Bike ideas for a mate with a dodgy neck please

DevUK
DevUK Posts: 299
edited June 2010 in Commuting chat
Hey all. I'm trying to find a bike for a mate who has a dodgy neck (fractured several years ago and has issues). We popped to the LBS the other day and found a few bikes which looked of interest, but I'm after input on similar bikes from you lovely lot :)

The bike will be used for light commuting, and needs to be OK at very light trail/dirt path riding, so more on the MTB side of things. The riding position needs to be quite up-right (though that's something to fine tune with stem length and such I realise).

Looking for quality components, hydraulic discs, front suspension would be good also.

So far, he likes the look of the Specialized Crosstail range. It's a "hybrid" but looks like a 29er MTB to me. Can anyone point out a few similar bikes?

Price range is up to £1000 (top end Crosstail Pro costs £999, though I don't think he needs to spend that much personally).

Thanks in advance :)
FCN Daily commute = 11
FCN Fixie commute = 5