Grove Innovations Hard Core x2

Imagine it's 1991 and you just walked into the Bicycle Shop in State College, this is what you would have seen (maybe not in front of my garage door though.)


Growing up in State College (where Groves were made and sold) I remember going into the Bicycle Shop and drooling over the Hard Cores at leat 2-3 times a week after school. I always wanted one but could never make it happen. So, I built these two bikes just like they would have been built back in the 90s.

The larger one is a 1991 that I got on eBay last summer. It came with Hammerhead bar/stem combo and Rock Shox fork. I was able to find a Hothead bar/stem and a Hard Core fork to complete it. The paintjob is a Black/Wineberry Pearl to Wineberry fade. The front looks black, but under direct sunlight the red really shows up. This bike is built with mostly all NOS parts (since I'm going to ride this one most I felt it wasn't worth using all NOS parts) including; Shimano M735 XT drivetrain, Specialized Ground Control tires, Syncros Ti post, Chris King headset, Hugi hubs on Mavic 261 Ceramic rims with a Dura Ace 11-24 cassette, black Ringle skewers and a Flite Ti saddle. The bike will also get get a pair pf matching Hot Rod cranks with a Chris King bottom bracket to complete it. I'm tossing around the idea of putting black Grafton speed controller brakes on it, but might just keep it stock M735. This is one heavy bike at 28.5 lbs, a much different ride than my Adroit. One really cool thing about this larger frame is that it was built just three days after my birthday in 1991.

I actually bought the smaller of the two bikes first, back in State College during Christmas of 2010. It was painted in Wineberry and complete with Hotheads and Hard Core forks. Interesting bit about this frame, the top tube and down tube are 91/92 Hard Core stock, the seat tube is earlier 89 or so Assault or Hard Core stock and the rear triangle is from a 94/95, so it's one odd duck. No serial number to boot. This one is completely built with all NOS parts including; Shimano M735 XT, Specialzied Ground Control Extreme tires, IRD post and Turbo saddle. I think Bill did a fantastic job with this paint, it's even more amazing in person.