Stumpjumper Team and had a flat or drop bar option. I think most of the Stumpjumper race team used drop bars on the pink Team bikes a few years prior.

Grant's '86 catalog shows an MB-1 with drops I'm pretty sure. And flared at that if I recall. If it wasn't in the '86 catalog it for sure was in the '87 catalog, two years before this bike came out.

Now where is this prototype Ibis!!??


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## colker1 (Jan 6, 2004)

Fillet-brazed said:


> Now where is this prototype Ibis!!??


Don't make us ask again..


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## fatchanceti (Jan 12, 2005)

I tell ya what, this thing felt really weird at first, but after a few hours to acclimate myself to it - it's a blast.

It's not light, but it's super nimble (cheating a bit with the lighter XT wheelset and a temporary set of super-duper light and non retro Conti Twister Pro Supersonic 26x1.8 knobbies (350 grams per). Those tires and the different wheels (XT M732/BX-23/HG90 cassette) knocked almost 2lbs off the bike from what it came with, and they roll super fast).










The position in the deepish BB-1 drops is eerily similar to my modern road/cx bikes. It's long, low and super fun to rail around gravel corners. I think I was expecting a feel closer to my old converted dirt drop setups, which this is not. It's a 26", knobby tire'd road/gravel bike. And HELL NO I'm not getting it painted.


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## fatchanceti (Jan 12, 2005)

Holy smokes would this thing be obscene with some shorter/lighter chainstays (and seat stays)?










According to my scientific "lift the bike by the seat and the bars" technique, all the mis-applied too-heavy tubing must be in those rear stays. It's a tank back there - even with the lighter wheelset and cassette.

The low BB is incredible when you lean the thing into turns though. It carves all day long and is super stable in corners and descending on asphalt and gravel. It sure would be fun to commission a custom version with modern tubing and shorter stays. No discs. The old cantis with KoolStops and proper setup are more than enough. I put another 26 miles on it last night and didn't leave the big ring. The thing motors.


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## colker1 (Jan 6, 2004)

You are one beer away from calling a custom builder.. Ok, make it 2 beers.


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## thekid (Mar 13, 2006)

Hello fatchanceti,

I suspect that quite a bit of the carving, railing and stable feelings you are experiencing are due to the long stays, not just the low BB height.

Also, if tire clearance is already minimal/borderline with a 1.95" tire, then shorter stays will likely make this even worse. Yes, one could shape the chain stays so they are more vertically ovalized, but that will reduce the lateral stiffness, which contributes to stability. The lateral stiffness will be reduced further if you choose lighter stays at the same time. All things being equal, shorter stays should be stiffer than longer ones, but you are also changing the shape and thickness of the tubes at the same time.

I'm glad you are enjoying this rare RockCombo the way it is. If you commission an updated version with a framebuilder, be careful not too change too much at once, or you may end up with results which aren't all improvements on the original.

Cheers,

The Kid


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## colker1 (Jan 6, 2004)

It would be cool to find the Ibis proto and then build something following it's lead.


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## fatchanceti (Jan 12, 2005)

Yes, I suspect all the factors are related - and no one design factor is operating independently. My old 1990 Fat Wicked had longer stays actually (17.1) and a 11.85" BB.

Really though, what you notice on this thing is how heavy the rear end is. It's immediately obvious when you pick it up. It's seriously tankish back there. 

I was moving my girlfriends 1991 Trek 930 this AM - it's like 98% stock and you can immediately tell that it's more balanced.


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## nimesq (Sep 4, 2014)

fatchanceti said:


> Really though, what you notice on this thing is how heavy the rear end is. It's immediately obvious when you pick it up. It's seriously tankish back there.


It really is. Every time I pick mine up I'm surprised at the weight distribution.


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## bikefanatic (Oct 22, 2012)

I just got one of these with the original tires still holding air and looking in great shape. Only thing not original is the stem, handle bars, shifters, break levers and seat. It was barely ridden and in fantastic shape. So much fun to ride!


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