Originally Posted by ruirui
lol ranger.. that's some nice looking stem u got there. well, i'm not going to be doing anything technical or hardcore trail riding. this is just going to be recreational. i've already bought a new sirrus, so my wife is saying i can buy another mt. bike to replace the rockhopper.. but has to be under $300. anyhoo.. i'll check out the trek and check between the two.
the hardrock xc is going for $260 right now.. but not sure if the frame will be just as strong as the one on the sport model. according to the brochure... the hardrock xc frame is: "A1 Premium Aluminum, 3D box gusset HT/DT, TT gussett, forged dropouts w/ eyelets and replaceable hanger with eyelets for 80mm travel fork". whereas the hardrock sport has: "A1 Premium Aluminum, DT/HT 3D box gusset, forged dropouts with reinforced disc mount and eyelets, replaceable forged alloy derailleur hanger, disc only, designed for 100mm travel fork"
to me they seem to be using the same type of frame, but the top bar of the xc is round whereas the sport is more triangle shaped. now i gotta check out the trek one..
If you are serious about jumping the lowest end bike I would possibly recommend to you is the Hardrock Sport for $329.99. Its 8spd, has a 100mm travel RST Gila, boxed/gussetted frame, and has more dirtjump oriented geometry. The Trek has a very noodly fork. Also, I should add the 4300 and 4900 frame's are made out of the same
material, but the 4300 is made in Taiwan and the 4500 and up are made in the USA so its questionable if the frames really are the same.