I just bought a full suspension bike - I had been using a Schwinn High Sierra no-suspension bike I got in the 1980s. I'm 60ish now and my back needs the full suspension. I'm gone with the Schwinn.
Performance Bike's retail shops are apparently going out of business. I got a 2019 Marin Hawk Hill 2 discounted to $1350. It's a great bike right out of the box. I wouldn't look forward to 60+ miles of road road pedaling on it, but more because of those fat soft Scwhalbe Hans Damph tires than the suspension. It doesn't bob much and it's easy to change settings on the trail. The bike just feels "plush". I like it.
There is a lot of new technology! Wow. I love the disc brakes and the dropper seat post and the single front ring and the way the shifter works (push-push) and the notion of tubeless tires and the ... "Boost spacing"? "Thruaxle"? I had no idea what those terms meant.
The 29er tires look good. The Marin came with 27.5, which seem fine to me. I was riding 26".
Last edited by tamnalan; 12-31-18 at 03:00 AM.