i bought and upper end hardrock a few years ago. it was really nice stock, but i started riding a lot more single track about three years ago and decided to upgrade it to make more trailworthy. itis a really nice bike that offers a good platform to upgrade to if your into that sort of thing. on the other hand, i spend waaaaay too much upgrading and ened up getting a new frame to better compliment the nicer components. long story short, i should have bought a brand new stumpjumper to save money. but then again, my bike is pretty sweet and custom and i know a lot more about mechanical stuff from building it up. stay cool bikeforums.net!