Bikeforums.net is a forum about nothing but bikes. Our community can help you find information about hard-to-find and localized information like bicycle tours, specialties like where in your area to have your recumbent bike serviced, or what are the best bicycle tires and seats for the activities you use your bike for.It'sPat
07-17-10, 02:33 PM
...it's an '09 Specialized Hardrock Sport
I'm a total newb and there are very modest trails where I live so I thought cycling would be a great way to try and get back into shape. I picked up the bike today and am definitely happy so far. Here's my quick story...
So I shopped around for a few weeks, originally looking to go the super cheap route and spend a few hundred dollars (Canadian) but quickly realized that I wasn't going to find anything decent in that price range unless I waited for something used to show up. For the first time in a while I wasn't hard up for cash so I decided to double my budget and cap it about $550-600 WITH tax - I definitely wasn't prepared to spend real money (800-1000 range). I grabbed the '09 Hardrock Sport 21" for just under $600 out the door after Ontario's lovely new harmonized-sales tax (13%, the bike was 529.99 on the rack).
I considered buying bikes online but by the time I paid the HST, SH&H and duty, it was just as easy to go to a bike shop and find a salesman I liked. In my neighbourhood there are 3 good bike shops all within 10minutes from each other so I rounded up these options ($CAD):
'10 Trek 4300 non-disc - $599
'10 Cannondale F8 - $599
'09 Specialized Hardrock Sport - $529
I also test rode some low-mid level GT bikes and didn't really care for them. The Cannondale was really nice though, super light, comfortable, awesome paint job, but the components were just a big better on the Hardrock and cost less because it was the 2009 model.
The Hardrock Sport I got has Sram BB5 discs and an X4 derailleur which both seemed a lot more sturdy than some of the shimano parts on other bikes I looked at. I also like the shifter 'paddles' on this bike, they're very cleverly positioned and require minimal finger movement while shifting very smoothly.
The fork is a Suntour something or other - it has preload and lock-out. It's probably still a lower end fork but with the lockout I can use it to commute to trails and even to-from work.
So far I'm still hung up on the bike's appearance - I'm hoping it grows on me but I'm not crazy about the look of the frame and the paint job. It's a silver matte finish with red and black lettering and designs. I would have loved if the shop had another color but I wasn't going to spend more money on a different bike just because it looked better. The saddle is pretty hard and the grips feel a bit flimsy, some say the brake levers on this bike need upgrading too. The pedals are alloy so I should be fine with them for now.
All in all I'm really excited, hopefully I didn't get ripped off, enough typing I'm gonna try and get a ride in between thunder showers. Thanks for reading.
I'm a total newb and there are very modest trails where I live so I thought cycling would be a great way to try and get back into shape. I picked up the bike today and am definitely happy so far. Here's my quick story...
So I shopped around for a few weeks, originally looking to go the super cheap route and spend a few hundred dollars (Canadian) but quickly realized that I wasn't going to find anything decent in that price range unless I waited for something used to show up. For the first time in a while I wasn't hard up for cash so I decided to double my budget and cap it about $550-600 WITH tax - I definitely wasn't prepared to spend real money (800-1000 range). I grabbed the '09 Hardrock Sport 21" for just under $600 out the door after Ontario's lovely new harmonized-sales tax (13%, the bike was 529.99 on the rack).
I considered buying bikes online but by the time I paid the HST, SH&H and duty, it was just as easy to go to a bike shop and find a salesman I liked. In my neighbourhood there are 3 good bike shops all within 10minutes from each other so I rounded up these options ($CAD):
'10 Trek 4300 non-disc - $599
'10 Cannondale F8 - $599
'09 Specialized Hardrock Sport - $529
I also test rode some low-mid level GT bikes and didn't really care for them. The Cannondale was really nice though, super light, comfortable, awesome paint job, but the components were just a big better on the Hardrock and cost less because it was the 2009 model.
The Hardrock Sport I got has Sram BB5 discs and an X4 derailleur which both seemed a lot more sturdy than some of the shimano parts on other bikes I looked at. I also like the shifter 'paddles' on this bike, they're very cleverly positioned and require minimal finger movement while shifting very smoothly.
The fork is a Suntour something or other - it has preload and lock-out. It's probably still a lower end fork but with the lockout I can use it to commute to trails and even to-from work.
So far I'm still hung up on the bike's appearance - I'm hoping it grows on me but I'm not crazy about the look of the frame and the paint job. It's a silver matte finish with red and black lettering and designs. I would have loved if the shop had another color but I wasn't going to spend more money on a different bike just because it looked better. The saddle is pretty hard and the grips feel a bit flimsy, some say the brake levers on this bike need upgrading too. The pedals are alloy so I should be fine with them for now.
All in all I'm really excited, hopefully I didn't get ripped off, enough typing I'm gonna try and get a ride in between thunder showers. Thanks for reading.