School me on mountain bikes.

[Beej]

Spend the $100 to get fit for a bike, and then find a closeout bike or buy online. For less than $1000, it's going to be bear to maintain if you ride often.

Most people ride the entire dfw trail area with a hardtail. I actually ride a rigid single speed on most trails. Any full suspension bike you buy new for $1000 is going to be a glorified pogo stick.

$1000 will buy you a nice used bike, which is by far the smartest way to spend the money. Bike shops stay in business selling cheap bikes that require a boat load of maintenance / upkeep. If you wanted to buy a nice hardtail that would be solid for normal riding, $1400-1700 is more the price range you'd be looking at. This would be the enthusiast level.

There are smoking deals to be had. Get your bike fit, have your numbers written down and snipe a good deal on a year or two old mid level bike. Hydraulic brakes, 9 speed drivetrain, a decent fork, etc. Buying a new entry level bike is a big compromise on all accounts.

Or if you know a friend who builds bikes, snipe used parts and build a great bike for ~1000-1500.

what he said.

[ThreeFingerPete]

You will be fine with a hard tail, some people like them better than the starter full suspension bikes but its all personal preference. Just go with what fits you for your price and go from there. If you can pick one up with a "brain" rear suspension that acts as a hard tail on smooth roads but switches to a full suspension when it starts to get bumpy then that would be the way to go.

The only company that offers a "brain" is specialized. Most other suspensions use some sort of platform in the rear shock valving, which gives you an adjustable threshold for initial compression valving.

[ThreeFingerPete]

Spend the $100 to get fit for a bike, and then find a closeout bike or buy online. For less than $1000, it's going to be bear to maintain if you ride often.

Most people ride the entire dfw trail area with a hardtail. I actually ride a rigid single speed on most trails. Any full suspension bike you buy new for $1000 is going to be a glorified pogo stick.

$1000 will buy you a nice used bike, which is by far the smartest way to spend the money. Bike shops stay in business selling cheap bikes that require a boat load of maintenance / upkeep. If you wanted to buy a nice hardtail that would be solid for normal riding, $1400-1700 is more the price range you'd be looking at. This would be the enthusiast level.

There are smoking deals to be had. Get your bike fit, have your numbers written down and snipe a good deal on a year or two old mid level bike. Hydraulic brakes, 9 speed drivetrain, a decent fork, etc. Buying a new entry level bike is a big compromise on all accounts.

Or if you know a friend who builds bikes, snipe used parts and build a great bike for ~1000-1500.

[no4njnk]

You will be fine with a hard tail, some people like them better than the starter full suspension bikes but its all personal preference. Just go with what fits you for your price and go from there. If you can pick one up with a "brain" rear suspension that acts as a hard tail on smooth roads but switches to a full suspension when it starts to get bumpy then that would be the way to go.

[Duncan]

I bought my Trek 4 series (4300 with 100mm lockout front susp) with hydraulic/disc brake for $618 out the door at RBM (about a year and a half ago). I am thoroughly pleased with it (I am by no means an avid biker though, so maybe my opinion isn't what you are looking for). A buddy of mine has a Specialized (same type setup) and I honestly cant tell the $650 difference between the two (his was twice as expensive)...

I have only gone to the Isle du Bois trail at ray Roberts, this Trek has taken a beating out there and it still going strong.

[motoman]

I'm interested in picking up a mountain bike to get back into riding. I can spit out names of road bikes all day long but when I comes to mountain bikes I couldn't tell you much. Definitely not new to riding, used to race at that Tuesday night crit back in high school and my first 2 years in college.

I've been fit for a bike before and I'll go get fit for a bike in the next couple of weeks. When it comes to mountain bikes I know there's hard tails and full suspension. Will a hard tail get through the trails just fine around here or will a full suspension be more comfortable?

Right now I'm looking at $700 - $800 for the bike itself. Will that get me into a decent starter bike that can take some trail abuse? Any suggestions on starter bikes? I've been looking at Richardson Bike Mart (I know they're pricey) and Performance Bikes, any other suggestions for shopping?