Please help me choose: Specialized Rockhopper Pro or Cannondale F400

To a certain degree you are right. What you have to understand is that specialized has turned into the toyota or possibly subaru of biking. Cannondale, on the other hand, sucks. It used to be good and have new tech, but that fork that you see on it is just the evolution of the same thing they have been using for over ten years, in other words, cannondale sucks. But wait, youre thinking that due to its price its got a better frame? Not true either. Cannondale is overpriced and under spec'd. True, they are nice bikes, and their lefty fork is among the best on the market, but not necesarilly the best, and since you are not getting that thing, it is of no concern to you anyway. I actually have the lower model rockhopper, and have been riding for the past 5 years. About a week ago I saw a guy at the park jump it 5 feet in the air, with no problems. Right now you may think that you will be hucking everywhere, but trust me, it will be a while before that works out{I know, cuz I dont huck very much either}. The fork on that thing is really nice, and the frame is a work of art. Get the rockhopper and dont look back, you will be getting a better bike for less. If you want to really huck, save up some more and get the stumjumper disc all mountain, it will cost you more, but is stronger and can be hucked more. I love my rockhopper and cant think of a better hartail frame availiable for my purposes. If you have any questions for me, pm me. Good luck, and follow my reccomendations, they are the right ones.

The fatty has almost no adjustability, and while some say its very stiff, that still dosent justify its poor performance. It is light and has lockout, but overall like I said, its ten years old, and just outdated, with no rebound, 80mm of travel{trust me you want 100} and no rebound adjust, its lame. The rock shox is heavier, but has lockout, rebound, may very well be stiffer, and is most definetely stronger. Get the hopper, the frame on it is also stronger, and if someday you want to upgrade to 130 mm of travel, you can {thats what I am doing}. The frame on the rockhopper is also a work of art. I really reccomend you save a bit and get the rockhopper pro disc all mountain, because that is the bike that exactly fits youre original requests{has a stronger frame and long travel fork}. As to the whight issue, 1 kg is not nearly as noticeable as better performance, specially when you are jumping 3 feet high and hoping that youre frame will survive{as with the cannondale, which is simply not built for jumping}. What you have to realize is that you want a trailbike, be it a huckable trailbike{rockhopper pro disc all mountain} or a xc trailbike{like the normal rockhopper} and the cannnondale is not a trailbike. Its a xc bike, and there is a big difference. The xc bike wants to race on a smooth course{see olimpic mountain bike racing and you will get the general idea}, the xc trail wants to jump about, explore, and be ready for anything, the trail huckable bike wants to drop the 3 or 4 foot bridges and rocks on the trail all day. You have youre answer, now just satisfy your question, then get out and ride. Good luck.
Hey there clyde!

Just want to chime in about people saying the Cannondale doesn't have flexibilility with upgrading the fork. Obviously they didn't notice the F300 which uses a standard fork (with an FSA headset), so yes you can get a headset that will allow use of a fork that uses the 1-1/8" steerer tube. And no, Cannondale doesn't suck, in fact many people consider Specialized to be just as bad.

Of course the Stumpjumper deal you found seems like the frontrunner, but do yourself a favor and go out and ride all 3 so you can compare the shortcomings of each ride and narrow down what you're really looking for. The Stumpjumper follows the line of a XC racer, you're not gonna be hucking this thing. You'll have more of a crouched over "racing" position, and the F90 fork is not really designed for large drops, as it's Fox's lighest fork designed in mind for the XC racer. While the Rockhopper, like others have said, is more huckable. It comes with riser bars for a more upright position, the wheels are more stout, an all mountain fork etc. The two bikes are actually quite different.

I know it's hard to predict what kind of riding you're going to do, so I'd suggest leaning towards the all mountain type of ride (Rockhopper), it will be a bit more versatile as you can still do some jumps, yet will be fine for ordinary xc riding. It's really a "do it all" bike, and will allow you to lean in several different directions in riding styles versus the stumpjumper.

Thanks for the advice Astroguy

Now you all got me thinking that I should go for a bike that can withstand more than the vanilla XCs e.g. Rockhopper.

So I went to that shop with the discounts and he is offering a Stumpjumper FSR, which has Fox Float RL 120mm, with rear a Fox Triad shock. Now I know that the Specialized site doesn't quote it as an All Mountain but it would surely do well with moderate hucking and perform very well on generall trails. What do you guys reckon coz the guy is prepared to knock a ton of the retail price. In this country it would cost $2630 but he'll give it to me for $1990!! Yes that is a lot more than I orginally wanted to pay but with the Stumpjumper I would be in a whole new level of bike, right?? I would really appreciate your advice on this. And 'no' my budget won't stretch any higher than this (relief from everyone lol).

To make it easy, this is my choice:

Rockhopper Pro (inc Avid 5 breaks): $1430 (wheels need changing and discs added)
Stumpjumper Disc: $1550 (seems better value for money than the Rockhopper)
Stumpjumper FSR: $1990 (get full suspension and better front forks + resell value better)

I could get the Rockhopper All Mountain but it seems that they have scrimped on all the pieces just to get the large forks on the bike.

Need to choose tomorrow

Astro guy is right to a certain degree. Maybe cannondale is not crap in the eyes of others, but to me the fact that it is running on 10 year old tech makes me wonder. Here is youre answer, the stumjumper is better than the rockhopper, if youre like me, but it cant be hucked more than 2 feet, end of story, so there you go. If I were you I would get the stumpjumper fsr and never look back, thats how good I think it is. This is the fsr, not the fsr xc I assume? In short, get the stumjumper fsr, its the best bike of the group and probably will fit youre needs perfectly, and has by far the best components and dual suspention, which is now almost main stream and I highly reccomend, especially since it has lock out{efectively its a hartail}. Even its brakes are the best of the group! Hell, Im becoming envious of you, get the the fsr!

As described in the specialized magazine, its an xc trailbike, so that said, I say you should be fine doing up to 3 foot drops{4 feet if you know how to land}. The rockhopper is not a bad deal, youre stereotyping. For you its better than the stumjumper hardtail, however, you fail to realize that you are getting some awesome deals here{actually the rockhopper all mountain is 1100 msrp}. Its not a bad deal when you compare each at their original prices. I still say, stumpjumper fsr, rockhopper all mountain, rockhopper disc{the stumpjumper disc is not siuted for youre style}. You already know all you need to know{dont hesitate to ask on something youre not sure though}. Get the stumpjumper fsr, and go out and ride{dont forget youre helmet!}. You will need to get pedals and shoes if you dont already have them{whether platform or clipless, I recommend clipless even though I ride platforms}.

Well thanks for all your advice guys!

About an hour ago I ordered the.....Stumpjumper FSR :thumbsup:

It will arrive on Tuesday and I will be able to hit some trails the following weekend!!!

Astroguy thanks for mentioning that $2000 opens up a load other options:eekster: I spent 5mins checking other makers and then decided that mine is the best buy and either way I'll be very happy with it. Phew....I stayed strong :lol:

Dirt Bringer thanks for the info. Helmet - check. I will stick with the clipless ones that it comes with and hope they will do. I'll get the shoes when I pick up the bike.

The guy at the shop said he'd help me out on deciding tyre pressure and working out sag and all that other stuff that I have no clue about

The weather here is great and I just can't wait to get out into the mountains

Thanks:thumbsup: