Mountain Biking - Giant NRS3 vs Trek Fuel 80 vs .....

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DougW
09-23-03, 06:12 AM
Giant NRS3 vs Trek Fuel 80 vs Gary Fisher Sugar 4+ vs Specialized Rockhopper FSR Comp
I need some inputs as I have narrowed my list down to these 4 bikes. Right now I am leaning towards the order they are in with the Giant first. I am mainly looking for something to use for xc and have read good reviews of all these bikes and their prices are really close.
My questions that I have are what are the weight differences between them. Which one has the greatest upgrade potential. I am leaning towards the NRS for these reasons: tech behind the frame design, weight at this level, components strongest amongst this group I believe.
Do you recommend buying from a LBS even though service will be a non factor, I am coming back to the States to buy it to take back to Germany with me (military). I haven't found a decent place to buy online for these brands (is there one?).

oxygen_77
09-23-03, 06:37 AM
the Specialized Rockhopper FSR will probably be the heaviest of all of them because it uses A1 series aluminum instead of some lighter blend like Specialized's M4 (found on the Stumpjumper FSR) and that's found on the BigHit and Enduro (meant to take some punishment). Personally I would go with the Rockhopper because the geometry feels best to me, but you'll have to ride the different brands for yourself to know. My second choice would probably be the Giant because it looks like the chainstay on that bike could actually provide some protection to the rear derailleur (although still not much protection). If you do go with the Rock hopper, see if the LBS will upgrade the fork for you because I haven't heard too good of things about the Axel. Actually, I would see if the fork could be changed out on all of them because I currently own the RockShox Pilot XC (three of the bikes you listed come with the Pilot SL) and have found it to be a bit lacking (if you check MTBreview.com you'll see that it also rated a bit low). Go with something from Marzocchi and you'll probably be happier. I hope this info helps!
Raiyn
09-23-03, 09:49 AM
Get the Rockhopper but set it up like this (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=18024) You won't regret it.