Once I've been getting into the mountain bike racing, I've been looking for a new bike. First, I looked more at full-suspension bike, like the Specialized Stuntjumper FSR Comp. I really like the comfort element that the rear shock adds, but they are heavier than hardtails. I then shifted my focus more towards hardtails, especially 29ers. I was going to get a 2009 Stuntjumper Comp. Eventually, I decided that I didn't want to spend a ton of money on a really good race bike, and outgrow it in a year. Now, I started to look at the Rockhopper line.
I decided to get a 2010 Rockhopper Expert 29er. There were a couple of upgrades I had done before I even brought it out of the shop. First, the stock fork, a Dart 3, was replaced with a much better Reba. The Reba SL I got is a lot higher quality air fork. I also replaced the stock x-5 shifters with better x-7 shifters. The biggest difference is the 29 inch wheels though. The largers wheels have a larger contact patch, giving better traction, roll over obstacles better, and once you are moving you roll longer with more momentum.
I decided to get a 2010 Rockhopper Expert 29er. There were a couple of upgrades I had done before I even brought it out of the shop. First, the stock fork, a Dart 3, was replaced with a much better Reba. The Reba SL I got is a lot higher quality air fork. I also replaced the stock x-5 shifters with better x-7 shifters. The biggest difference is the 29 inch wheels though. The largers wheels have a larger contact patch, giving better traction, roll over obstacles better, and once you are moving you roll longer with more momentum.