Which hardtail for commute and child seat..

[Stupeo]

I know this has been done to death but I am looking for a new bike.

I currently have a Carerra Banshee full suspension bike which is fine for my needs – I only do the occasional off road riding nothing serious.

However, I want to be able to take my little lad out on a bike seat so would like to get a hard tail bike. I would also like to start riding to work (11 miles along a canal tow path, 4 miles road).

I have narrowed down my choices to the Specialized Rockhopper Comp Hardtail XC 2012:

http://www.leisurelakesbikes.com/product.aspx?n=sp...

This looks like a very good spec for £600 – I think.

I’ll be buying on the C2W scheme and hoping to spend £150 on Helmet, Lights and Lock. I therefore have £850 max on a bike.

Thanks in advance.

[James1760]

I havent been too impressed with Specialized over the past years, (to be fair I have only brought the Hardrock version) every year they seem to look better but perform less. It might not be the case with that one your looking at.

Mine is currently up for sale on ebay and I will be getting a Cube for simlar money to what your paying (and its from the same retailer!) I got married in Lake Garda this year which is a mountain bike hotspot for the germans. Most of the bikes were either Ghost or Cube. The build and ride quality was brilliant! our hotel had some Ghost hardtail bikes that were 3-5 years old and now I am completley sold on these German brands!

I feel that specialized has let slip a little with the brand getting so big, its good to see these smaller companies com through with great bikes.

[billzeebub]

Me and my brother had Specialized bikes from the 2010 range. I had the Rockhopper Expert and he had the Rockhopper SL. They were great bikes which performed very well. The specs have reduced significantly along with the price in last couple of years though. I loved my Expert, but when they were stolen out of my shed this year I looked elsewhere. It is hard to look beyond the Boardman range for value for money. We have just replaced them with the Boardman Pro and Team respectively. IWe have been very impressed with both bikes. The Team Hardtail is smack on your budget at £850, though Halfords periodically have special reductions which may bring the Pro within reach...and it also gets great reviews in the MTB press..August 2012 MBUK £900 hardtail test gave the Team the honours with 4.5 out of 5..it looks pretty cool too
I

[nickd01]

How old is your lad?

We use the BoBike seats - currently the stem mounted one for our 18 month old and it's so much better than the behind-the-seat ones. They can see where they're going and it's nicely balanced as well as working well if the frame is quite small so my missus can take him.

[Stupeo]

nickd01 said:

How old is your lad?

We use the BoBike seats - currently the stem mounted one for our 18 month old and it's so much better than the behind-the-seat ones. They can see where they're going and it's nicely balanced as well as working well if the frame is quite small so my missus can take him.

He's nearly 2.

I'll look into the BoBike seats - thanks!

[Stupeo]

I've been into the local Leisure Lakes shop and the chap said that this bike has better components than the Specialized:

http://www.leisurelakesbikes.com/product/cubeacidh...

It's the 2012 Cube Acid.

I really like this bike and its only £700. Anyone got one?

[Stupeo]

After looking at some more bikes over the weekend I've opted for the 2012 Boardman Team HT!

M