Mountain Biking - Which bike? Raleigh m80, raleigh

So far I have looked at a raleigh m80, raleigh mojave 5.5, giant iguana, teranaut taum sauk, a rockhopper, hardrock, and a gary fisher wahoo. I have narrowed it down to the m80 or the 5.5 mostly, but im still slightly considering the iguana if someone points out a problem with the raleigh's.

I can get an 05 m80 on closeout for $530 from $610. It is just as comfortable as the 5.5 and adds a few upgrades. The 5.5 is $460. The thing I am concerned about is the disc brakes. It has haynes HMX-2 disc brakes. How are these? heres some links to stats on the bikes

http://www.raleighusa.com/items.asp?deptid=11&itemid=208&childid=316
http://sunsetcyclery.com/itemdetails.cfm?catalogId=39&sort=priceasc&id=2782

What do you guys think? Seems obvious the m80 is a better deal, but I dont know much about the brakes. I plan on doing xc riding mostly on this. nothing crazy.

I just read some reviews on mtbr.com on the m80, and everyone seems to think iit is too heavy and handles like a tank, and that the manitou 6 fork is too soft. Felt fine for me on the test ride, but I didnt do that much. all of the bikes I have llooked at are a huge upgrade from my bike so they all seem good.

Raleigh makes a solid bike. I still ride my '98 M-30 (fully-rigid), and that thing has taken a lot of hits. Out of those two bikes, I would definitely go with the M80. It has better components all-around:

F. Derailleur: Shimano Deore vs. Acera on the 5.5,
R. Derailleur: Shimano LX vs. Deore
Shift Lever: Shimano Deore vs. Alivio 8spd

The M80 is 9 speed vs. 8, which is the current standard and I think would be easier for you to upgrade later if you ever wanted to. Also, even if you don't like the Hayes brakes on it, the frame/hubs are already disc-ready, so you could upgrade rather easily to a nicer set of discs. I'm not sure if the Mojave is disc-ready, but probably not...

Those brakes aren't the best but I think they are better than the V's that come on the 5.5. The M80 is pretty much raleigh's top of the line, behind the talas I think. I'd go with it.

Felt fine for me on the test ride

Forget the reviews, that's all that matters.

how does this bike look? all the components seem excellent to me
http://www.rei.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?storeId=8000&catalogId=40000008000&productId=47968602&parent_category_rn=4500839
I can get it for $650, rei is having a 20% off sale

http://www.rei.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?storeId=8000&catalogId=40000008000&productId=47996473&parent_category_rn=4500839&vcat=

or this one. I can get this for even less. I dont know much about sram models, how are these? How are the brakes?

The m80 is heavy, but after you ride it for a while you dont really notice. My 05 m80 now sports a marzocchi mx comp eta and mavic 717/hope wheelset( with other minor upgrades, bars, stems...). This makes it much lighter. The hayes brakes are good for someone starting out. They have a easy learning curve maintenance wise and stop you like they should. Although when they get wet they sound like a giant school bus going downhill. The rest of the drive train (crankset, derailers, shifters) work fine, i havent had to replace them yet. Id say go for it, its always a good platform to upgrade in the future.

I have a Giant Iguana and my friend has an M80. I like the look/feel of my bike much better, but the Raleigh has better components. Get what you like the best now, because if you don't like it now you will never like it.

I went with the m80. Nothing else compared. Im gonna test it tomorrow i'll let ya know how it is

I went with the m80. Nothing else compared. Im gonna test it tomorrow i'll let ya know how it is

Cool, good choice. Post some pics when you get a chance!