Mountain Biking - Specialized or Trek? Dual or Hardtail

Hi folks-

I really need some input from people who have been riding for a while. I've been riding a Specialized Rockhopper ('97) rigid for about 2 years, the last year of which I've been riding mt bike trails for the first time. I'm a novice for sure, but I'm learning.

I'm older-37, knee and some back issues, but I work out 5-6 times a week and stay in reasonably good shape.

I'm considering an entry level bike that has at least front suspension because my tris and shoulders can't take the shock anymore jumping over logs.

My budget is around $800.

These are the 3 i'm considering.

Trek Fuel 70. Dual suspension. Air shock vs. a coil spring should help on climbs but still absorb some rear bumps and help on downhills. Black on black color scheme kicks ass. V brakes Yes, color is making a difference in my search.

Specialized FSR XC. Dual suspension. Springy. I was okay with the ride, but the seat was too high on the demo and the shop couldn't let me test a lower one. V brakes.I HATED the color. Looks like a kids bike. Still, a coil spring pivot suspension should be much better for my back.

Specialized Rockhopper Pro Disc

I love my current rockhopper so I'm drawn to this one. Compnentry pretty much the same as above models but it has cable disc brakes. No need to upgrade a year from now. Advantage: Lighter bike should be easier to climb with. Disc breaks will give me more control in mud and rain on downhill. Disadvantage: hardtail will slow me down on downhills and I'll feel every bump.

Please let me know your thoughts about dual vs. Hardtail and Specialized vs. Trek. I greatly appreciate it.

i take my vote back, the fuel 70 has a very nice spec for the money

2004 Bicycling Magazine Editors' Choice award for entry-level mountain bike. "Built with solid parts, great multi-condition tires, a nine-speed drivetrain and competent brakes, it's a winning ride."

http://www.specialized.com/OA_MEDIA/2004/bikes/04XCblue_l.jpg

I dunno. I'd do everything I could to make sure I got disc brakes. You WILL want them, and it's a royal pain to upgrade later [you need the disc hardware itself, plus new levers, new shifters (because most most OEM shifters are integrated with the brake levers, which you will be replacing), new hubs - which likely means new wheelsets]

Thanks guys. These are excellent points. Please keep them coming. Let me add that I don't see me being a major hucker. I love going downhill, don't get me wrong, but I'd rather race someday than bomb. Too many tough choices!

I have test ridden both the Fuel and the FSR. Haven't had a chance to test ride the Hopper. I hope I can make up my mind before August. I plan to do a lot of riding this summer.

Thanks again,
Duff

The Fuel 70 is around $950 here...

...but my vote goes for the FSR. :)

Get the FSR it's the same frame as my 2003 Rockhopper Comp FSR and I love that bike

What company does lance ride for, and how many times has he won the tour de france?

My case in point TREK RULES

Yes, because as we all know, there is no difference at all between making road bikes and making mountain bikes.

What company does lance ride for, and how many times has he won the tour de france?

My case in point TREK RULES


Yeah, and Lance rides an almost $6,000 Madone Road bike custom fitted to his exact dimensions by a group of 5 or 6 engineers.

Treks are decent mountain bikes, I can't knock them. Other than to say I don't like their geometries. Their bikes were never comfortable for me. For you, they might be perfect.

So, the key to deciding which bike to buy is to take each for a test ride and buy the one that fits the best.

L8R

get the trek. be unique. you could also just save up and get a full suspension with discs.

I'd love to save a little more and get a $1200 bike, but I just can't wait another summer to get away from rigid on the trails. My arms are killing me!

What company does lance ride for, and how many times has he won the tour de france?

My case in point TREK RULES
Hmmm and what does the current XC World Cup Champion ride? Oh yeah a Specialized! Who gives a fat rat heiny what Lance rides. He could win the Tour on a Huffy if they would put enough money into it.

Thanks for the feedback a2psyklnut. I noticed in other posts that you recommend against a sub-$1000 dually. That's one of the reasons I'm considering the Rockhopper Pro Disc. I believe I can get a better hardtail for $800 than a dually. However, I don't see a major difference in componentry in the Hopper vs. the FSR, except for the disc brakes. I really need to just test ride one of Hopper and do the Fuel and FSR and make a choice, once and for all.

By the way, I'm 5'8, 185 and dropping so if there are similiar frame riders out there, I'd like to know what they think.

i rode a FSR for 2 years. It's an excellent design and a very good overall ride.

What company does lance ride for, and how many times has he won the tour de france?

My case in point TREK RULES

Ah yes, a prime example of the "I own a trek, therefore trek is better than any other company out there syndrome" with the "Lance rides a trek, therefore trek rules them all syndrome."

Afraid to tell you this, trek may make a decent bike for beginning recreational riders, but how many serious riders(As in race) do you see on the trails who ride a Trek? Not many I bet, with the high performance mountain bike theater, trek is lacking very seriously compared to the other brands out there. The Fuel has not been altered at all since it was released in 2000* Other companies have changed stuff around since then Kona still has the same suspension design, but they changed stuff on it, moved the positioning of pivots, reshaped swing arms, change pivots around. Specialized has the tried and true FSR design which is one of, if not the best suspension platform ever, they always make changes to make it work even better, Santa Cruz with their VPP bikes, Giant's VT series, Cannondale even changes stuff up every year. The only thing trek has done to the fuel was change the paint scheme. They are just realizing this but unfortunately they are a bit late, OK very late. Their new freeride rig is basically a copy of a Kona Stinky, and their jump/park ht probably won't do too good considering the competition it will have.(Kona DJ series, Evil Imperial, Sovereign, 24 Letoy IV, Norco125, Giant STP, Cannondale Chase, Specialized PSeries,.243, Endless Lifetime, draco, Iron Horse, Rocky Mountain, Santa Cruz. All of those are way more desirable and are proven. If Trek was to make a big splash in either the DJ/Park ht's or Freeride areas, they would have to release something rather revolutionary in order just to get noticed. Full Suspension has pretty much been covered with the onset of VPP, FSR. Every aspect of ht innovation has been covered as well.

To get back on the correct topic, if a big name rides a certain brand bike in this case Lance and Trek, does not mean that brand is the greatest ever.

What company does lance ride for, and how many times has he won the tour de france?

My case in point TREK RULES

LOL

...and if Lance jumps off a cliff I suppose you would too right? :D

Slight difference in your logic... Trek pays Lance to ride their bike. You pay Trek to ride their bike.

Thanks for the feedback a2psyklnut. I noticed in other posts that you recommend against a sub-$1000 dually. That's one of the reasons I'm considering the Rockhopper Pro Disc. I believe I can get a better hardtail for $800 than a dually. However, I don't see a major difference in componentry in the Hopper vs. the FSR, except for the disc brakes. I really need to just test ride one of Hopper and do the Fuel and FSR and make a choice, once and for all.

By the way, I'm 5'8, 185 and dropping so if there are similar frame riders out there, I'd like to know what they think.
The FSR is an exception to this rule. As I mentioned before it is the same frame as last years Rockhopper FSR and also the 2002 Stumpjumper FSR. It's still a great design the only reason that it's cheaper now is due to the fact that Specialized is really pushing the redesigned Stumpjumper and the new Epics. It's a sound frame and you can really play with the componetry to set it up perfectly for the way you ride.

Specialized has the tried and true FSR design which is one of, if not the best suspension platform ever, they always make changes to make it work even better.Such nice things you say Kona. Bucking for a sponsership? :D

Nope, btw, it's sponsorship.

Thanks for the feedback a2psyklnut. I noticed in other posts that you recommend against a sub-$1000 dually. That's one of the reasons I'm considering the Rockhopper Pro Disc. I believe I can get a better hardtail for $800 than a dually. However, I don't see a major difference in componentry in the Hopper vs. the FSR, except for the disc brakes. I really need to just test ride one of Hopper and do the Fuel and FSR and make a choice, once and for all.


Bear in mind the "trickle down technology" phenomenon. With the latest crop of new bikes, I'll probably have to readjust my thought process and now say, I wouldn't recommend a full squish for under $800.00.

I just reviewed the spec of the FSR/XC and that's a great bike for the money!

I will add that one thing I think every manufacturer should do is what Specialized does. Even on their $880 non-disc bike, they include a wheelset with disc-ready hubs. Kudos to them and whatever manuf. does this as well.

Think about it, you buy the bike as is, ride it for a couple months and decide you want disc. For another $89 you buy an Avid Mech. and you use the same lever and you plop a disc on the front. Then you save another $89 and buy the one for the rear. For under $1,100 you've got a full squish disc bike!

L8R

Ahhh..disc ready hubs. That makes a huge difference! I'm more tempted to give my endorsement to the FSR in that case, since that will save you some major cash when you want to upgrade to discs.

I wouldn't look at brands too much. My factors are how the bike feels/price. The time is coming soon where companies/lbs are trying to clear out stock to make room for the 05 gear. Granted this means that you might not find your bike or size but it can mean a sweet deal if your lucky.
I can say this from experience, LBS gave me a sweet deal a Stumpjumper M4. It was so sweet I was able to afford upgrading to XT hydro disc and putting on a Selle Italia Prolink trans am saddle without hurting my pocket.

The only other thing I can say is GOOD LUCK with making your decision.

Bear in mind the "trickle down technology" phenomenon. With the latest crop of new bikes, I'll probably have to readjust my thought process and now say, I wouldn't recommend a full squish for under $800.00.

I just reviewed the spec of the FSR/XC and that's a great bike for the money!

I will add that one thing I think every manufacturer should do is what Specialized does. Even on their $880 non-disc bike, they include a wheelset with disc-ready hubs. Kudos to them and whatever manuf. does this as well.

Think about it, you buy the bike as is, ride it for a couple months and decide you want disc. For another $89 you buy an Avid Mech. and you use the same lever and you plop a disc on the front. Then you save another $89 and buy the one for the rear. For under $1,100 you've got a full squish disc bike!

L8RMore or less how I started except I knew I wanted a couple things straight off the bat.

Here she is! Thanks to all those who gave me your input. I went with the FSR after all.

Congrats on the purchase.

You'll love that bike man. Let us know when you want to start upgrading / personalizing as that's part of the fun.

Oh he went for it! Nice bike! :D

Damn I wish in the market for a bike too so I could set up a poll like this. :( :p

Nice choice. It is always nice to see how these threads turn out.

I have been doing my bike shop drive bys for a while now, and that is the bike that keeps cathcing my eye. Great price, nice parts, looks great.

I have one questsion for those of you who have more experience than me with suspension, what is the story behind the suspension parts on this frame? Now I am riding an older steel frame with a Judy XC, so my standards are not high. I was just curious.

REAR SHOCK Coil-over with external rebound adjust, 6.0x1.25"
FORK Manitou Axel Comp, 100mm travel, FFD damping.

Nice choice. It is always nice to see how these threads turn out.

I have been doing my bike shop drive bys for a while now, and that is the bike that keeps catching my eye. Great price, nice parts, looks great.

I have one question for those of you who have more experience than me with suspension, what is the story behind the suspension parts on this frame? Now I am riding an older steel frame with a Judy XC, so my standards are not high. I was just curious.

REAR SHOCK Coil-over with external rebound adjust, 6.0x1.25"
FORK Manitou Axel Comp, 100mm travel, FFD damping.
What do you specifically want to know?

What do you specifically want to know?

Good point.
I have been looking at the different levels of the FSR XC and the stumpjumper, and noticing that the rear shock is that generic coil over description from the specialized page, while the othe frames have a propedal assist Fox shock at least. I know the frame is upgradable, but rear shocks are also pretty expensive. I was wondering how well the rear coil over would perform. I know the suspension design is excellent, and a salesman at the local shop hinted that the propedal assist is a bit redundant because of how well the horst link works. I was just looking for some other opinions. I think the step up to fox equipped bike is a hefty $400 (of course you also get a fork with lock out, and some other drive train upgrades).

Sorry long intro. How does the coil over shock compare to the Fox propedal shock in terms of performance?

I assume that the front fork is your run of the mill coil sprung, entry level XC fork similar to what I am riding now. I like my fork, but I have never ridden anything else.

The Pro Pedal feature isn't something I can directly comment on as i purchased my Rockhopper FSR Comp last year prior to it being an availiable option. In my opinion an air shock is adjustable to meet a broader range of body weights and riding conditions than a coil over in which the spring itself must be changed to match the weight range of the individual. Having said that, if the coil spring is set up properly then the rider will have fewer worrys about things such as air seal failures and the like. (they've gotten MUCH better) I borrowed this from another website but it explains the differences better than I can behind a keyboard

Air/Oil Shocks, aka air shocks, aka pneumatic shocks, aka gas shocks, all work on the same principle. An air chamber is pumped with air. This air chamber works just like an invisible elastomer and provides the resistance the shock has when you land that gnarly jump. The oil part is for damping the rebound so your wheel doesn't snap back out so fast you wipe it in front of your riding buds. There are numerous variations on this concept, with different valving, different chamber setups, etc.

The advantages of air/oil shocks are that they are light weight and almost infinitely adjustable. On the downside, they tend to be a little harsh on the small stuff. There is a certain amount of force needed to get the shock in motion, so your butt can be feeling some chatter, but these hits might too soft for the shock to "notice" and you'll feel like your riding a hardtail again. Newer shock design incorporating negative springs avoid much of this problem. These shocks also require air pressure, so that means you need a special high psi air pump. The internals on these things are very complex, and should only be worked on by the manufacturer or a highly skilled mechanic.

Air/Air Shocks Fox, Rock Shox, and Cane Creek are making excellent shocks that uses air chambers for both the resistance and damping, which is super lightweight and very tunable. The big advantage is how lightweight they are, but they can suffer from the same low impact harshness as Air/Oil shocks..

Coil Spring Shocks replace the air chamber with a big spring to provide the resistance. Oil is used to damp the rebound. These shocks offer superb small bump sensitivity, with sidewalk cracks often enough to get these things going, yet the progressive nature of steel springs handle the big bumps great. Coil-spring shocks also offer simplicity, low maintenance, and relatively inexpensive price tags.

Sounds too good to be true? Well, the negative aspects are weight, weight, and more weight. These will weight as much as a full pound more than a good Air/Oil shock. Titanium springs are being offered as a replacement for the stock steel springs, but in our opinion, there have not been any decent springs on the market worth buying. Ti has different characteristics than steel and doesn't seem to make a very reliable spring from what we have seen so far.

What Should You Get? Think about what type of riding you do, what you want your bike to act like, and how much money you have to spend. This is I can tell you, no matter which shock you buy, time invested in proper intallation and tuning to match your rider weight and riding style will pay huge dividends in enjoyment.. In most cases, you cant just bolt on a new shock, you must tune it to the travel and spring rate of your bike. This is something you must do yourself, it can't be done via email! Properly tuning a shock to your rider weight, style of riding, and suspension design is essential.

Thanks Raiyn.

That was informative.

Thanks Raiyn.

That was informative.
Glad to be of service

dirtyduff, nice looking bike, now um, please tell me that you just washed her?
Go get her dirty!
I have a stumpy fsrxc salesman said it was the bike for me cause I was grinnin like a kid when I wheeled her back round the parking lot.

Enjoy!!

My Vote is for any of the specialized bikes. Those bikes kick major ass. good luck!

\

Get a Marin. :) For that money and a little sweet talking, you can get an '04 Marin Nail Trail. Hayes Hydro brakes and a really nice component set. ;) Hardtail baby

Get a Marin. :) For that money and a little sweet talking, you can get an '04 Marin Nail Trail. Hayes Hydro brakes and a really nice component set. ;) Hardtail baby
If you people would READ THE THREAD You'd see that he already purchased a bike.

I might be getting the FSR within the next couple of day as well; how have you been liking it?? would u recommend it?

I DID READ THE THREAD. CONGRATS MAN! thats a wicked nice bike. good look with it and u made thee right choice.Now get out there and rip up the trails!

I might be getting the FSR within the next couple of day as well; how have you been liking it?? would u recommend it?

Loving the bike. Fits me well. I had them fitted with clipless pedals and I'm still getting used to them. I've fallen 4-5 times already just coming to a stop and not clipping out in time to dab. Man, I feel stupid when that happens.

Hmmm and what does the current XC World Cup Champion ride? Oh yeah a Specialized! Who gives a fat rat heiny what Lance rides. He could win the Tour on a Huffy if they would put enough money into it.

True...true...I always giggle when I see tech segments on cycling technology and how pros need $1000 this and that...go to Walmart and get Lance a Barbie 10-speed, Armstrong would still kick all our asses.

True...true...I always giggle when I see tech segments on cycling technology and how pros need $1000 this and that...go to Walmart and get Lance a Barbie 10-speed, Armstrong would still kick all our asses.
While that may be true you still missed my point. In the 80's Serotta built bikes for the 7-11 team that were badged as Huffys. Meaning that Huffy threw enough money at Serotta to have them build race bikes for thier team that they could turn and put a Huffy logo on.