Mountain Bike Racing - is this a decent deal?

I am shopping for a mtb from my two LBS in town with a budget of $1000. I looked at the thread about which bike is good and some other threads on this subject, but I am still new to the scene. here is the bike I am leaning towards: '07 rockhopper pro with rockshox recon forks and deore XT shifter and derailleur. I can't remember the crank's make, but it was real smooth when I test rode it. The brakes weren't as good as I expected them to be for being disc brakes. They were avid mechanical disc brakes (front and rear). Maybe they can be adjusted, but on the test ride, I thought they were weak. The rims were nice and wide with double walls (can't remember the brand either.). Anyhow, the price was on sale for $899.

I rode with a few friends about 8 years ago on some moderate to easy trails (chino hills) and loved it, but I never took the next step to buy one since it was so expensive to get into and as a sollege student back then, not very affordable...I borrowed their bikes back then and they were some very expensive trek full susp carbon frames and what not, but never did any research about it until now...and the dilemna stem from: do I bike a really good hardtail for $1000 with really good components or a full susp base with basic components and then upgrade later. I did most of my research on specialized and trek, and haven't really looked at other brands.

any input would be great

thx

I think its a solid bike. Good components, strong frame. and 899 is a good price. I'd get it.

That does look like a good deal on a good bike to me too.

As for the disk brakes not feeling up to par, the new pads do have to bed in before they start to work as they should. From your description, I think this might be the case here. Normally with just a little time on the bike, they come right in to how they should work.
This process will be repeated every time you get new pads on pretty much any disk brake system.

Sounds good. That's a really strong bike & won't give you any trouble, aside from the fact that (oh, someone WILL say it, it's something that's said on this forum) Specialized sucks. (I, of course, disagree)

Spec. makes great bikes! Ride an epic myself. Rockhopper is a great first bike. I checked it at spec's website, the brakes are avid juicy hydraulics. It's a sweet, sweet first bike for sure. I wish my first mtb was that nice. And as your first (you alluded to just getting into mt biking, correct?) mt bike you should get a hardtail. Teaches you proper riding technique. Plus you can get a much nicer hardtail than fs for under 1k. Most importantly, make sure its the right size. The bike shop folks you know how to fit a bike, but, like everywhere, there are idiots. Also, the shop should be willing to throw in free basic maintenance for a limited time (90 days up to a year), b/c you're cables will stretch turning your shifting to crap.

thanks for the inputs, after doing a little more research, I figured the shop put a pro frame with a mix match of components of a '06 standard rock, thus the discounted price. I am relatively new to the scene, but after two test rides, I do remember how well the FS bikes felt from way back when and decided to look for a FS so that I don't do the upgrade later on if I decided to do XC or a little more aggressive trail riding. So after much research from other threads on the forum I decided to look into an all mountain FS. Something that is not too expensive, yet can do it all. It doesn't have to be the lightest bike since I weigh 185lbs, and it doesn't have to have the strongest brakes, yet...or the best forks since my skills probably won't quite be able to take full advantage of the latest and greatest. However I do want something that I won't be tempted to upgrade this and that a year or two down the road...so I went with an 06 enduro FS...pics to come once the bike is here. Now, I just got to get out and ride this thing to make every penny worth it!

I just realized I put this in the wrong section, meant to be posted over the general mtb section vice the race. So if anyone can move it, go for it, I don't think I have perm.