[Bhaltair]

Greetings. I'm a college student in my last year, I in also a father.
I live in Bellingham, WA and love to hike. I'm interested in purchasing a bike this weekend for around $600-1000. The local bike shops have Specialized, Trek, Rocky Mountain and some other brands. I'm leaning towards a Specialized right now. I'm 6 ft. tall and 240 lbs. I'm shooting for 185lbs. I'll ride it on the road and trails. Which is better? I've read that they are similar except the hardrock is longer and the rockhopper is lighter. Can anyone help? Thanks!

Also - Who's interested in riding with a noob in Bellingham?

 

[Call_me_Clyde]

Go Rockhopper

I would go with the Rockhopper for reasons I described in a similar thread in the Ibex forum. In the hardtail line up from Specialized, if you were to rate them "Good, Better, Best", The Hardrock would be "Good", the Rockhopper "Better". This holds true for the parts specification in both line ups. Even the top of the line Hardrock Pro Disc has it's limitations from the standpoint of it's component selection. I would recommend the Rockhopper Comp Disc, or if you can afford it, the Rockhopper Pro Disc (it's $1100, but you may get them down to a grand. If you can, grab it and run!). Both are very nice bikes for the money, and if Specialized is what you prefer, these are the bikes you should be looking at IMO.

Bob

 

[Bhaltair]

That's exactly what I'm doing, but I thought I'd at least post one more thread. I was going to spend less, then more, and then somewhere up to $1000. The Rockhopper pro disc has M4 frame (I guess it's much stronger and lighter than the A1 aluminum frames - but I also heard you wouldn't be able to tell the difference *shrugs*) and my local shop will price match any deals I see. Right now I see them for $999 a county south of us on their online store so I'll be able to get it at that price + 8.9% tax.
I just need to justify spending 400$ more on the bike to my wife and making her wait a few weeks to get her bike.
Then, we'll have to go through this all again! She'll be more of a "normal" rider - mostly on the road going down to Fairhaven (local area of town that's hip) or going on basic hiking/walking trails around our lakes.
Any great women's bikes for a gal who's 5'9" and solid? She works out every day and is definitely not wimpy. We'll be going on bikerides for 4 miles each way or so with my son as well.

 

[Bhaltair]

By the way, thanks for the advice!

 

[mtnbiker72]

D4W Hardrock and Rockhopper

Hey, why not get your gal a Specialized as well. They make a womens Hardrock and a couple Rockhopper models. Maybe if you buy both at the same time, you can get a small discount (some shops will offer something around 5% on a two bike deal)

http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=21940

:thumbsup:

 

[Bhaltair]

I did. This weekend I purchased a HotRock for my son (he's 10 and will outgrow it in a couple of years I'm sure) and a RockHopper Comp Disc Women's for my wife. She could have went for the "male" bike, but like the shop owner says, no one wants to steal a women's bike! Theft rate is way down for them so she decided to get that deal. Our local bike shop (Fairhaven Bikes) price matches and also gives you back 5% for Coop benefits. Good deal! I probably had about $400 off total on 3 bikes.
Great idea - I already thought of this.

By the way, I'm LOVING my bike. It's light (30 lbs with all the fixins - bike pump, fenders, and a tool kit) and I can almost climb any hill near my house which there are plenty.
My only complaint is I wish I had an extra $500 so I could have got the FSR. My lower back isn't too happy with me right now.

 

[bikemanla]

My brother did the same.....

My brother (5'10", 255) got the same Specialized Rockhopper and it was served him well. Except----- you need to get a HEAVY DUTY rear wheel! He was broken several spokes and had alot of down time for that reason. Get ahead of the curve before it costs you. Insist on a 36 or 40 spoke wheel with heavy duty rim and spokes before it leaves the shop.

 

[sbitw]

My brother (5'10", 255) got the same Specialized Rockhopper and it was served him well. Except----- you need to get a HEAVY DUTY rear wheel! He was broken several spokes and had alot of down time for that reason. Get ahead of the curve before it costs you. Insist on a 36 or 40 spoke wheel with heavy duty rim and spokes before it leaves the shop.

I'm only about 200lbs, and I used to break spokes regularly on my rockhopper, all on the rear drive side. The problem is that they're cheap 15g spokes, and poorly tensioned. A handbuilt wheel with good quality 14g spokes will be a lot more reliable.

 

[SnowMongoose]

Looks like I'm too late to toss in my two cents on bike selection...
but locally, we've got trek, specialized, cannondale, Kona, fisher, and a few others, yeah
(Between Fairhaven, Kulshan, Jacks, and Fanatik)

so I'll stick to the part about being up for a ride, as I'm in the 'Ham, getting back into the biking game
(Senior at Western as well, ex clyde, down to a slender 208, lol)

 

[Bhaltair]

Looks like I'm too late to toss in my two cents on bike selection...
but locally, we've got trek, specialized, cannondale, Kona, fisher, and a few others, yeah
(Between Fairhaven, Kulshan, Jacks, and Fanatik)

so I'll stick to the part about being up for a ride, as I'm in the 'Ham, getting back into the biking game
(Senior at Western as well, ex clyde, down to a slender 208, lol)

Sweet! I've got about 50 more to lose and then I'll be very happy. What are you majoring in?

 

[Bhaltair]

Well this 2007 is very nice. The rear wheel looks to be in great condition. In fact, I've had no problems with the wheels or frame or handlebars... The only thing so far is that I've broken a chain once and need to tune the shifting just a tad. I've taken it, along with my son, on some pretty good trails and jump it just a bit and it takes it in stride. I've read on here that they aren't all that tough but I've also read that this bike is totally ok all over Galbraith. The LBS also said I could do what I will on it. I've even read some blogs of guys dirt jumping on them with no problems.
I'm pretty happy actually. My back wishes that I had $500 more to get a FSR, but I didn't.

 

[SnowMongoose]

English Lit, heading right back to school when I finish for teaching certification and/or masters.
good luck with those 50 pounds, it's easier than it seems!

 

[mtnbiker72]

Suspension Seatpost for aching back

Well this 2007 is very nice. The rear wheel looks to be in great condition. In fact, I've had no problems with the wheels or frame or handlebars... The only thing so far is that I've broken a chain once and need to tune the shifting just a tad. I've taken it, along with my son, on some pretty good trails and jump it just a bit and it takes it in stride. I've read on here that they aren't all that tough but I've also read that this bike is totally ok all over Galbraith. The LBS also said I could do what I will on it. I've even read some blogs of guys dirt jumping on them with no problems.
I'm pretty happy actually. My back wishes that I had $500 more to get a FSR, but I didn't.

You don't see them very much anymore, but back in my hardtail days...when I too had some back problems (still do, which has pretty much necessitated full suspension) I used to run a suspension seatpost. No, it doesn't make your bike a full suspension. But what it does do is take and edge off of the bumps in the trail that aluminum frames so famously transmit to the rider. Back them I had a Rock Shox one...which are not made anymore. If I were to get one today, I'd probably look at a Thudbuster (BTW-stay away from cheap posts, they suck REALLY bad) or a Tamer Pivot Plus XC which are both parallelogram posts. These posts don't change the distance between your pedals and seat when they compress.

http://www.thudbuster.com/products.html
http://www.tamerusa.com/products.htm

:thumbsup: