I saw a used Specialized Rockhopper yesterday that seemed pretty nice and I wanted to ask you guys some questions:

It is full LX except for the crank which is a "Specialized" crank, are these cranks any good?

It is a hardtail with disc brakes; I know nothing about disc brakes, what should I be looking out for as potential problems?

I don't know the age of the bike nor does the seller (pawnshop) but I am guessing it is about 5 years old and the seller wants 400$CDN for it, does that sound like a good price? It is a red and white colour scheme if that helps anyone identify the year of the bike.

The tires look new and apparently the brakes were serviced recently, apart from that, I cannot see any reasons to spend any money on maitanence in the next few months, is that right?

Should I buy this bike?

I don't know much about Specialized cranks but I would guess they are on par with Trek's "Bontrager" in-house parts. Which is to say, they aren't great but they should be ok.

Disc brakes can have a few common issues. Are they mech or hydro? Most discs tend to rub a little because the pads are so close to the rotor. This doesn't bug most people because it doesn't cause much resistance, and the noise is pretty minimal. Like V-brakes, cheaper discs tend to need a lot of adjustment. Cheaper discs also don't have much stopping power.

As far as the price I think it's not a really fantastic deal, but if the bike is in very good working order then its a fairly good deal.

Go to the Specialized webpage and click on "Archive" under "Bikes". Then you can figure out which year it is (as long as it's not pre-2002) and people will be able to help you a little better.

There are levels to Bontrager parts, much like everyone else. Some are "ehhh" others are damn expensive and on par with all the shiny spendy top level components. I imagine specialized house parts are similar.

I took it for a test ride today and it is pretty nice. It doesn't look too beat up and the disc brakes are very nice and it shifted very well through all the gears. I thought the shifters were LX but they are Deore which I suppose is really bottom of the barrel stuff. When I knew a bit about mountain biking, Rockhoppers were very very near the top, I guess things have changed a lot. The brakes are Magouras, I think, something like that. Here are a couple of pics, any input is appreciated guys, thanks.

No way would i pay $400 for that, even if it is CDN. It's atleast 5 years old. I'd offer him $250.

Like i say with all thread like this. It's not that it's a bad bike, but considering whats out there today, the bikes of even just 5 years ago are very dated. I'd keep looking, there's much better deals to be had.

See, the thing is, the Toronto market is very competitive for used bikes, at least on Craigslist it is. So many people are looking for a good deal that as soon as one is posted, boom, it is gone. The only other option is pawn shops or buying stuff through a friend, it kinda sucks. I guess I can keep an eye on eBay but shipping can get expensive. Thanks for the input, it is appreciated.

I believe that bike to be a 2000 or 2001 model. While it's a good bike, no way would I pay that much. BTW, the Deore shifters are absolutely fine and not "bottom of the barrel" as you quote. Does this bike fit you well? If so, get him to lower the price. Good luck.