Originally Posted by
prj71
Trek, Specialized, Giant, Cannondale are going to be your best bets and you need to up your budget to a $1000 or more.
Not true. For what he says he wants to do, he can spend in the $700 range and get a nice new bike...or in the 500-600 range for a used bike, Under $500 is hard to do well new. Just got a new Rockhopper Comp 1x and the reviews so far on it are pretty good. Labor Day sales meant $729 out the door. Hydraulic brakes, 1x9 drivetrain, not a great fork but that can be easily upgraded when/if I push it harder. I rode the giants and treks as well and even considered some in the $600 range but you can feel the diffence in the components when I got onto the Rockhopper. You can get the base Rockhopper for around $500 and upgrade the components. It'll have a coil shock, mechanical disc brakes and a 3x drivetrain. or spend $200 more get the comp and get a better shock, brakes and drivetrain.