2015 Spesh Rockhopper Pro Evo 650b or something else

ArniSig

Sorry in advance for the long post

I'm looking around town for my first mountain bike, I've been riding a Trek 8.2 DS Hybrid and I've got a Specialized Allez road bike, and really looking forward to getting off-road this summer.

I've been looking around the websites for the local bike stores, I live in iceland so I'm a bit limited in choice, theres usually one one brand per store, and only one store per brand. I know local stores have Cube, GT, Trek, Focus, Scott, Mongoose, Cannonadale and Specialized. I'm going to take a look around stores the next few day's and see what they have available although so far I like the staff and atmosphere in the specialized dealer best and I've been riding with a few of the in club rides.

I'm looking at a budget around $1300/£870/€1200, which is when tax is added around 200.000 icelandic kronur.

I went to the specialized store today and saw a Crave Comp, which looked really nice but is a bit above the budget I was hoping for (240k).
The crave comp comes with 29" wheels, Deore shifters, X5 front and SLX rear derailleur, Shimano BR-M445 brakes and RockShox Recon air spring. I tried out the Medium size, but it was a bit to tall for me and they didn't have anything smaller in stock but could make a special order for me (and special orders are actually at a 5% discount, not more expensive like you could expect)

Now he also pointed out the 2015 Rockhopper Pro Evo 650b, coming in a shipment due around 2 weeks from now that has some really nice specs for less price than the Comp.
Being that I need size small they pointed out that 650b also might suit me better than a 29er.

The Rockhopper Pro Evo has X5 shifters and front derailleur but SRAM X9 rear derailleur.
It has the Tektro Gemini breaks and RockShox XC32 Air fork (100/120mm depending on frame size)
With the Pro Evo I also get a 100m dropper seat post, which is a REALLY nice feature, especially for this price range.

Both bikes are 2x10 speed. They added the size S rockhopper to the shipment for me to try out.

For what I've seen available according to local bike shop web page, something in a similar price range would be the Trek X-Caliber 8. That has a combination of X5 and X7 and the RockShox XC32 Coil Spring, and missing the dropper post. The coil spring is really a drawback, and for almost the same price the Rockhopper has X9 over X7 and a dropper post.

What I'm trying to get for my first bike is:
2x10 gearing,
X5 og Deore at minimum, preferably higher tier rear derailleur (X7, SLX).
Air suspension, remote lockout preferable and hydraulic disk brakes.

I've also been looking at ordering online, but many of the recommended bikes I've seen do not ship to Iceland (Halfords, Decathlon, Caynon). I'd also really like to support the local bike shop

So, any of you tried out the 2015 Rockhopper Pro Evo, specs wise it looks really interesting but I also might be missing something.

rockmonkeysc

What country are you in? Here in the UK Specialized are terrible value and Cube are much better but things could be different for you.

ArniSig

I'm in Iceland.

I went to the Cube, Scott and Trek retailers today. Tried out the X-Caliber 8 (just inside the store tough) and it felt nice, I tried out 17.5" and the crotch clearance was a bit tight.

Both Cube and Scott were at a pretty low stock but expecting shipments. They didn't have anything in my size in the price range I was going for to try out.


When comparing store prices in iceland to what I can see on the web in UK. Specialised seem to be rather nice value (or other brands rather bad value)

The Rockhopper, costing £1200 in the UK is retailing at the same price here in iceland as the Cube Acid 29, costing £665 in the uk (according to cyclesuk.com).
The rockhopper is about £100 (when ISK is converted to pounds) compared to the Trek X-Caliber 8, available for £625 (cyclesuk.com).

So I'm paying the same for a £1200 specialized bike as if I'd buy a £700 cube.

The Rockhopper is when converted to pounds from the icelandic price £1090. And that is retail price.
I might be able to get a small discount since the owners of the store are the founders of the bike club I'm in.

felix.london

I seem to be putting this bike up on every post recently! Just to be clear I have no affiliation with Radon or Bike-Discount.de!

To the OP - you obviously have done your research regarding spec and this bike ticks all the boxes you mention plus €15 delivery charge to Iceland and lots of sizes and choice of colours in stock...and is way under your budget...

http://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/radon-zr-team-27.5-7.0-237404/wg_id-8505


or blow the budget (always my choice ) and get full XT groupo plus a Reba fork and shave half a kg off the above bike. I have the 26" version of this fork on my 2006 Rockhopper and it's a really good fork

http://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/radon-zr-team-27.5-8.0-le-237431/wg_id-8505

rockmonkeysc

When sizing a bike don't worry if there is little or no clearance between your gentleman parts and the top tube of the frame. It's the length of the frame which is most important.