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After 22 years with my 1992 Giant Iguana I've decided to upgrade to a better/newer bike. I'm trying to keep it under $1,000 and I'm about to drive myself crazy trying to decide which way to go.
I've primarily been looking at these 2015 bikes:
Cannondale Trail 3 - Mostly Shimano parts with Rockshox XC30 coil fork.
Specialized Rockhopper Comp - Shimano/SRAM parts with SunTour XCR fork.
Trek X-Cal 8 - Mostly SRAM parts with Rockshox XC32 coil fork.
I'm in my mid 40's and weigh about 180 lbs. I live in Texas and it's not like we have serious mountains or anything, so I'm not sure if I really need anything more than a coil fork? Then again, maybe I do?
My Giant has all Shimano parts and has held up great for 22 years, so I find myself leaning towards the Cannondale with almost all Shimano parts. The downside is that the Cannondale has the coil fork. The Rockhopper has a hydraulic fork, but I'm not that familiar with SRAM. The question I'm asking is, which component of a bike is more important, a quality fork or quality drive train/components?
I will certainly test ride each bike, but a 5 minute test ride in the parking lot may not give me a true feel for which bike suits me best. I'm just trying to take in as much info as possible to help me make the right decision. After all, I plan on keeping this new bike for at least 22 years so I'm trying to avoid any regret 3 months down the trail
I've primarily been looking at these 2015 bikes:
Cannondale Trail 3 - Mostly Shimano parts with Rockshox XC30 coil fork.
Specialized Rockhopper Comp - Shimano/SRAM parts with SunTour XCR fork.
Trek X-Cal 8 - Mostly SRAM parts with Rockshox XC32 coil fork.
I'm in my mid 40's and weigh about 180 lbs. I live in Texas and it's not like we have serious mountains or anything, so I'm not sure if I really need anything more than a coil fork? Then again, maybe I do?
My Giant has all Shimano parts and has held up great for 22 years, so I find myself leaning towards the Cannondale with almost all Shimano parts. The downside is that the Cannondale has the coil fork. The Rockhopper has a hydraulic fork, but I'm not that familiar with SRAM. The question I'm asking is, which component of a bike is more important, a quality fork or quality drive train/components?
I will certainly test ride each bike, but a 5 minute test ride in the parking lot may not give me a true feel for which bike suits me best. I'm just trying to take in as much info as possible to help me make the right decision. After all, I plan on keeping this new bike for at least 22 years so I'm trying to avoid any regret 3 months down the trail