well I've searched the forums and mtbr and it seems the only difference between the 820 and the 3700 is the aluminum frame, in which only loses 4 pounds from steel, and because my dealer takes MSRP, it is quite a ripoff for something I really won't care about.(correctly if I'm wrong, some idiot on mtbr might be wrong) I probably will try to bring the price down a bit, but if I test ride it out and it doesn't make any difference to me, the extra step-up ain't worth it. I was leaning toward Trek in the first place since I was in the adventure club at my school which does lots of biking and all of their bikes were a Trek, so they provided me a great experience during the school year. I really really want to check out the Specialized Hardrock Sport, but my dealer doesn't carry it. I could go out 10 miles which ain't that bad in my opinion, but 1)my mom is very busy/tired 2)my mom is a horrible driver and traffic conditions where the other bike shop is, especially at times when my mom can drive me, is really horrible and it's very likely she will crash, which I really don't want to happen. You guys think it'll be worth it to take the risk and try out the Hardrock Sport? Big improvement from Trek 820, and worth the extra $? thx. Oh yea, 1 more question. Any real advantages to disc brakes except looks? More powerful braking I would suppose? I had no problem with v-brakes though. Do the disc brakes wear out slower or is it the other way around?