First time - Rockhopper or Hardrock?

daryl-

Hi there,

Looking to get into MTB again after doing a bit when i was younger. Looking to do mostly trail stuff and downhill when possible.

Seen both the Rockhopper and the Hardrock Sport Disc and was curious whether or not the Rockhopper was worth the extra £100 or whether i was simply paying for the name?

Rockhopper: http://m.evanscycles.com/products/specialized/rockhopper-2013-mountain-bike-ec042244
Hardrock: http://www.evanscycles.com/products/specialized/hardrock-sport-disc-2013-mountain-bike-ec040961

Thanks in advance,
Daryl

Chunkers1980

They are the same brand!

I'd say the rockhopper is worth the extra 100

daryl-

Ha! I meant paying for the better 'model make' as the options were better Hardrock or the bottom edition Rockhopper.

But thanks for the reply, appreciate it

cooldad

You could do much better for less money. See the sticky at the top of the Buying Advice section.

daryl-

Thanks for the reply.

I did have a little look at the sticky prior to posting which is where I saw the Hardrock after recognising the Specialized brand, I then went on to see the Rockhopper. As i am new to this game, i am unsure whether you get what you pay for?

According to the sticky, these are the options suggested for a £600 ish budget: (cheapest first)
Genesis CORE 00
Specialized Hardrock Pro
Merlin MALT1
GT Avalanche 1.0
Commencal Combi Disc

But i was unsure whether you pay for the brand or whether you do get a better bike if you pay more? So out of those, is the Commencal Combi Disk the best one as it costs the most?

Thanks for your time,
Daryl

Edit: After looking at another Sticky, the
Carrera Vulcan
Decathlon Rockrider
Trek 4500D

are also recommended for under £600 if they are better than the models mentioned above.

felix.london

that's the sticky you should have been looking at. I think the Hardrock is listed in a 2009 section.

Seems like the Rockrider is the bike that is always recommended at this price point. Far out-specs nearly all other bikes of the same price tbh

daryl-

Thanks for your input. I've checked it out and the reviews seem good - much like you said, get a lot for your money.

Thanks again

rockmonkeysc

I had a Hardrock, it hasn't really changed in the last four or five years so it's still crap. For some reason it always used to win MBUK budget bike tests.

daryl-

Ha. Thank for the tip.

I think im going down the route of the Rockrider as everyone seems to be raving about how much bike you get for little money.

Cheers

The Rookie

Rockrider 8.1 - £550, you'd be paying about £800 for a spesh to the same spec.

daryl-

Nice to know, thanks!

How comes they can make them/sell them for so cheap then?

The Rookie

No big marketing spend, and as Decathlon have stores all across Europe they are selling 1000's all to the same spec, volume = lower parts prices (from Shimano/SRAM etc).

Much like a similar spec Carrera is much cheaper than a Hardrock depsite being made by the same people in the same factory.

daryl-

Valid point i suppose!

Thanks for the help.