First of all a thousand thanks to whoever started this thread. It has offered a wealth of useful information. My Trek '03 4500 was stolen recently with literally every other bike from my apartment complex in college station tx. The blankety blanks took the whole bike rack out the front door under the security cameras. As yet I'm sure the college station police are far more concerned with the single greatest threat to any college town, underage drinking. Anyhow I digress. My 4500 did not stand up well to my 6'0 195 lbs very well over the years and I was already in the market for something new. After reading the rave reviews of the Specialized rockhopper I tried one out at the LBS. Just the basic model, Manitou Axle Comp, no discs . They want $529 for it. It rode beautifully and if my g/f hadn't been there lecturing me about such an obscene amount of money for daily transportation , instant gratification would've whisked the visa right out of my wallet. (trust me I will return the favor in spades next time she drags me into Nieman Marcus) Shopping around I found exact the same bike at Bicylces Inc. in Fort Worth for $450. They have a free service for the lif of the bike and I will be moving to the Metroplex in about a year.

My two questions.

A. Is this a good deal, specialized website suggests $500 I think for the MSRP
B. Is anyone familar with bicylces inc. the store. They have several locations throught D/FW where I will be working next year after graduation.