hey dude im in same sitaution as you, i been lookin into the 06 with very limited info, as far as i can tell is the 06 is in red and black which i like better, the fork has a lockout which is a plus, even though no info on the j3, i hear its new name for the judy though, maybe? and the shifters are bottom of the line on sram website, and are same as ones on the 600$ hardrock comp, so im guessing they should be as good as deore maybe, i read a thread on mtbr, that they are upgradeing to x7 though for the rockhopper, i hope thats true..