The Rock Combo was Specialized's answer to Grant Petersen's Bridgestone MB-1 of 1987, in its steep angled, drop bar glory. Specialized had Ibis, Scot Nicol's quirky boutique brand from far Norcal build one prototype which various Specialized staffers rode and approved. The specs were then sent to whatever Taiwanese frame shop was then churning out tig welded Rockhoppers, with a production run of 500. Supposedly, the Taiwanese factory failed to follow the specs, made the bottom bracket drop too great, and used too heavy tubing on the bike as well.
By now, you're thinking "Wow, so he gets excited by a badly executed tigged clone of the 1987 Bstone MB-1." Yeah, I do; my interests really are that pitiful, and I suffer from some kind of strange obsessive compulsive disorder about bicycles in general and allrounder types in particular. The Rock Combo was cool because it was an attempt to make an allrounder bike that with just a tire change could go from fast road rides to fire roads and single track. It reminds me of my first gen Merlin MTB that sported drop bars and three wheelsets with different tires and cassettes: 26x1 with 12x21; 26x1.25, with 12x23; and 26x2.0 with 12x28, plus 50-38-24 rings. I still own that Merlin; it still sports drop bars, though it's moved back and forth over the years maybe about 5 or 6 times; in fact it had a Allsop Softride stem, my only use of suspension, for a year or so.
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Speialized Rock Combo with non stock tires, paint, and saddle. |