£800 - £900 HT Rochopper Expert alternative choices

spickles

Hi, First post so please be gentle on me.

Just about to take the plunge and sink £800-900 into a new bike. My favourite so far seems to be the Rockhopper Expert for £880. I am quite new to mountain biking and will not be doing any hardcore riding. Mostly general trails, single track and some road etc.

My question is what alternatives are worth looking at to the Rockhopper?

Many thanks.

Dougie89

have a look at my post named focus forest black 09

supermonkey

Genesis Core
Gary Fisher Hoo Koo E Koo
Chris Boardman Bikes
Decathlon Rockrider
Giant XTC
Cannondale F4Z
There are many many more

jmillen

If you can stretch to £999 then in terms of overall value for money vs spec, the Boardman Pro 09 is pretty hard to beat (or, if you're lucky enough to find one, the 08 for £849

KnightofCydonia

I plugged for the marin nail trail at £879.99. It's a gorgeous feeling bike and I'm just getting to grips with it all. The frame is so unique and the more I ride it, the more I feel it's going to go a long way with me.

I got it in white, it's also in orange

http://marin.co.uk/2009/bikedetail.php?ModNo=3948-1FW

Also there's the commencal combi deluxe which is 879 too. I tried it along with the spesh and the marin and it shifted soooooooo nicely but for my body, the marin had a longer top tube & stem and it just felt right in the cockpit which is important.

supersonic

My favourite here lol:

http://s233299868.e-shop.info/shop/arti ... -2008.html

A zaskar expert for £870. Quite a racy set up, but quality kit ie full LX transmission, Rebas and decent wheels.

blablablacksheep

if you going to start stretching budget then you going into the rockhopper pro area..

i suggest before you look at bikes get a budget in mind as your max otherwise it be.."that bike only 50 quid more it be worth it"...."that bike only 100 quid more and you get that.."
ect

merlin i hear do good bikes also but recently their prices are looking less competitive compared to the ones listed by other posters.

still the frame you get on the expert is exact same as the one i got on my rockhopper basic and it a very nice frame, light too. lots of potencial there

doctorcropper

Apologies for taking your thread slightly off topic but can I ask your opinions on the differences between the three rockhoppers. Seems like they have better forks and maybe lighter rims? and a small upgrade to the breaks and the rear mech, but are you really getting that much increase in value from the comp £680 to the pro £980? Are the extras worth a lot more then the £200-£300 upgrade.

OP what made you go for the expert over the comp? Looking to pull the trigger on a comp myself. But the £100 worth of free equipment with the Pro is winking at me

http://www.evanscycles.com/news-and-eve ... ized-bikes

spickles

doctorcropper wrote:

Apologies for taking your thread slightly off topic but can I ask your opinions on the differences between the three rockhoppers. Seems like they have better forks and maybe lighter rims? and a small upgrade to the breaks and the rear mech, but are you really getting that much increase in value from the comp £680 to the pro £980? Are the extras worth a lot more then the £200-£300 upgrade.

OP what made you go for the expert over the comp? Looking to pull the trigger on a comp myself. But the £100 worth of free equipment with the Pro is winking at me

http://www.evanscycles.com/news-and-eve ... ized-bikes

Funny you should mention this as I toyed with the idea of all 3 at some point or another. In the end I set my budget as it was getting silly. Its the law of diminishing returns. Do I think the expert is worth the extra over the comp? Yes, the fork is better. Do I think the pro is worth the extra over the Expert? Not at my budget but if a grand wasnt an issue then maybe!

Hope this helps....

doctorcropper

Well for me I need to get over £100 worth of equipment anyway, and a lot of it could be specialized so I'd kinda only be paying £880 for the bike. So it's a straight choice between the comp and the pro for me...

migs

Do you get the free equipment with the pro? I thought you had to spend more than £1K on a bike to benefit from the offer and the pro is £970. Would be interested to know as I am currently looking at the expert.

The other consideration, if such things bother you, is that the pro is beige! Personally I prefer the black of the expert but colour may only be a minor influencer of choice . . .

supermonkey

I think the Pro is included in the offer along with one other bike which is under £1000 but I can't remember the other one.

TBH if you're prepared to shop around you could get 10-15% of any bikes value in accessories anyway.

doctorcropper

I'm purchasing through the CTW scheme and evans don't seem too keen about giving any discounts, but I'll see If I can get some other stuff thrown in as well.

According to this link the Pro is included in the offer...

"10% of the value of your bike purchase in FREE Specialized equipment!
Evans Cycles and Specialized want to ensure cycling is part of your daily life this spring.

So whatever you’re after, whether you’re looking to upgrade, expand your cycling skills or you’re simply looking to get into the spring season in style, Specialized have the right bike for you and FREE equipment to go with it!
Simply purchase a 2009 Specialized bike over £1,000 (excluding S-Works models) and selected bikes under £1,000 including the FSR XC Comp, Rockhopper Pro Disc, Myka FSR Comp and Allez Elite models and get 10% of the value of the bike in FREE Specialized equipment of your choice!"

http://www.evanscycles.com/news-and-eve ... ized-bikes

mikeyg01

Hi,

Newbie on here and just thought I'd reply to the thread. I've been trying to decide between the expert and the pro for weeks now (after my old trek 6700 was nicked) and just thought I'd add my two penneth.

The Pro definately does include the 10% on Specialized goods offer - Certini confirmed that to me yesterday.

In the end I opted for the Expert (it arrives tomorrow), for a few reasons -
Their both essentially the same bike but a different fork (and a few bits) and everything I know screams at me that you should buy the best frame and fork combo. However, the 'racing beige' colour REALLY put me off, why can't they make it a decent colour!!!!! I have to live with it for a few years the old man mercedes colour would just get to me.
Also, in the end I had to set a budget and it was always the £900 mark - I knew if I kept pushing I'd end up with the Stumpjumper.

I didn't want to go for the coil fork but given the current market - the Trek 6700 is £999 with a coil fork - it's frustrating but looks like I'll have to live with it, until I can save up and replce the fork. In the end it really came down to the frame and the budget, not the ideal solution - but still it's a pretty good bike!

After reading this, all I appear to have done is confirm the 10% offer and repeat stuff that's already been said. However, it's great to find a thread perfect for what I wanted and I was glad to find I wasn't alone in having the same dilemma.

GTi-R23

Howdy people.

I was also in the same dilemna a few months ago, was going to go for the Expert, but when the -10% spring offer was on at Evans, I got the Pro for the same price as the Expert so was a no brainer really.

I'm really pleased with the Pro though, the air fork is lovely, and the whole bike feels really light and agile which is exactly what I wanted.

I'm also sick of saying the colour is 'champagne' and not biege Seriously though, the colour isn't as bad as you'd think, it's more of a gold than a biege, I'll take some decent resolution photos and stick them up tonight so people can see the colour better. I wouldn't let the colour alone put you off.

To expand on the topic, the Trek 6500 is also worth looking at in that price range, which is the bike I so nearly bought, but my riding mate has a Trek, so I went for the Spesh.

doctorcropper

So you completely ruled out the comp from the off then?
Out of curiosity did you view the pro in the shop? I don't think the Spesh promo photos are very acurate this year. I'd say it's more bronze then beige. I don't mind it personally.

mikeyg01

OK, I have a really embarrasing thing to say.

I did rule out the comp - but that's not the embarassing thing. I did check the pro in the shop, but again, that's not the embarassing thing.

The embarassing thing is that I let myself be a little clouded by looks. So I've just changed my order (just in time it was about to be sent) - yes, yes, OK, calm down this is a big thing for me. I don't get the fun of buying bikes the whole time. I was indecisive, so shoot me!

So now, winging it's way to me is the Rockhopper Pro - in the end the air fork, the 10% in goods means I can get new shoes (the old ones are Spesh ones from 2 1/2 years ago) and admittedly the photo above just got me.

So my new bronze bike will be with me on Thursday! So put up the pics - let's have a Pro love in.

Racing Beige
Old Man Mercedes
Gold
Bronze
or even
Champagne

Who cares, I now just want to get back out and ride!

Sorry for all the confusion and fuss.

doctorcropper

Brilliant. Sounds very much like the sort of thing I would do.
Racing beige lol. How about chic champagne, or foxy bronze. 8)

Just have to decide if I want one myself now!

Jumping Bean

Does this flickr set belong to one of you lot?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26939425@N ... 552818312/

Is that the same bike in all photos? It looks like two different colours depending on the light level.

mikeyg01

You're right different light make's it look different, but I'm well and truly sold now.

Re the images - the one above (in this trail) from doctorcropper looks to be from that flickr set, but not sure if it's his.

Was really nervy last night (a grand is a lot - especially these days), but chuffed to bits this morning - can't wait for it to arrive tomorrow.

Racing Beige
Foxy Brown
Champion Champagne
Blinging Bronze

They're all growing on me.

GTi-R23

Here's mine:

doctorcropper

Wasn't my bike just a shot I found on Flickr, haven't decided if I'm going for the comp or the Pro, but definitely leaning towards the pro now.

Looks great GTi. I think I'll call that "champagne supernova!" ©

mikeyg01

GREAT name!!!

Look's great GTi - mine arrives today, can't wait. It's even being delivered to work so i don't have to wait until I get home.

Thanks for everyone's hlep on this.