Mountain Biking - Help me decide which!

Its my first post so just wanna say hi to the mountain biking community here. :) Its that time for me to upgrade my mtb as my current one is falling apart. My budget is about 550$ and it looks like its between these two. What do you guys think? Ive ridden both and they feel great except the fuji has a 27spd as compared to the 24 on the trek. Any other suggestions that you guys may have?

http://treksandiego.com/site/itemdetails.cfm?ID=468&Catalog=39&sort=Price

http://www.fujibikes.com/2005/bikes.asp?id=44#

Have a look here, http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=56148 . Other than that if the price is similar and the specs too then pick the one you like.

Hmmm... should've looked first. The Fuji looks a clear winner, brakes are upgradeable (new word!) without having to buy shimano, better fork, better drivetrain, prettier too!

Of course the Fuji is better, it is $200 better. Hahaha... No seriously, bikes do get better with price. If they both feel good, then you could go either way. Speeds added tend to be the lowest possible speeds, so you'll have 3 extra "low" gears, not necessarily the high ones.

What kind of riding will you do?

mainly trail riding with a bunch of steep uphills and downhills. Another bike that im considering is this

http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=9605&bikeTab=techspec

and i can get that Fuji for the same price as the trek which is 549$.

Well that sounds like the best deal if you can get it at the same price!

It looks liket the Hardrock is better suited because of the frame geometry. It has a lower center of gravity.

Hardrock :)

I'd still go the Fuji, but you have to ride them to decide.

ive ridden the fuji and its awesome. It shifts so much better than the others most likely due to the full deore setup as compared to the acera/deore on the trek and alivio/deore/acera on the specialized. Looks like im going with the fuji! :D

Upgrade the brakes ASAP. those tektro's aren't worht the powder to blow them back to Hell
http://www.pricepoint.com/detail/12605-115_AVDMD3-3-Parts-158-Brakes/Disc/Avid-Mechanical-BB7-Ball-Bearing-Disc-Brake-160mm.htm

Go with the Hardrock, the Fuji looks like a Walmart bike,and the Trek looks like a 90's paint job.

whats so bad about the trekto's? Will they explode or something after about 100miles?
The fuji has the best complete set of deurailers (all deore as compared to the mix match of the others)of the group and the crankset and drivetrain seem to be the same?

Fuji seems to be the only one that comes with a lockout feature on the 80mm fork?

Im not a pro biker so im not really trying to upgrade to the best parts possible, im on a budget. :D

Go with the Hardrock, the Fuji looks like a Walmart bike,and the Trek looks like a 90's paint job.

im trying to go with an all performance outlook, appearance comes second when i come to buying

If your used to riding with v brakes then theres nothing wrong with tektro disks, their still going to be better than anything you've used before. If your a pro or a "serious mtb'er" or even just a bike part geek then tektro's wont rock your world. I have tektros and am happy with their performance and reliability, they are a big step up from v brakes I rode before. I must be completely ignorant I suppose. There are better disks available, the bb7's pointed out to you are most peoples choice, I wont be upgrading mine however, my brakes already exceed my expectations in most conditions given I'm not a downhill racer. I did swap my levers over though from the tektro's to a set of Avid sd5's, but I found I lost ultimate power but gained adjustability which was worth a small decrease in ultimate stopping power. The avid levers must not have quite the the same lever ratio as the tektro. On the whole go with the bike of your choice and dont be swayed by ridiculous argument re colour or "x bike rocks and the others are gay". None of the bikes your looking at are bad bikes, choose, let us know.

thanks man, that helped alot. Im actually coming from side pull brakes on my huffy :p hahaha

Check out the Haro V4. It is a very impressive bike at the 500 price point.

http://www.harobikes.com/mtb/vseries-v4.php

Check out the Haro V4. It is a very impressive bike at the 500 price point.

http://www.harobikes.com/mtb/vseries-v4.php

that bike looks awesome but how are the reviews on it? This is actually the first time i have heard of this bike and it looks like ive got more researching to do!

after searching the forums it seems that Haro bikes are budget priced with quality components installed on them! :eek: That V4 really intrigues me since it comes with LX der. in the rear and deore in the front. Well looks like its between this and the 2005 fuji outland pro.

whats so bad about the trekto's? Will they explode or something after about 100miles?

While it's not probable I wouldn't be surprised if they did. The only discs I've seen that are worse are the Promax discs

I must be completely ignorant I suppose. There are better disks available, the bb7's pointed out to you are most peoples choice, I wont be upgrading mine however, my brakes already exceed my expectations in most conditions given I'm not a downhill racer.If you think the Tektro's are hot you have NO idea what you're missing The Avid's are by FAR the best mechanical disc on the market the even rival hydraulics in terms of power and modulation

[color=blue]If you think the Tektro's are hot you have NO idea what you're missing The Avid's are by FAR the best mechanical disc on the market the even rival hydraulics in terms of power and modulation

I dont doubt it, but while I dont go so far to think the tektro is hot it was such a step up from my V's I have'nt yet felt the need to upgrade them. ;)

I dont doubt it, but while I dont go so far to think the tektro is hot it was such a step up from my V's I have'nt yet felt the need to upgrade them. ;)
When you feel like an upgrade.
http://www.pricepoint.com/detail/12605-115_AVDMD3-3-Parts-158-Brakes/Disc/Avid-Mechanical-BB7-Ball-Bearing-Disc-Brake-160mm.htm

well heres the conclusion. I purchased NEITHER of the above listed bikes and got a 2005 specialized hardrock pro disk in black! Pics to come when she arrives. plus she comes with the avid bb5 disk brakes .

not that it means anything now, but I think you made a good choice. I work in a bike shop that sells Trek and Specialized, and I really like Specialized, as a brand. Their "pro" models are often a good deal, because they upgrade the components without upgrading the frame. While many people may disagree with me, I think the components can often be more important than the frame, especially for recreational MTBers. The reason is this: a good frame provides a better ride, but good components keep your rig from breaking down on you. I don't care how nice the frame is...if your chain keeps coming off from bad derailleurs, you're not going anywhere.

well heres the conclusion. I purchased NEITHER of the above listed bikes and got a 2005 specialized hardrock pro disk in black! Pics to come when she arrives. plus she comes with the avid bb5 disk brakes .
Good deal!. The BB5's are only a small step below the BB7's and that's mostly in the ease of adjustment category. Pick up a can of Denatured alcohol for cleaning them. You'll want to do this after handling the rotors to clean any grease / skin oils off.