What bike? Choice of 3 or 4

[chris_w666]

Ok I've decided I want a new bike, my requirements are preferably no more than £300 (Less ideally). Must have decentish hard wearing spec, not fussed about tyres as I have a trail set I shall be fitting if the bike comes with off road ones. Don't want a fs bike but a decent front fork would be nice.
Are discs worth the extra money as I dont think I've needed them before but may be a nice addition.

Most of my riding is done on roads or forest trails, nothing too serious or extreme.

Options so far are:

TREK 4300 - 2007 model (£250)

Specialized Hardrock Sport - 2008 model (£250)

Specialized Hardrock Comp with discs - 2008 model (£300)

and finally

GT Outpost - 2008 model with discs (£250)

What do you pedallers think?

[Gooby]

Trek have huge buying power and you get really good bits on good frames at good prices but from experience, cheaper treks are a bit weighty (or bombproof)

[WildCards]

Gooby said:

Trek, GT, Giant, Specialized et al have huge buying power

I agree. Get your arse on a couple and see what you like. IMO make sure the frame and forks are decent above all else, as they're the most expensive things to replace usually.

[JPJ]

Disc brakes are a nice to have, but at that price you're probably better off without them so more money can be spent on the frame and other componentry.

Hardrocks are heavy, worth trying to compare directly with a Trek and then simply go for a short ride round to see what you prefer the feel of.