Originally Posted by santiago
I recommend you try out the Specialized Rockhopper. It is a parallel to the Gary Fischer Marlin other than the Genesis geometry. It is similarly spec'ed and is similarly priced. The HardRock, IMHO, is put together as a bike that does a bunch of stuff okay whereas the RockHopper is is a little more specialized (no pun intended) as a XC bike.
Well I would have but they didn't have one in the right size for me. Also there is a price increase with the rockhopper.