DUDE!!!
SS Karate Monkey on craigslist!
[size=200]$550[/size]
…I don’t want a singlespeed though… 
Be easy enough to add gears.
That’s a killer deal!
The frame alone goes for almost that.
Yeah, it is a really good deal. But I know nothing about mountain bikes and would rather not have to deal with trying to find a crankset, chainrings, front and rear derailler, shifters, and rear wheel that all work together. Plus, getting decent versions of all those things would increase the price substantially.
fine.
be that way.
I do appreciate the help though.
BUY IT PUSSY!!!
you said you wanted a 1x9. get the km and add a rear derailer/shifter.
I would seriously look into this. Depending on the wheelset, you may be a derailleur/shifter/cassette away from a 1x9 on this bike. And if you play your cards right, you should be able to pick up all 3 of those things for 200 or less. Booyah.
So, I’ve decided on a rockhopper. I went back to the Specialized shop today but now have somewhat of a dilemma.
He wants to sell me his used Rockhopper. Thing is, it’s 2 years old. He’d put on a new fork (same as the new rockhopper) and an XT crankset and BB, but the rest of the parts are either the same as or a little below what’s on the new rockhopper. He’s also including a (decent but not ‘nice’) computer and a set of lightly used slicks. He wants $625 for it.
On the other hand, he said he’d sell me a new Rockhopper Comp Disc for $670 ($100 below retail). I like getting used stuff for environmental reasons, but I don’t know about this. The crankset and BB are better, but everything else is the same (or slightly worse) and used. And I really don’t care about having a computer. I want slicks to switch on and off, but they’re not really that expensive.
What would you do?
I would be inclined to go with the new model. The XT crank is nice, but not a huge upgrade. The warranty would be worth having.
Edit: External bearing XT or octalink?
Octalink I believe, but I don’t know/didn’t look/didn’t know to look.
I’m terribly uneducated about mountain bike parts.
I’m also leaning toward the new bike.
Get the new bike.
i just looked at specialized’s website and the 2009 is an 8 speed, the 2007 is a 9 speed - something else to consider (sorry if i made it harder). also i would say the xt/crank/bb upgrade is significant. it also depends on how hard the used one was ridden - sounds like it wasn’t ridden/raced on trails if it had slicks.
-edit-
i forgot about the warranty thing. i just got a brand new 2008 complete bike to replace my 2007 - that is huge.
I don’t think it was ridden too hard, but it is 2 years old. I hadn’t thought about warranty either. That’s a really big thing to consider. I imagined the crank/bb upgrade to be a big deal (like going from some low level shimano to Ultegra is how I envision it) but in my mind that seems to really be the only thing going for the used bike. Well, that and the $45 difference, but that’s really not much.
My question would be why the new fork and crank? Did he break the old ones?
The used deal doesn’t sound that great. A new crank with have almost no impact on the way you are going to ride it. And on the road, a nice sus. fork is wasted. You’re going to leave it in the big ring and never shift up there anyway. You should get the new one and offer him some money for the slicks he was trying to sell you.
the fork on the old one sucks, so he was offering to put on one he was going to use on a bike he’s building up. Same with the crankset.
I’ve decided to go new if I can’t find something decent used online.
i have a 2008 rockhopper 29 comp. i love the bike, but the wheelset is garbage. i tacoed the front wheel hours after buying the bike…switchbacks can be tricky with a 29er.
I’d get the one with disks if you’re gonna be riding it in the snow and slush.
Definitely getting discs.
I think I’ll just wait til I get to Boston to buy it. Otherwise I have to pay to ship it there after only riding it for a few days.