defo going to buy a bike at the weekend got made redundant and got another job so i've spare cash to squander now, and i've kinda settled on the rockhopper, just wondering if there are any bargains i should be considering aswell when i test this out, i'll be heading up to dales in glasgow and will probably be heading into alpine aswell to see what's, anybody any last words of advice before i spend my cash?

also my mates going to be buying a bike aswell, his budget is less than my, think he's considering the hardrock 07 disk at £370 if you've anything to say about that?

think we've missed the deals on last years bikes tho, which isny good, but s**t happens...

Somewhere online was still selling Kona Kulas 2006 for £649 thats quite a lot of bike for that price.

Only advice:
Have a look
Have a ride
Try and blag some freebies like better pedals and a saddle whilst you're in the shop

quite liked the rockhopper comp at £750. light and racey better forks/components/color and worth the extra £100, IMO.

for your friend, have a look at the GT Avalanches. Great bikes at a great price. CRC has some 2007 models in.

the 2007 1.0 disc comes in @ £427 which is a great price. Normal retail price is £500.

sound cheers, aye was thinking about that comp version, but my budget has gone up already, i think i'll try it out aswell, so how big a difference there, i could be swayed...

Two of my mates have Rockhoppers. Great XC frames. I have a Marin AXC hardtail( Rocky Ridge ), which is similar, but a bit more "hard riding". Either would be good, but if you anticipate a bit of small hucking and messing around, and like the gnarlier side of trail riding, the Marin option might be better. The Rockhoppers would be slightly faster on smoother ground and have mildly more climb-firendly geometry.

Have fun!

genesis core 2 is supposed to be good, at £600. worth a look if you can find one...

cheers again, not really seeing any of the ones mentioned in the shops about here, tho since the avalanche has been mentioned the avanlanche expert at 700quid has caught my eye now..suppose it'll all come down to the test drive and what deals are available in shop.

The Trek 6500 Disc is worth a look at £650, or the 6000 Disc at £550, although that's got crap forks on it.

Merlin Malt 2? I got the frame earlier in the year, very nice.

ended up going for the avalanche expert btw, picking it up tomorrow afternoon!:)

i can confirm it's a peach of a bike, for me anyhow, took it up a wee first 15 mile run on sunday up the start of the west highland way to the first pub, had a pint(guiness was piss poor btw) and lunch(spagetti was nice), then back over mugdock park for a bit, covered heid to toe in mud, bike ran like a dream!:)