Hi Everyone,

I'm going to be calling a local bike store today to give my order for either a Specialized Rockhopper Disc 29 or D440. If anyone can answer some of these questions i'd really appreciate it.

How large of a tire will it take ?
Does it have Quick Release Skewers on front and rear ?
Is it suspension corrected ?
Will the disc tabs work for most disc brakes ?
Does the rear have vertical dropouts ? ( asking cause it seems from what i've read it's a pain to fix flats on horizontal drops )
Can I swap the cassete for whatever reason for a 5/6/7/9 speed ?
What is the BB height ?
What is the largest chainring i could fit ? ( what is this based on i've seen this stated in specs of a few bikes )

I am going to ask this in really dumbass terms cause I'm still confused over the parts of a crankset assembly. If I were to want a double or triple crankset in the future can I pretty much choose any mainstream crankset/BB or am I stuck with a single ring square taper cause it's an odd or proprietary BB hole and what kind of front derailleur will I need low clamp, top, bottom, or dual pull etc ?

It has QR F&R
It is susp. corrected
Th disc tabs will fit most brakes
It has vert. drops
You can put an 8spd or a 9spd cassette on that freehub
The BB height is 11.8" (http://www.redlinebicycles.com/adultbikes/2008_RL_SPEC.pdf)
The BB shell is not proprietary...you can upgrade to a different BB if you want

I don't know about the tires, but 29 x 2.1 has a good footprint and is pretty cushy if run at lower pressure so...

As for the chainring you will have to try some to see...the ring is usually mounted on the interior portion of the spider but can be moved to the outer part which may allow an even larger ring (as would installing a BB w/ a wider spindle, although I wouldn't recommend that).

Good luck on your new bike!