New member from central Ohio
I don't know much at all about bikes, and I came across this site when I stated doing a little research to educate myself. I haven't rode a bike in years, and never had anything very good. I had a few Huffys as a kid, and the nicest bike I ever bought was some "Pacific Denali" from Walmart for like $300 back in the early 2000's. Surprisingly, it held up well for a box store China bike. It had Shimano components and the front suspension seemed adequate.
I last rode that bike about 10 years ago when my buddies and I would occasionally ride our bikes around the local trails, both paved and offroad. There's a local park (Alum Creek) with some fun offroad trails, and that bike handled them pretty well. Someone stole it from my apartment around 2010 or so, and I haven't owned a bike ever since. Until today.
I missed riding, so I've been browsing the local craigslist for the past couple months. I came across this ad.....
(OK, apparently new members can't post pics, so just imagine a Specialized Hardrock)
I don't like the seat, so I'll be changing that out ASAP, but overall I'm very pleased. I don't think I'll be taking it offroad (eventually I'll get a hardtail for that when I have a higher budget) but it should be great for the many paved trails local to me.