Hi,
I've started getting back into cycling again over the past year after a long break while I was a teenager hehe. Couldn't get me off my bike as a kid. Anyway, I bought a GT Aggressor 3 2011 (L Frame) about a year ago, and it's done me well, however, I feel the need to upgrade as I find myself having to maintain it quite often now that I'm riding it more and more as the rims get filthy due to the trails I ride and as a result the vbrakes stop working, it gets quite dangerous! I also find it a little small as my seat is very high and find myself hunching on it a bit. And it's also only a 21 speed which I find I max out far too often. So I want to upgrade to something with hydraulic disc brakes, a light sturdy frame that's a little bigger, and higher speed gears.
After much research I'm pretty set on a Specialized Rockhopper. I'm 6"2, (6" 3 with trainers on, if that makes a difference), so according to Specialized sizing chart, I require a 21" frame.
I found a shop to buy a 2012 model on for £510 so I went for it, but they came back to me saying they were out of stock but could offer me the 2013 model with a 10% discount. However, the 2013 model is a 29er, and I don't really want to move to a 29er just yet. I prefer the agility / acceleration of a 26er. So I looked around a bit more and found a 2012 model for £480 on another site but they only had 19" frames left. The guy on the phone said that 19" might be the right size for me. But I don't know if he was just trying to sell me the 19" to offload the stock, or if it actually would suit me. Considering I'm 6"2 (6"3 in shoes) in not convinced it would. The cheapest I could find a 21" frame was for £550.
So, should I go for the 19" frame that's £70 cheaper, the 21" frame, or should I re-consider the 2013 29er model? My local bikeshop no longer stocks the 2012, only the 2013, so I'm not sure if test riding the 2013 in both frames would be an accurate test due to the wheel size.
I've started getting back into cycling again over the past year after a long break while I was a teenager hehe. Couldn't get me off my bike as a kid. Anyway, I bought a GT Aggressor 3 2011 (L Frame) about a year ago, and it's done me well, however, I feel the need to upgrade as I find myself having to maintain it quite often now that I'm riding it more and more as the rims get filthy due to the trails I ride and as a result the vbrakes stop working, it gets quite dangerous! I also find it a little small as my seat is very high and find myself hunching on it a bit. And it's also only a 21 speed which I find I max out far too often. So I want to upgrade to something with hydraulic disc brakes, a light sturdy frame that's a little bigger, and higher speed gears.
After much research I'm pretty set on a Specialized Rockhopper. I'm 6"2, (6" 3 with trainers on, if that makes a difference), so according to Specialized sizing chart, I require a 21" frame.
I found a shop to buy a 2012 model on for £510 so I went for it, but they came back to me saying they were out of stock but could offer me the 2013 model with a 10% discount. However, the 2013 model is a 29er, and I don't really want to move to a 29er just yet. I prefer the agility / acceleration of a 26er. So I looked around a bit more and found a 2012 model for £480 on another site but they only had 19" frames left. The guy on the phone said that 19" might be the right size for me. But I don't know if he was just trying to sell me the 19" to offload the stock, or if it actually would suit me. Considering I'm 6"2 (6"3 in shoes) in not convinced it would. The cheapest I could find a 21" frame was for £550.
So, should I go for the 19" frame that's £70 cheaper, the 21" frame, or should I re-consider the 2013 29er model? My local bikeshop no longer stocks the 2012, only the 2013, so I'm not sure if test riding the 2013 in both frames would be an accurate test due to the wheel size.
