Flak

Couldnt find anything relevent in the search, so ill just ask.

Broke down again today and popped into my LBS (i need to stop walking my dog past it) and looked at some of the Specialized bikes they have in. Started talking to the guy (Brian) about the Hardrocks, and he also mentioned the rockhoppers, which i really hadnt considered before because i was set on getting disc brakes and the 06 hoppers run $880 with bb5's...out of my budget. When i think about it though, i was planning on upgrading the brakes to a set of bb7's, or even hydraulics on any purchase i make asap anyway. So ive been considering the non-disc Rockhopper comp for $770 (just inside my budget) and realise that when you take out discs, that money goes into other better components like the fork for example (RS Tora 318 SL). I just want to make sure the bike is disc ready so i dont need new hubs etc when i upgrade.

Everything is the same on the non-disc to the disc bar the rear hub. Joy-Tech cassette, polished races and double sealed, 32h on the non-disc. Shimano 475, 32h w/ Shimano QR on the disc. Is the joytech hub capable of running discs?

My thought is, if they aren't the brakes i want, and they are going to be upgraded anyway, why buy them when the money can go elsewhere on the bike?

Whew, that post turned out longer than i expected. Sorry about that.

Raiyn

You'll want a new wheelset if you go the plain Comp direction. No disc hub there. Pricepoint.com has Rhynolites on Deore Disc (better than the 475's) for less than $100 and on XT for under $150. You can also get Avid BB7's for $75 bucks from them as well

Flak

Thats kind of disappointing considering the comp runs $250 more than the base Rockhopper model. Especially when the front hub, fork and frame are disc ready. Perhaps ill have the shop install a rear XT hub when i get them to do the brake upgrade.

SUN MACH 4 L7 - those are the rims. Any good? Infact, what the consensus on the bike in general?

https://tinyurl.com/cda8x <--- link to specs

edit - Ah just realised, im going to want disc specific rims. Any suggestions for wheels without a v-brake pad surface?

I'll use the old wheels on the commuter when it comes time to build it.

WD_40

I would really not recommend Rhyno Lite rims. My friend got a set and they will not stay true. Mountain Bike Action magazine also said they cracked a set of them in 1 day of riding.

You said you wanted a set of wheels without the v-brake surface though, so that already rules them out.

never

You don't need disc specific rims, you need disc specific hubs...you can run any rim as a disc wheelset as long as you have hubs that accept discs. The Sun Mach 4's are a decent lightweight rim but I did have to true them every once in a while.

Your options are either to save up and get the Rockhopper with the discs or do what Raiyn suggested later on when you can afford it...if you choose the latter, you'll end up with a better quality wheelset and better brakes.

Raiyn

That's really funny, because I'm a clydesdale and they've stayed dead straight for the three years I've had my current set. You're wrong about one other thing too Sparky. Rhynolites DO HAVE a rim brake surface.

dminor 

Rhynolites will stand up to just about any abuse you can throw at them. I've downhill raced them for 4+ seasons. Yeah, I eventually bend 'em; but they're cheap to replace, so what? And I'm using the regular pinned ones, not the welded XLs. Still have one on the front. Finally had to go to a Mammoth on the rear after casing a berm at the other end of a 14' gap double. Oops. BTW, the Mountain Bike Action incident you refer to was from the Feb. issue in a test of the Cove Shocker DH bike - - not a fair indicator of how Rhynolites will hold up on a trail bike.

Flak

Is it true that disc specific rims are usually stronger than rims that are compatible with v-brakes? That once you are not bound by designs that include a v-brake pad surface, you can do other things to increase strength? Or is that a fallacy?

I think disc specific rims are sexier, but its not a deal breaker if i can get much better rims at a similar price that accept v-brakes. Is it reasonable to just swap out the hub though? That would be the cheapest alternative.

never

Generally no because you have to pay for the hub, probably new spokes, then you have to pay someone to relace and true the wheel. Unless you can do it yourself, you likely won't save much money because disc wheelsets are so cheap now.