This is something that perhaps hasn't been considered yet, so I will throw it out there:

I am friendly with the guys at my LBS, and about a month ago they told me that this was the end of the current model year for Specialized. They told me that they could order in most any Specialized bike at a heavy discount. For example, they ordered in a Rockhopper Comp for me, assemble it, and sold it at a $100 profit for $500 (the price of the regular Rockhopper). Pretty sweet deal, me thinks.

If you are friendly with the staff at your LBS, and they are willing to negotiate on price (which any reasonable LBS will do) you could try something similar. All manufacturers liquidate their inventory at some point in the year, so if you could ask your LBS when that happens, you could potentially net a sweet deal (as I did). Just be sure to order your bike as soon as the liquidation begins, because popular sizes tend to disappear quickly.

another nice bike for the money is an entry level marin, my girlfriend it getting into mountain biking and she had a magna store bought pos. we went out and bought her a marin for about 500 bucks and she loves it. I even gave it a try at the greenbelt and its damn nice for the money. light and upgradable ;)

Alright guys, I need some help. I'm in the market for lower end hardtail with a budget of absolute tops of $600, this includes such things as a new helmet, locks, and other minor stuff.. so the bike budget is about $500. I plan to commute on the bike to and from school when it isnt pouring too badly out and riding around town occasionally. I'm interested in getting something capable of handling trails great as its something that I'm interested in doing here and there. No I won't be doing 4 foot drops and what have you. I have called around and narrowed my choices down to these four bikes:

Marin Bobcat trail
I called and I can get this for around $460, maybe less.
This is the most appealing of the bikes I have narrowed it down to as its got fairly conservative styling, I don't want attention. I can't afford to have my bike stolen. It has disc brakes despite being a sub $500 bike but this is something I really want.

Specialized hardrock sport 06
Calling around and looking online, I should be able to get this for under $350. I like the styling of the bike but I'm not crazy about leaving a specialized bike locked up around here in some parts of town.

Specialized hardrock comp 05
A shop somewhat around here has them going for something like $430. I like the disc brakes on this one and whatnot but I'm not too crazy about the paintjob and what have you.

Marin bolinas ridge
Clearly the cheapest bike of the bunch. Its got the somewhat conservative "wtf is a marin bike" thing going for it which I like. I'm fond of darker paintjobs but I would budge. I'm pretty sure this can be upgraded to disc brakes at a later time also.

My current bike was a used department store wannabe fs piece of ****.

i just bought myself a hardrock pro disc, the brakes on the comp are eh according to past posts. You can always upgrade later. I was overwhelmed myself with the close similarities of these bikes and perhaps the best piece of advice (courtesty of Raiyn) is to go test ride them, see which one feels the best, then go off of the componentry, around page 18 or so there are some very helpful charts that tell you which components are ok, and which you should compeltely avoid, i am really liking my bike so far its a great solid bike with good components, only thing is have to get the skills to tune it up (adjust the brakes and derauilers (sp?)

I own one of these "$500 Bikes" and was able to have Raiyn explain some things to me regaurding disk brakes to V-brakes, etc, etc and I value his opinion a lot.

What I want to mention is that some know I race ATV's and have for about 6 years. I race a 2000 model quad, which is considered outdated, old and a POS. MY racing buddies ask me all the time why I still ride such a dinosaur and that I should upgrade. MY reply is why should I?? I like the feel of it, I have no problems handing out azz's to the "Newer and faster Quads" it would be a waste of money. Now I have lots of upgrades to the bike that help it not be so Old and such a POS which does help.

We have a race class called "The Stock Class" The quads are kept stock just like you buy them at the store and race them. Some of these guys are faster than me, even though I have $2,000 worth of shocks and $1,500 worth of motor upgrades to make me faster, but yet these guys just flat out are better riders than me and hit the rough terrain just as hard but they are just better riders.

Moral of the story and I think this applies to Mountain bikes too. It's 90% rider and 10% bike. I think lots of people don't know how to ride, maintain and are flat out ignorant and in turn put down a good quality bike because of those reasons. It also makes some feel superior to state they own such and such bike that cost mom and dad $8,000.

How many people brought their new bike home and rechecked all nuts and bolts, air in the tires, adjusted the handlebars, lever positions, lever tension so that you don't pull them to the grips but can lightly touch them and stop********** I did and think the brakes on my bike work exceptionally well. They lock the tires up and stop me when I need to be stopped. I understand the wear and tear of the drive train will suffer the most and quality parts really shine in this area, also in the crank area. Jim bob for example did nothing but ride and has to come to a public forum stating his bike is a POS and it needs to be better. Probably didn't realize a tire was flat or the brake levers need adjusted so a public display of how bad his new $500 bike is in order. I will upgrade my bike over time and it'll be looked at like a dinosaur one day too. But man oh man the feeling you get passing someone on a bigger and better bike will have you grinning from ear to ear..... :D

Don't believe the hype that you read on any type of forums, most are personal opinions and most opinions come from those who keep their head rested firmly in their azzz. Be happy you have a $500 bike and ride the piss out of it. I"m 32 and feel like my Trek 4300 is the best bike in the world, when it's far from it. ;)

Size matters. Looking for something in this range, have riddin a Trek 4300 I think and 2 different Raleighs. I am 6'5"-6'6" 230, the raleigh size stops at 21 but trek goes up to 22.5. The Trek shop didn't have a 22.5 in stock so I wasn't able to ride one. I felt fine riding a 21 but it was only around the block, so I wonder if I should make sure I don't need the larger frame. Any thoughts on the diff between the 2 sizes. Any other brand that have sizes over 21 or xl that you would recommend?

I found a 05 Rockhopper for $400 at a local bike store, but they also have the 06 model for $499.
The 05 has a Manitou fork and the 06 has a Rox Shox J3 SL fork. They also list the 06 with a Sram SX4/5 24 speed drive train. Should I save the $100 and buy the 05 or are the 06 components better?

im pretty sure it would be more economical to buy the better stuff now for only a 100 dollar difference, whereas if you did it after it will prob run a lot more, however u will prob get a significantly better shock for example if u spend 250 bucks versus like 100 now, i hope that sounds right just basing that off all the reading ive done

yeah and a year could do alot to its durability and value. you can probably get an extra year out of the frame and if you sell it in teh future, you'll get a higher resale value.

Raiyn, is the 2006 Rock hopper any better than the 2005 model?
I saw the the two Rock Hoppers, a 2005 and a 2006 in a local store and both are new, but they are getting rid of old stock, so the 2005 is on sale. I dont want to buy the older model if the newer year has some improvements.
I did notice that the fork and I think "drivetrain"( their word) are different.
Thank you, Rob

Thank You, Rob

My wife and I bought our Rockhoppers today and they are a blast. I forgot how much fun it was to ride a bike. We both bought 05 models and with the money we saved and some extra we got helmets, better seats, water bottle holders, Topeak tool and locks.
It was just like Christmas.
I was able to make an informed decesion because of Bike Forums and this thread.
Thanks, everybody!

I wanted to add a little to this and ask a question. About 4 months ago I bought an '04 Giant Boulder SE and yes I got a good deal. However if you owned this bike what would you upgrade on it? Nothing to crazy but I have seen people say wheelsets and so on would make a huge difference. thanks, you guys have a good forum here!

What are three most respected brands in the world?

I think you'll get a better reply if you started your own thread. That being said the concensus is to change only stuff that breaks. UGI (Upgrade-Itis) is easy to catch but sometimes when starting at a low-end bike you will end up spending far more to get a better bike by upgrading it in bits and pieces rather than just saving up and buying a better bike.

There is something to be said for the fun of UGI though so it's up to you to weigh the lower cost and delayed gratification of saving up for a better bike vs. upgrading in bits (and installments) but getting something better.

Giant, Specialized and Kona.

I assume, considering the fourm we are in, that you are saying they are the most respected MTB brands, and not that they are the most respected brands of all types of bikes...?

Hello Folks,

Posting here for the first time. I am getting back in to the biking after a very long time. I will be starting this as a means of exercise. I will be riding more or lesss on a partially rugged path and was wondering how do these two bikes compare. I am planning to pick one of these soon. So any help you could provide will be greatly appreciated.

K2 Zed 2.0 Bike 2004 - Price $300
Manitou Six front fork
Shimano Acera EZ-Fire shifters
Tektro linear-pull brakes
Zed Comp frame
WTB SST.X2 saddle

VS

HARDROCK SPORT 2005 - Price 350

Best Regards

Well there are many respected brands out there. When it comes to MTBing, i would say that Giant, Specialized and Kona are the most respected brands, but if we are talking about all types of bikes, then Trek would come into the picture and Kona out.

Don't forget Canondale.

Raiyn, do you know where I can find the specs to the '06 Rockhoppers? Specialized's website doesn't have the "base" model specs out yet.

I remember seeing SRAM rear derailleurs on the '06 Rockhoppers that they had. I looked at Specialized's site for '05 and they show Deore RD. Is the SRAM-SX RD better or worse than Deore?

Thx.

I suppose. I'm really not into them for some reason.