Mountain Biking - K2 Zed 3.0?

Anybody ride a 2004 K2 Zed 3.0? A local shop has a closeout in my size for $400... thinking about buying it. The K2 hardtails seem comparable to Treks/Gary Fishers costing about $100 more, would be great to hear what other people think.

Specs: http://www.livetoplay.com/pages/product/product.asp?item=501010&level1_id=0

Doesn't look like a bad deal for 400 bucks.

I got a 3.0 about 2 years ago (a 2002 end of year model). I didn't know too much about them but it was a $550 bike that I could get for $380. After comparing it to other bikes of the $550 range it had comparable components and fork to the others, but the advantage was that I was paying less. No problems, except that the truvativ crank broke (because of abuse I gave it going over logs and such) so it got upgraded to a deore lx. Hope that helps.

I'm also pretty long winded so if you have any other questions, just send them my way

Thanks for the advice, ajs26. Sounds great, I am glad to hear that it holds up well.

At this point it's mostly a matter of psyching myself up to the point that I can mentally justify paying money for a brand new bike!

I've been pretty happy with K2 in general. While I don't own a Zed-series bike, I've test-ridden every year's model just for grins. I find them to be solid hardtail designs that compare favourably with Specialized, Trek and other more popular names. I however would probably not go below the 3.0 model due to componentry preferences. As it is, I do have a little bit of reservation concerning the brakes on the Zed 3.0. Those might be one thing to consider upgrading when you get some extra cash. K2 has always been a bit of a underrated sleeper brand and so you can usually find really good deals on their bikes.

i think you can better
maybe this...
http://www.specialized.com/OA_MEDIA/2005/bikes/05HardrockSportDisc_d.jpg

uh.....no

god u guys are a bunch of spec *****.

i think you can better
maybe this...
http://www.specialized.com/OA_MEDIA/2005/bikes/05HardrockSportDisc_d.jpg

Hmmm... you know, I like Specialized and would heartedly recommend HardRocks but I'm not sure that a HardRock Sport Disc is a better bike. Assuming fit is fine with both bikes, I would be more inclined to go with the Zed 3.0 actually. But that's me and I tend to ride more XC than anything else so the 100mm fork on the Specialized over the 80mm on the K2 doesn't really offer that compelling an advantage. If need-be, the fork on the K2 can be internally converted to 100mm. Also, I tend to think the Answer fork on the K2 to be a better fork than the RST on the Specialized although neither is a great fork. Both are just coil/MCU with only preload adjustment. Both bikes share the same brakes. The K2 has a better drivetrain and set of components overall and is 9sp Deore/mix while the Specialized is 8sp Acera/mix. The crank and BB on the K2 is ISIS and the one on the Specialized is square. The K2 also has better rims although both bikes have generic hubs which are most likely of equal quality. In general, I think the K2 Zed 3.0 is a better bargain and a better bike to the Specialized HardRock Sport Disc.

Nothing against the hardrock, but I like not having a specialized. I just enjoy riding bikes that I will not see 4 of the same thing on the trail in one day. Hence my K2 and my Redline Conquest Tour road bike. You don't have to spend alot to be exclusive.