I’m thinking of getting a cheap (haha) hardtail for the winter. Lockdown has seen me put a lot of miles on my full susser and the cost of the annual bearing replacements is getting a bit silly, so the plan is to use the FS when the weather is kind and the HT when it is not.

Budget is tight (<£600) so I was looking at the Rockhopper.

I’ve had a couple of Specialized in the past and have a soft spot for them.

Has anyone got any real world experience of them or something in a similar price bracket?

FWIW I’m not a particularly big unit and don’t have a history of destroying kit.

Rockhopper looks pretty good for the money.

The Whyte 603 v2 looks good but a bit over £600.

Giant Talon 2?

how many £2 bearings would £600 buy you?!

Yeah, because a full bearing rebuild on a Trigger only costs £2.

Just got a Rockhopper Elite for my eldest, great bike. I went for the Elite as that’s the first model where you get an air sprung fork over coil. I’ve really no idea how much difference there is these days between coil and air sprung, just have a decades old opinion that coil aren’t that great.

Horrible fork.

I had a 2015 Rockhopper (650b) and it was terrible for mud clearance. It didn’t take much before front and back wheels wouldn’t turn. Obviously the fork played a part, but hopefully they have sorted the rear out now.

Apart from that it was ok. Bit heavy but nice enough.