Is the warranty really that important? I mean, if I buy it now and end up cracking the frame in a couple years, it's just time to upgrade to something better.

Seriously, I don't think I'll be riding hard enough to crack *any* frame, but if I do start trail riding, I don't think I would be happy with any of the bikes I'm currently looking at. Right now I'm looking for a good starter bike, and if I actually bike as much as I'm planning, then I can pick up a better set of wheels in the future. No sense spending $1000+ on a bike I never use, right?

A better question might be this: Should I look at new bikes (locally), or should I get something used? There are probably a lot of people out there with good mountain bikes that they never use. At least in theory - not sure many live around *me*.

Looking at the Specialized Rock Hopper and comparing that to the Motobecane 700HT, it looks like most of the equipment is a "tie", except the 700HT has better shifters and derailers, and the Rock Hopper has better forks (I think?). The frame details mean nothing to me right now - they're both aluminum is about all I can tell. What I don't know personally is whether the 700HT put on really crappy brakes and other stuff in order to get the price down. Maybe, maybe not.