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Specialized Hardrock XC

MSRP $ 290.00
# of Reviews 13
Average Rating 3.85/5
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Submitted by aaron a Weekend Warrior from benson az
Date Reviewed: May 12, 2009
Duration Product Used:2 Years
Price Paid: $411.00
Purchased At:old town bicycles
Strengths:nice weight, like the brakes, great cross country bike
Weaknesses:stock handle bars bent,rst fork bent,rear triagle of frame bent@#%!,rims bent, all without crashing
Similar Products Used:none
Bike Setup:my bike is dead
Bottom Line:this bike is not for dirt jumping even small jumps but i do weigh 200lbs so i probably was asking for it. but this is agreat begginer bike to figure out exactly what kind of biking you are into. but beware dh and dj's will end your bikes life.
Value Rating:4Overall Rating:2

Submitted by jrgong222 a Weekend Warrior from Portland, Maine, USA
Date Reviewed: September 9, 2008
Favorite Trail:Mt. Aggie
Duration Product Used:6 months
Price Paid: $319.00
Purchased At:Bar Harbor Bicycle S
Strengths:Well designed frame, lightweight, a great basic bicycle for the price, Specialized Fast Trak tires. I thought the design was purdy.
Weaknesses:Some low-quality drive train components (namely derailleurs), 7-speed cassette.
Similar Products Used:n/a
Bike Setup:2007 Specialized HRXC w/ Ritchey Pro stem, Ritchey Pro handlebars, Brooks saddle, FSA Pig headset, Fox Talas fork, FSA XC100 rims, FSA cankset, Shimano XT front derailleur, XTR rear derailleur, DualControl levers, SRAM 9 speed cassette, Avid BB7 mechanical disc brakes, Specialized bar ends and lock-on grips, Crank Bros Pedals.
Bottom Line:I would definitely recommend this bike to any beginner rider who is on a budget. It is a pretty durable bike, that can take the punishment a novice rider is likely to inflict. The value of the bike is unbeatable, and even though it uses mainly low-end components, it still climbs and descends relatively well. If you end up breaking all of the components, you can toss the bike and buy something better... or if you find that special bond with your bike, it makes a great upgrade project.... just ask me!

Bottom line: If you're a beginning biker, or a builder on a budget, give it a look.
Value Rating:5Overall Rating:4

Submitted by quietride a from IL
Date Reviewed: May 18, 2008
Duration Product Used:3 months
Price Paid: $300.00
Purchased At:Kozy's cyclery
Strengths:looks
Weaknesses:shifters, rear derailleur.
Similar Products Used:old Shimano mountain bike.
Bottom Line:I've had the 2005 model. trouble with shifting due to cheap parts. The rims are very weak. Had a light accident, the wheel got bent when it shouldn't even have. Somewhat heavy. Although it's in the mountain bike category, it's not meant for abusive off roading. They just overbuild the frame and slap on cheapest components. This bike is perhaps capable of light off-road riding only. But what's the point having mountain bike that can't be used for what it's designed for. It certainly is an overkill for pavement. At the end, it's not evey worth the MRSP, it cost pennies to make this bike in China.
Value Rating:3Overall Rating:3

Submitted by sammy a Cross Country Rider from JaMaIcA,Queenz, NY
Date Reviewed: August 26, 2007
Duration Product Used:3 months
Price Paid: $350.00
Purchased At:spincitycycle
Strengths:Very good over all bike for the very low price,very good strong frame, nice 80mm travel RST shocks,strong Fast Trak tires, very easy to maintain Strong bike for commuting and mountain biking.Good bike for first timers also.
Weaknesses:The wheels are not so strong but they keep up.Paint can chip easy if ot careful. other than that, the bike is all good=]
Similar Products Used:Cheap bikes from toysrus
Bike Setup:specialized xc frame,80mm travel RST mtb fork shimano altus drive train, wellgo clipless pedals
Bottom Line:Great bike for a first timer.
Value Rating:3Overall Rating:4

Submitted by allan a Cross Country Rider from geraldton, West Australia
Date Reviewed: May 5, 2007
Favorite Trail:chapman
Duration Product Used:6 months
Price Paid: $492.00
Purchased At:bikeforec
Strengths:frame,saddle,pad brakes,tyres(world class)
Weaknesses:wheels are a little easy to bend,stem,pedal cage too small
Similar Products Used:stumpjumper,enduro
Bike Setup:weinman zac19 front,origional front wheel,RS psylos 125mm,origional tyres,ritchey comp stem,ritchey comp bars,xt hydro 6 inch brakes,shimano separate shifters,xt 6 hole disc hubs
Bottom Line:great, light, strong frame with entry level parts. great bike to upgrade or ride as is on a xc track or for general commuting.
Value Rating:4Overall Rating:4

Submitted by jason a Cross Country Rider from manchester
Date Reviewed: October 15, 2006
Favorite Trail:rivington pike/ white coppace
Duration Product Used:3 months
Price Paid: $420.00
Purchased At:buy a bike
Strengths:gr8 frame perfect shape size and weight,
Weaknesses:paintwork chips away easaly,
Similar Products Used:gt aggressor 3.0
Bike Setup:fsa fr-200 stem with fsa xc 190 riser bars, fsa fr-270 seatpoast, full deore lx groupset(ex hubs ,witch are hone)hope mono m4 rear disk hayes nine front maxxis high roler tyers and manitou black super front forks.
Bottom Line:gr8 bike i use to commute to and from work through manchester during the week and on the week end i use as freeride/downhill bike i recomend the bike!!!!
Value Rating:3Overall Rating:5

Submitted by Ron a Cross Country Rider from Jerusalem
Date Reviewed: May 21, 2006
Duration Product Used:3 months
Price Paid: $400.00
Weaknesses:Wheels are weak, they deform easily after sand-cycling... had to change the rear wheel to a stronger one
Bottom Line:Great Bikes!!
Value Rating:3Overall Rating:4

Submitted by TT RADE a Weekend Warrior from JAPAN
Date Reviewed: January 31, 2006
Favorite Trail:Specialized
Duration Product Used:Less than 1 month
Price Paid: $367.00
Purchased At:internet sale
Strengths:2006 HR-XC8(not on sale in the U.S.A)
lightweight new A1 frame(totall weight12.7kg for 17inch!),
beautiful&wild curved down tube,
ultla nice price!!(43,000yen=370 US$)
assemble parts are lowest grade classes,but no problem for XC biginners and easy to upgrade parts in the future.
nice quality painting,
many selectable colors&frame size(7colors&13,15,17,19inch frame selectable)
Weaknesses:front&rear hubs, no hole for setting disk brakes,
the handle bar's length is too wide(640mm),tha'ts suitable
for down hill,but not controllble for town use&XC
Similar Products Used:no rival in the same price of lightweight&selectable model)
Bike Setup:grunge R derailler guard,topeak F&R mud guards LED light etc.mainly assemble street parts. no complainment for using town ride,but F&R deraillers must be changed for using real trail.
Bottom Line:my first hardtail MTB.i'm so satisfied.
Value Rating:4Overall Rating:4

Submitted by Vitold Glinski a Cross Country Rider from New Fairfield
Date Reviewed: May 27, 2005
Favorite Trail:Great Hollow
Duration Product Used:2 Years
Price Paid: $310.00
Purchased At:Bike Express
Strengths:Pretty light, good shock, nice tires + seat, easy upgradable, wires not on bar where they can get in the way

the altus gears lasted for a year of harsh riding then thjey went bezerk and would not last 5 min
Weaknesses:component, stem
Similar Products Used:full xt bike acess frame manitou answer shock
Bike Setup:currently i have a sram esp 9.,0 xt cassette , xt brakes capa rst 80 mm fork new stem bar and seatpost mavic wit specialized 28 hole hub
Bottom Line:great bike for price lite frame components need to be upgraded
Value Rating:5Overall Rating:4

Submitted by Rodrigo Quirós a Cross Country Rider from Costa Rica
Date Reviewed: November 17, 2004
Favorite Trail:Antenas, Universidad de la Paz
Duration Product Used:6 months
Price Paid: $400.00
Purchased At:Ciclo Guilly
Strengths:Pretty well-rounded ride. I bought the Hardrock XC Comp and components are pretty much entry-level, but you can build up from there.
Weaknesses:The manitou six fork isn´t too reliable so I´m about to upgrade to a Fox Vanilla. I also installed some clipless pedals on it. But the only serious weakness I can find in my frame is the lack of disk brake adapters.
Similar Products Used:I rode a rigid Diamondback, back in College and I´m just getting back in the sport.
Bike Setup:Hardrock XC Comp, Ritchey clipless pedals, LX derailler and Deore front derailler.
Bottom Line:I think that once i setup my bike with a Vanilla Fork it´s gonna be able to handle some serious stuff. Pretty much happy with the bike and with the upgrades I´ve made so far.
Value Rating:5Overall Rating:4

Submitted by Josh a from Ocala Fl. U.S.A.
Date Reviewed: August 5, 2004
Favorite Trail:Santos Trailheads
Duration Product Used:Less than 1 month
Price Paid: $290.00
Purchased At:Santos Bike Shop
Strengths:The stock fork is goog and the frame is nice and tough. Also, the V-brake are good for the price paid.
Weaknesses:Seat and seat post, pedals and stem.
Similar Products Used:Giant Rincon, Trek 3700
Bike Setup:Stock except for eggbeater pedals.
Bottom Line:The bike is an overall great bike for the price I plan on in the fiuture upgrading to a rox shox fork and a new crank set but i paid $290 for this bike and in less than a month put a good 300 miles on it and nthing has gone wrong with it yet. It even keeps up with higher priced hardtails in local races I do. It is a very good bike for beginers and intermidiate riders.
Value Rating:5Overall Rating:5

Submitted by John Poltier a from Australia
Date Reviewed: July 10, 2004
Favorite Trail:Local bike paths
Duration Product Used:Less than 1 month
Price Paid: $360.00
Strengths:Quite good value for the components
Weaknesses:Bottom bracket and thus the pedals too low to ground for my riding style
Similar Products Used:Raleigh 6000, Boulder SE 2003
Bike Setup:Geax Road Runner slicks, smaller rear chainrings for higher gearing and Sora derailer to suit.
Bottom Line:I mainly do commuting and had been happy with all previous bikes, but with the Hardrock XC I am now regularly scraping the pedals on what I consider to be mild pedal-through turns that my other bikes could easily navigate with no problem. The bottom bracket-to-ground on this bike is much lower down, 27cm with slicks while my previous bike were around 30cm. This bicycle just does not suit my riding style, though my corner leaning may be a bit on the extreme side.
Value Rating:4Overall Rating:2

Submitted by Ryan Boyd a Weekend Warrior from UK,Fife.
Date Reviewed: May 11, 2004
Favorite Trail:Lomond Hills
Duration Product Used:6 months
Price Paid: $300.00
Purchased At:Leslie cycles
Strengths:Great bike for some one like me starting out I have the 2003 model which was ridged, now comes with an 80mm rst fork.
Weaknesses:Front hub not up to much,upgraded to front disc hub and an mph hydraulic disc brake.
Similar Products Used:gt lts 5.0
Bike Setup:I upgraded the front brake to a disc got rid of the awful tektro v-brake on the back and replaced it with a deore v-brake.Also replaced the rear mech from an acera to a deore after bending it in a crash,and replaced the aultus sti shifters for seperate deore levers and alivio 8spd shifters.And last of all roxshox judy xc's and an easson ea50 riser bar.
Bottom Line:Great bike needed a bit of upgrading over time to get the best from it all in all fantastic,and a bomb proof 6061 alu frame.Similar to the rock hopper frame.
Value Rating:5Overall Rating:5






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