"Jamis is NOT a bikesdirect brand." That's what I thought,,,, I was surprised he got It from BD
"Jamis is a legit sold in bike shops brand." Again, That's what I thought but that one single Jamis from BD led me to believe
Jamis was a Discount BD type bike of poor quality with poor parts spec. It Is the only one I have ever seen.
""over stock left overs and then sell it cheap"" This is most likely what It was, Jamis was dumping the 26" bikes as 29'ers were the new In thing at the time with 27.5 just starting to surface in the MBA magazine...
OP, sorry for getting so far off track,,
As gsa103 said:
""Back to the OP's case, I'd probably buy the Giant and bank the ~$500 to use on service and upgrades/accessories (dropper post, pads). If the OP is comfortable doing some of his own work then it's a solid value. If the OP is going to need a LBS to do everything, then buying new suddenly becomes a much better value (suspension &shock service typically runs ~$200).""
This IMHO Is your best advice ..
I cannot stress this enough, If your relatively new to MTB'ing you will really need the support of a local bike shop that has riders working there and you will often hook up with customers who like to help out new people in the field.
The thing you will come to value the most Is the knowledge base a LBS can share with you on all things bike, trail and gear wise.
Last edited by osco53; 11-20-16 at 05:05 AM.