Wow! asuoperstishus2psyklnut.

I'm going to take one more test ride today and see what happens. 29 of the 61 reviews on mtbreview.com (just under half) complain about the shifting or derailleurs, so I guess it's not just me. For the 4300, complaints seem to be a mixed bag, with many mentioning the seat, spokes, pedals and other stuff.

I also tested a Rockhopper, which definitely should shift better than the 4300, right? It was similar to the Hardrock, and it felt like you had to try to make it work every time, or it wouldn't. With the 4300, it was like, you had to try to make it fail, or it wouldn't. Well, almost, but not quite that good. The 4300 has Shimano EF29 shifters, compared to Altus on the Hardrock. I don't know which are better. But id the Rockhopper isn't better than the 4300, it makes me wonder if it's something about the Specialized bikes, like chain length or something. And makes me think that even after spending money on upgrades, the Hardrock will not be very good....?

If it's just bad tuning, and a properly set up Rockhopper would outshift a 4300, and if it's not too much money to upgrade the shifting on the Hardrock, that might be my solution. Of course, I'll wear a disguise if I decide on that, so that the Hardrock doesn't recognize me. Or maybe we'll have a heart to heart about my buying it despite its "problem", and it will make us closer for the experience.

-tslug