disc
 

aot of people are saying that the disc brakes on $500 bikes arent that good. while i was going to get a db response sport which has disc brakes but if there going to be bad i could get just a response if its worth it.

i kind of like the rock hopper. they all look like they have disc brake mounts for future upgrades. i would probably not get the disc brakes at the 500 price level. i would use the bike first and then you can upgrade the following season to some disc brakes and breathe new life and excitement into your sweet ride. the only thing you will need are disc hubs when that time comes. i think you could probably get all new wheels and disc brakes for 300 or so...maybe less.

i would get some opinions of others on here who know more about those bike brands as far as the bike goes. the rest of my advice is solid i think.

Hmmmm.... buy a 500$ bike, ride it for a year, then spend 300$ upgrading one aspect of it? I dont think so! Buy the disk model, enjoy the disks their still going to be better than most (if not all) rim eaters, and then when you choose spend 150$ for better disks such as avid bb7's knowing that you already have a disk ready wheelset. Then if you wish you can spend that other 150$ on whatever, maybe a better rear derailleur, maybe a professional rebuild on the bike, maybe several parts at once 150$ buys a lot of parts especially if you haunt ebay ( dont include second hand shorts on this list).

this advice sounds better...sorry to confuse you

You'd be better off with a Topanga. Same price range better brakes. That plus if you really need a 120 mm fork you don't need to be getting one from RST
We're talking about Tektro's here. They're NOT better than a decent set of V's much less a really good set