hey guys, buying a new hardtail to ride to work and the odd weekend thrash.. few options lined up but not sure which is the best buy, or best bike..

2006 specialized hardrock sport disc $700 (sram components ok? rst shocks crap?)

2006 avanti ridge rider (hydraulics) $920

2005 bauer supra $950

2005 bauer nitro $799

2006 giant yukon $760

or shall i just save my $$ and look at an avanti atomic disc for $600?

heard the giant is the best here for the price?

any help on this?

cheers

not bauer! keep away from bauer probabl the ridge rider is the best

WOULD YOU NOT BE BETTER TO SPEND THE SAME MONEY AND BUY A SWEET SLIGHTLY USED BIKE OF THIS HERE VORB SITE. I IMAGINE AS FAR AS BANG FOR YA BUCK GOES YOU COULD GET A BETTER DEAL.

2005 GT avalanche 1.0 disc

I know the forks are crap, but the rest is good

only $800-900 bucks too, maybee less at the moment

if you got the money get a stp2

dh_freak wrote:if you got the money get a stp2

he wants a bike to ride to work on and the odd weekend ride so is the weekend ride going to involve hills if so the bikes listed above will be the best bet not the gaint stp the ridge rider is a nice little package

XCrider wrote:he wants a bike to ride to work on and the odd weekend ride so is the weekend ride going to involve hills if so the bikes listed above will be the best bet not the gaint stp the ridge rider is a nice little package

That post blew my mind, get some punctuation!

What about this?
http://forums.freeriden.co.nz/viewtopic.php?t=1322

sorry . I should proberly re-frase it to, what would the weekend "thrash" involve. If it involves jumps and stuff get the stp but if it involves jumps and going up hills well you would proberly have to compromise on the slower hill climbs and get the stp. but if not get the ridge rider its a nice package

(man using punctuation hurts my brain)

XCrider wrote:(man using punctuation hurts my brain)

Practice makes perfect!

Have you ridden them all?
What one rode better?

There's very little difference between these bikes around this price point.

I'd recommend buying a bike with as many Shimano parts on it as possible (ie hubs + cranks + BB). The parts are readily available and they do work much better at this price.
However - if I was spending my money... I'd save up and get a better bike.
Buy once - buy right.

Heres the deal - if you get serious about mountain biking, you will quickly outgrow any of the bikes that you have listed. It is not cost effective upgrading these bikes. In fact, it is often not cost effective to upgrade bikes under $2000.

Having spent a lot of money on many many bikes, I wish that i went out and purchased a $3000 mountain bike with the works straight off. It would have saved me a lot of money in the long run. Mountain biking is hard on equipment so money spent can be money saved in the long run.

However, a $3000 bike is a huuuuge commitment, so this is what you should do:

Buy a cheap one.

Then start saving. Ride this bike all you can and save up for a serious bike. You will get fitter and decide on a style of riding that you enjoy. Then go out and get a bike that suits with nice hydraulic brakes and decent coil/oil or air shocks. This will probably cost at least $2000 but will be cheaper than any bike that you can build. Don't get suckered into getting a $1000-1500 bike and thinking that you can get new shocks and upgrade the brakes for less than the next model up. You will end up with a nice frame, but little else at that price point. At least with a cheaper bike, if mountain biking is not for you, you wont have lost much money.

The hardrock has something like 'proper' mountain bike geometry. The cheap avanti and giant are made for mainly pavement and park riding but would make nice commuters if you get serious about your mountain biking. All these bikes are acceptable. None of them will have much in the way of resale value, but it is always nice to have a second bike to introduce a friend or two to mountain biking

XCrider wrote:

dh_freak wrote:if you got the money get a stp2

he wants a bike to ride to work on and the odd weekend ride so is the weekend ride going to involve hills if so the bikes listed above will be the best bet not the gaint stp the ridge rider is a nice little package

STP + Telescopic seatpost = Happy McChappy.

STP + Me = Happy McChappy.

of yor list the best choice is the Hardrock, these are a decent strong frame, you could always upgrade the forks when you have more money in a few months etc