Mountain Biking - is the difference worth it?

i'm comtemplating purchasing the specialized crosstrail.
the difference between the base and sport models as i see it are:

7-speed base; 8-speed sport,
shimano altus vs acera rear derailleur,
single wall vs double wall rims,
integrated brake levers with the shimano shifters for the base and specialized linear pull brake levers on the sport.

the sport model is 140 usd more than the base model, are these differences worth that much really?

thanks.

What kind of riding have you planed to do?

Are you sure you want the CT?

from my previous post, i think what i need is a cross bike, to 'throw around' and go 'through unimproved areas'.
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=526197

there is also a bike trail park near my home with some kickass trails that i would like to hit, like these guys:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icYTvpK-zuU

so i was looking at mountain bikes with 29in tires in case i want to commute at a later date, just slap on some road friendly tires.

i was looking at a cannondale quick 4 but was not too excited about it, so is the crosstrail ok?
the rockhopper also has 29in but use disk brakes and is a few hundred more than i'm willing to part with for a first bike.

from my previous post, i think what i need is a cross bike, to 'throw around' and go 'through unimproved areas'.
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=526197

there is also a bike trail park near my home with some kickass trails that i would like to hit, like these guys:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icYTvpK-zuU

so i was looking at mountain bikes with 29in tires in case i want to commute at a later date, just slap on some road friendly tires.

i was looking at a cannondale quick 4 but was not too excited about it, so is the crosstrail ok?
the rockhopper also has 29in but use disk brakes and is a few hundred more than i'm willing to part with for a first bike.


I wouldn't but a hybrid, there realy is no middle ground. It's more like a road bike, than for trails.
I buy a nice hardtail, and get some hardpack tires on it.

As for 29'rs, they're sweet rides, but may not realy serve your needs. They cost more, thats for sure. Look for a rockhopper base $520 if you check multiple LBS's. Theres also the Hardrock, wahoo, Jamis durango. Plenty of sweet rides in the $600 range.

If your set on the CT, it's a nice bike. My wife sold her brand new hybrid, she couldn't run slopes with tiny rocks.

From personal experience the Neon pro fork is not a real trail-worthy fork and the OEM crank on the base model is subject to failure. Specialized will warranty it though. The crosstrail is a great all-around bike though and worth the money