I need a bike mostly for commuting to campus and a little trail riding once a blue moon. Actually, I was thinking of going for a Walmart Mongoose DXR but I found too many negative reviews about x-mart bikes, and so I'm down to Specialized Hardrock or Specialized Rockhopper. I don't want to spend more that $300, but could prolly go to $400 and live on Ramen noodles for the next month. BTW should I be considering a Kona Lana'i? Does the Rockhopper justify the extra bucks? or is the Hardrock OK for all the biking I'm going to do? I just don't want to be thinking a year from now that I should have gotten the Rockhopper. Also, would it be better to get a used rockhopper for the same price as a new Hardrock? Keep in mind that I know nothing about bikes, and prolly couldn't find a defect (if there were one) in a used bike.

A lot of posters in this thread say that one should find an LBS before finding a bike. How does one go about finding the best bike shop. Incidentally, if anyone is in the Austin area, perhaps he could recommend one.

~siliconSmith