Mountain Biking - Deadlock on bikes!

I am wanting to get a new bike and would like some help, what i would be using the bike for would be for light jumping, heavy road use, and i want to be able to mount two cages, front and back lights and a computer onto it.

BUT

Im stuck on what type of bike to get, i will have about 300-350 pound to spend at the minute and i am looking for a quick buy (bike only no accs), ive had a good look around and have found out a few ideas.

Trek 4400, looks really good, front RST suspension, hard tail, disc mounts, says on the site that its more of a commuter than a serious MTB.

Specialized Hardrock `03 (surprise, surprise), nice looks, front RST shox, apparently crappy derailers.

Specialized Hardrock Comp `03, same as above with Rock Shox Judy TT forks. (stretch budget a bit)

To me the Trek seems the best buy, but theres something that puts me off Trek as a brand, i dont know why, i just didnt regard it as a major brand before now. :confused:
What would you vet's recommend for someone wanting to start off with something decent to get into the sport and to lose a bit of weight? id like it to be as light as possible

Should i make a quick buy and snap up the Trek while its still on offer, within my budget, or should i save more, i recon i could rustle up 500-600 quid by the end of june no problem, and maybe that would get me something of higher quality.

Oh and one more thing, on my current bike, i have some Chili Works 550's, they really arent up to much, bottom out with light jumps, kerb hopping etc, WAY too soft, put me off the idea of suspension. Are the RST or Rock Shox of any real quality or should i be better with a rigid bike?


Thanks VERY much for reading through this, and i hope you can help me out a bit. =)

Trek is definitely a major brand, for starters. RSTshocks have never been viewed as good by me, but rockshox definitely makes some top of the line products. The judy you speak of is not high end, but is definitely going to stand up to the riding you describe. I have had all good experiences with treks, and with the LBS service on them, but my friend has a hardrock, which seems very nice.

Try looking on the internet for bikes, there are great prices and well within your budget. If you want the hardrock, go for the "comp" and thats what I'd suggest overall anyway. But do search online, you might find some good deals.

so then you have about $450 USD... If I were you I would save up a bit more and get a nicer hardtail. The hardrock comp is decent but for a bit more you could get a stumpjumper with a RS Duke fork or something like that.

yeah thats definitely a good idea

Look used on MTBR, or other classfified sites. There are some really amaing deals out there. Buying basic models is okay, but you wont get the best bang for your buck.

use mtbr, you will see close to top xc hts going for 600. also keep an eye on pinkbike.

Good ideas guys =) ill have a good look round MTBR, but they're in US arent they? Shipping would probably be a big knock to the price.

Anyway keep the ideas rolling in, thanks very much.