voodoochile

After considering the Hardrock Pro Disc versus the Rockhopper Comp Disc, I ended up going with the RH (eventually). They both seem pretty much like a decent bike for the outlay. I chose the RH for the frame and weight... the HR seemed heavier, but not really any stiffer. I am a 6'4"/210 draft horse, btw.

I've had the bike for maybe 6 weeks now, but have been a hardcore roadie for my whole life. So it's early, but here are my newbie impressions of this bike.

-The frame seems very good for the price point.

-The wheels are pretty rugged, even with my bulk on deck.

-The fork is okay... I like the motion control knob, but I wish the fork was pneumatic so I could better tweak the preload. There is an adjustment, but it's not as flexible as I'd expected. But it's a good fork for the money spent.

-The bb/cranks are a bit flexy... I'm somewhat surprised. Not bad, just not as stiff as they look. Of course my road bike has custom bullseye cranks on it.

-The group is nice... it shifts very smoothly and accurately, even when things are getting interesting.

-The pedals are a joke. I replaced mine with some drilliums.

-Tires are pretty good for stock tires, I'm in no rush to make any change there.

-Brakes are very good.

-Saddle is kind of wanky... it makes odd clicking noises once in a while, presumably from the plastic finger-spring leaf things underneath. Oh well, not a big deal.

As for having the shop "swap out" your crankset, or pedals... I don't see that happenning, unless you are their star client or something. The cheapest replacements they offer are quite possibly nicer than what you get from the factory on a bike of this level, and they thus have not much market for your take-offs.

I love my new bike, and do not regret the purchase in the least. I believe that the frame will suit me for some time to come, and the components are nice enough that (pedals aside) there is no rush to overhaul.

Been lurking for some time here, but felt compelled to register just so I could reply to your post! Good luck to you on your new bike. I think you would be pretty happy with either model, they are both pretty respectable rides, IMO.

cream.soda

well their price is more than the us msrp in the first place and they're shipping the bike in - they already said they have absolutely no problem with swapping parts out as long as the overall price of the components stay the same. ex. i can switch those tires out for roll-x pro d2's because they cost 50 bucks ea. and so do the adrenalines that come with the bike. so i'm not worried about that.

the tires and drivetrain aren't exactly upgrades... i'm just switching them for components i like better...
and it won't cost them any more labour because the bike is being shipped in from the distributor in quebec.
for them, because of the demographic and the type of riding most of their customers do in their town, it's just easier for them to sell shimano parts (that i'm switching out) rather than sram (that they have in stock)...

also i bought my own pump just yesterday so i don't need one from them.

now basically... for this forum's sake... these are the upgrades i want...

full price or a little bit more, not more than 100... same thing,
slightly better pedals (platform, doesn't have to be expensive at all),
hydros (deores or juicy 5's or bb7's, whichever they prefer, all are better than bb5's to me),
sub in shifters (last time i checked x7 shifters cost less to them than deore sl shifters).
and rear der (x7 or x9, x9 obviously preferred).

extras i'll pay for as well...
-dry lube (i wanna keep the cogs reeeeallllly shiny)
-multitool
-extra tube.

not changing my front der... deore in the front is fine... i only learned today that front derailleur doesn't matter even if i'm going 1:1 shifters. yes i'm noob.

cream.soda

thanks for registering to reply i appreciate it. the thing is with most components on that bike... i'm not going to upgrade it at all... so i want to do my 'upgrading' now and relax later and not worry about saving up for bike part upgrades when i'm going to save up for a nintendo wii, a ds lite and their respective games as well as my next ipod (mine is currently incapacitated). I don't usually break my parts but i'll have a little emergency fund for that.

I was going to ask something but I forgot, now I have another question...
how much was your rockhopper comp disc? and btw congrats on making a fine bike choice
which colour and plz post some pics!

voodoochile

I REALLY wanted the beautiful flat black finish, but apparently those sold out a long time ago. So I have the clear anodized finish. It looks nice, but the black was nicer to me. It was $820.

Sorry for the pic, I don't have a closer view ATM. The one on specialized's site is pretty much representative. Mine is a 21.

cream.soda

hmm... i actually prefer this to the black... the black design was available last year (but clearcoated on top), and this is more uh... "bling". plus this one won't show sratches as easily, will look nicer in 5 years because the finish won't wear down as much as a matte finish. which is one of the reasons why (most, if not all) mass-produced cars don't come in a matte finish either.

love the pic, thanks for taking the time to take it and put it up.

but the thing is, specialized's site's pic doesn't have close ups and different people get different parts, for example my area's comp discs don't have four-bolt stems at all and have three red and white stickers on each rim's side :S and they're huge...
so when you can, could you please post more pics? i'm collecting them before i get mine

are those bar ends I see? and also, how did you get your ds2-xc rims to not come with the ugly triple-red-and-white stickers like chone's, flak's and the ones at my lbs????

ANYONE WITH THE SAME BIKE POST PICS HERE!!! I WANNA SEE YOUR BIKES!!! EVERYONE SHOW OFF YOUR 06 ROCKHOPPERS XD

never

I think you are asking for a lot...especially considering you're not expecting to pay much more over the price of the bike...they'll do the pedals for sure but I'd be very surprised if they did the brakes, shifters, and rear derailleur for only $100 more. Are you figuring out the price differences online or are you actually asking the bike shop you're planning on buying the bike from? Have you ever bought anything from this bike shop before?

voodoochile

Interesting... I just checked out Flak's bike. I will try to grab a couple pics tonight. My wheels definitely don't have the same labeling. The tires look diff also, but it may just be the pic. I suppose they use the spec'd wheel, or one very similar to it, depending what their inventory at the time of assembly is.

voodoochile

They are different labels, but the same model. Mine is an '06, fwiw.
Maybe they got a lot of complaints about the huge stickering.

cream.soda

your rotor is different too... you have the roundagon rotor like some people's hardrock pros i've seen around... and btw the huge red and white stickers are found on ludovico's kona kula as well... a 2000 dollar bike

lol from that angle, the frame looks like it's been 'shopped... and your tires are fine. it's just that flak changed them for kenda's... read the first post of his thread "bike day".

so basically your differences from the rockhoppers i've seen is the nicer labelling of the rim (btw the stickers you have is the same as on the specialized website, if you look closely enough at the enlarged picture), and that your rotor is the roundagon one rather than the wavey one found on most comp disc's.

where and when did you get this bike? maybe this will help solve this great rockhoper mystery.

voodoochile

Interesting, to say the least.
Bought the bike in the thriving metropolis of downtown Concord, NH; about 6 weeks ago perhaps.

I'm pretty happy overall. It's more bike than I expected for the outlay.

Flak

I've seen those stickers for the DS2 before on other bikes. I like them. Ive considered peeling mine off, but thats as far as that thought has gone, im lazy

Pheard

Nice review voodoochile, I was thinking of asking. Anyone think its worth it to go rh pro instead of comp if I have the money?

I mean, at the bike shop where I am
The comp: 750.00
The pro: 999.00

I've been eyeing the pro. When I get my second pay check tomorow, I can afford the pro. The question is, is the better fork and crankset worth it? I mean, whatever bike I buy I'm going to put an xt crankset on it anyways. So basically- the extra 150 for the fork worth it? of course I could sell the old crank If I wanted.

Flak

I looked at both and thought about it. I dont think so. But others might disagree.

cream.soda

me neither. you got better cranks and stem though... but you lose the tough 32-spoke xc rims (which apparently according to chone are extremely tough) that are light and trade them for tougher single track rims, but they're really heavy and have 36 spokes.

also I'd take avid bb5's over hayes sole... almost any day.

drivetrain on the pro totally owns the comp discs... but i'm upgrading to sram on mine anyway
better seat post, and tires are back to 2.3 enduros, slightly wider versions of the tires found on the hardrock.

heavier, tougher machine... just depends on your needs.

oops. i realized that you're talking about the u.s. only pro, not the allmountain pro. things are different up here in canada. we only have an allmountain pro that's satin green.

anyway, people i updated my sig so you guys can see what i currently ride. it's going to my dad tho it's his kind of bike, not mine. it definitely needs a tune up and truing...plus new tires.

voodoochile

Same here. It's a nice ride, but I think you could do better with your own upgrades at that price point.

At the price of the Pro, I'd be looking more into a lower model Stumpy. As it is, I blew my budget way out of whack. But I felt compelled to, as the price/performance ratio seems pretty darn enticing on the RH comp disc.

Initially I was just going to buy a lower model within the Hardrock line and be done with it. But looking at the brakes, the RST fork, etc... I just didn't want to go there. Nice bike, but I think I'd have gone with a lower feature set bike built with nicer gear if my budget was $380 to $450. Or something like that. I'm just rambling now, trying to justify my lack of dicipline.

OttawaMTB

Hahaha that's how I feel now EXACTLY. I had a nice budget in mind that I knew I wouldn't go over... since some nice year-old models were at the budget price... then along comes this new 06 RH Comp Disc and takes all my money! Ends up being more than 50% extra of what I budgeted! Oh well

cream.soda

welcome to the 06 rockhopper comp disc club consisting of flak, chone, voodoochile, you and uh.. me in a couple of weeks!!!

btw i believe chone the only one with the black one!!! lol

post PICTURES plz! (yes you ottawamtb)

Chone

Happened the same thing to me I started looking at 600$ less than my RH cost, eventually the Hardrock Pros made me look a bit closer... and then the salesman showed me the Rockhopper Comp Disc and that was that lol, I ended up spending two times more than I originally expected but I do not regret not a single penny, it was money well spent in my opinion

And there is some weird deal with Rockhopper Comp, for example I saw a friend of my friend ride a Dream Blue Comp Disc with 2005 BB5s, 2005 LX derailleur, roundagon rotors and a solo air Tora fork and I wonder what else was different on that bike (now that you mention it, it might have had the DS2s without big stickers... I think those are 2005 DS2s... Rockhopper Comps came before many of the 2006 components were released...so its likely Specialized stuck some 2005 in the meantime and some of those leftover comps are still floating around bikeshops.

Pheard

I don't know. Honestly, not to be vain about my bike. I hate the comp colors and love the pro red. I want the recon fork instead of the tora. Plus- xt rd. I mean the extra 150 I'd be paying for the pro gives me better rd, fork, and crankset. Plus, when I replace the crank with an xt I'll sell the old one for some dough.

Also keep in mind where I am
comp-750
pro-999

Flak

I tried my best to feel the difference between the recon and the tora, and couldnt. Reading the manual i noticed the Tora and Recon are built the same so that explains the similar feel. I just couldnt justify the extra $300 for the pro, figured thats money i could spend better on upgfrades by myself.

I did like the red though. Looked sexy. In hindsight i wish i got it just because all of you guys have the comp too now

Pheard

The thing is, that at my lbs its only 150 more for the pro. 300 more, and it wouldn't be worth it. But 150? that sounds not so bad.

cream.soda

well you get a low-friction anodized coating on your stanchion tubes... it's coloured gold all high-end forks have that finish, and for rockshoxs' product line the recon's the cheapest fork with that coating

only 150 more for the pro... if you like the paintjob as well, then GO FOR IT!!!

AND POST SOME DARN 06 RH PICS XD

voodoochile

If the pro was only $150 more than the comp, I'd do it. It was more like $280 more at my LBS, and I was already way outside my budget.

I'm going to pound on mine 'till it won't go anymore, then maybe go to a stumpy and start all over. I'll take care of it, but I mean that I'm not going to baby it. I baby my road bike. This is for something else. It's akin to owning a reliable beater car. You can relax and enjoy it a little more, not being overly concerned about it's well-being.

I used to ride criterion and some triathlon, but my Waterford has never been raced. I mainly ride centuries, and otherwise enjoy (WTF would you call it...) "spirited riding" maybe? I average typically about 18 mph on it, spin fast, and love hills. But it's fair weather, and no racing or crashing. I had a few minor crashes and some real close calls in crits. Riding right over other people's downed wheels, and have been ridden over before, too. You and your bike both take a big beating. I can't afford a new frame every year, and am too old to be involved in a tangle of tubing, spokes, asses and elbows. Wiping out is one thing. Wiping out, and having some dude ride into you because he's boxed in really isn't a good time.

OttawaMTB

Still such a tough choice for me! I put a bit down to hold the 06 Rockhopper Comp Disc... but am wondering (for the type of riding I'll be doing)... if I should just get the cheaper 05 Hardrock Pro Disc. Has the same Avid BB-5's... Deore front and rear (except the RH CD has the LX rear)... shocks on the RH CD are much better of course but I'm not planning on going any huge drops anytime soon. Hardrock would save me $400 after tax too.
DAMN THESE BIKE CHOICES!

cream.soda

search your feelings, the force will guide you.

um actually, if you want my opinion... the hardrock has a tougher frame and will take more abuse but it's much heavier than the rockhopper, due to the frame and ditchwitch rims... oh yeah those rims are found on this year's hardrock comp disc. and the hardrock pro this year gets single track rims which are a definite upgrade from those.

and personally i think the rockhopper looks better. i dunno, i'm just partial to the rockhopper because i'm getting it.