Hey there, been researching and trying out bikes left and right for a couple weeks, trying to find the perfect first mountain bike for me (as if such a thing exists in my budget!). Finally ventured into the Trek dealer on Saturday looking to try the X-Cal 7 which was on sale. Turns out the 8 had a much better fork and was only $50 more! In addition, Trek is I guess doing $200 worth of gear with any new bike purchase!

Problem is, the only X-Cal 8 they have is the 2014 blue and white. Thus, I was waiting till today for him to ring Trek and check on the status of the 2015 models for me but turns out, they won't know colors or specs for another two weeks (the 2015 models they do have are bright, vibrant colors which is exactly what I'd like). Here's where I'm stuck.. the vain side of me wants the colors to be absolutely perfect and presumably one level higher components is always nice, but the $850 sale price is much closer to my initial budget, and who knows when they'll have another sale.

I suppose I'm more looking for opinions more than buying advice lol. So what would you do? Buy the old model and color at a good price, or likely spend up for the latest and greatest?

Just take the 8. The 2015 most likely will be exactly the same as the 14 other than paint. If they change anything it is usually a downgrade to hit the same price point.