cdnorth

Hello everyone! I have some experience road biking, hiking and backpacking and everytime I'm out on the trail and I see mountain bikers or bikepackers, it looks like a lot of fun! I have a friend that's been getting into it and apparently bought a REI DRT1.1 and said it's been great so far. My question is, should I go for a new bike like this or potentially get a higher end used bike?

I've seen some full suspension bikes for around the same price ($600) but they are certainly much older. For comparison purposes, I found a 2008 GT Marathon 29er that looks to be in fairly good shape with an extra set of wheels for $600. I'm certainly not sold either way, just want a good solid bike that I can grow with as I potentially expand where I want to bike and what I want to do. I can certainly see myself getting into bikepacking as it's always interested me so I'd want a bike that works well for that too potentially. Let me know your thoughts and thanks in advance!