i would and am getting a specialized p1.

i beilieve owning on myself that if you want to go under 500 bucks then go with the rockhopper its a great middle of the line freeride bike.

Errr ummm NO
The Rockhopper is a "XC Trail Hardtail" NOT a "middle of the line freeride bike"

Quote:

Originally Posted by Specialized_Website

If you need an animal that will take you deep into the mountains or through your challenging local trails (and home again), then check out the Rockhopper family of trail bikes. The Rockhopper lineage and history are well known, and clearly spell fun, durability and true off-road performance; now with a wider range of applications than ever before.

good call

William,
I am in the same predicament as you right now. I'm currenty stuck between the Hardrock Sport, Hardrock XC, Trek 4100, and Trek 4300 (all '04 models). It's a tough call, but I'm sort of leaning towards the hardrock sport as everyone else said.

Alright guys, like in my other post, I've been looking at the '04 Specialized Hardrock Sport, or '04 Hardrock XC or the '04 Trek 4300 or '04 4100. I was wondering which you guys think is the best and what I should look at to differentiate one bike from another. Thanks so much for helping me out as i make my first real bike purchase (those walmart bikes never count).

Let me make this easy for you the Sport is better than the XC, and the 4300 is better than the 4100 interms of spec. So between the Sport and the 43300 it's a toss up for the most part.
RIDE them both and buy the one that feels better. Which is exactly what I tell everyone else

Everyone,

I am quite new to mountain biking, but I would like to get into the sport. I found a deal on a Diamondback COil 04 model w/ $500 in Upgrade going for $380. Is also features a speedometer. Before I considered a XSL Comp. My question is am i getting a good deal? I have no idea what this bike retails for but it has been ridden about 5 times. It hasn't seen any jumps or water.

Will this be a great bike for me?
What should I look for.
What questions should I ask?
Can I change the gearing to 21spd?

Discombobulated

I ride with a guy once in a while that rides a GT, he seems to do great on it. I guess what i would ask is what are the $500.00 upgrades? Was it a fork upgrade? You mentioned switching to a 7 speed, what drivetrain is on it now? Component group? These are the type Questions I would ask. Good luck!

Ok i am kinda new to all this and I have a mongoose I got for christmas and i have been riding trails for a few months and i keep bending my rims so instead of spending money each week on rims i was thining of buying a new bike after reading some posts I thinkni understand alittle about bike and would like some help.
I was looking at the Trek 4300 with Disc's Is that a good bike for the extreme or is it a good starter. The other bike i have looked into was Cannondale F300 ther eis about $200.00 difference in the bikes but i want the one that i can go to the extreme.

Which one is the better bike or is there another one i should look into getting?

I'm not an expert but from what I've picked up, I'm not sure if they'll do for the extreme. Does extreme include trails + jumps + tricks, etc or is it just crazy trails in your mind? Oh and what's your budget?
My friend had a Specialized Hardrock Sport and its great, he loves it and I'll probably be getting one in March.

Well i want to get into tricks and jumps and i also want to start riding the alifia.
I have heard aliitle about the Specialized Hardrock is there a website i can see them that you know of?

How about www.specialized.com ?

thank you that helps allot

I am going for a Gary Fisher Tassajara. Found a 2005 for $540. Sweet rig.

I read all 14 pages, and I haven't seen the Giant Boulder SE mentioned anywhere. Retail is 289.00

Also, I read everything concerning the Trek 4300 and the Specialized Hardrock Sport, but which would you pick for $299 and $350, respectively?

Largely due to the fact that the Bou;der SE is crap compared to the Rincon The Rincon bumps you up to a 8 speed cassette system as opposed to the Boulder SE's 7 speed Freewheel, you get better derailiuers as well as the added benefit of easier to replace and upgrade parts. To me that's well worth the small bump in price.

As for the 4300 vs the Hardock Sport the 4300 has the better rear derailieur, but that's where it's advantage ends. the Hardrock comes with a Truvativ crank and BB combo that flat out smokes the SR crank and generic BB setup on the Trek.

Both have the same fork and a large smattering of house brand parts. Personally I've had bad luck when working with the low end Bontrager stuff and have had nothing but praise for the Specialized stuff.


Bottom line go ride them. Around the $300 mark you're looking at an introductory bike, not something I'd suggest spending a lot of money on trying to upgrade as that would make no economic sense

Personally I've had bad luck when working with the low end Bontrager stuff and have had nothing but praise for the Specialized stuff.
Ditto! My experince with the lower end treks has not been positive, Not saying I wouldn't buy another Trek, Just not another Entry level one.

Please use the reply w/ quote link if you're going to quote someone. Thanks.

Got it!

I have the Trek 4500. I have put over 2000 miles on it in the last year and have had NO problems. :

where do you guys live and why are bikes so cheap?

This is the $500 MTB thread. Every bike in here is in the less than $500 USD (or slightly over) ballpark.

Anyone going to help me or at least respond?

What upgrades are on it? Speedometer is barely anything, a mountain mile is differnt from a road mile. What are you going to do. Tell us everything.