DeebieSkeebiesWhats a realistic budget for someone thats pretty entry-level like myself? I figured a 27.5 is where id like to go, full-suspension, live in UT so ill be riding lots of trails, but would like something fun on the DH as well becuase I grew up racing BMX and do enjoy the ripping aspect of MTB. I came up with a budget of like $2,200 at the most? I saw some neat looking bikes on local classifieds around the 1,200-1,800 range used. New is obviously hella expensive.
The bike market is in a weird stage where people are selling used bikes for way more than they were only a few years ago. I spent $2500 on a new Commencal Meta TR that was kinda on the lower end of build spec, and now it goes for $3300 and has a lower end drivetrain. $2000 used to get you a great used bike that may have upper level build spec just a few years ago, now it's kinda a crapshoot. There are definitely people selling bikes that they may have purchased during the initial covid boom and they didn't end up riding nearly as much as they thought they would and there also may be bikes that are absolutely clapped out, ridden hard, and put away wet. Be especially wary shopping for a used full suspension, could easily be an extra couple hundred bucks of service needed if the previous owner didn't keep up with servicing the shock and pivots. Good rule of thumb is to look for used bikes that have thorough descriptions in the ad of any upgrades and service that may have been done, someone who cares about their bike will probably put in the effort to make sure the buyer knows it was cared for. You also may luck out and find a bike for a steal with minimal information in the ad too, like I said it can be a crapshoot. If you are at all mechanically inclined in the slightest, service your drivetrain yourself, leave the squishy bits to pros who have all the tools, and maybe consider buying your own tools to service hydraulic brakes (which you then pass of to the pros after a few frustrated attempts to bleed them yourself), check out your local bike co-op (you'd be at
https://bicyclecollective.org/ ) where you can work on your bike and use a stand and tools. I don't know about the UT bicycle collective specifically, but at the Bike Kitchen in Bozeman we operate like a DIY bike shop and just charge an hourly rate for stand time and have endless bins of recycled parts to pick through and volunteers who provide guidance.
If you are buying a used full suspension you may want to budget an extra couple hundred for any suspension/pivot service needed. Unless the seller had a full service done in preparation to sell a bike, this is in my opinion a must-do. However you could also forgo this for a season and when you do finally get a suspension service, it will feel that much more awesome after you've got used to the squishy bits only operating at 75% of their potential. My first mountain bike didn't have it's 100mm XC fork serviced since the day my old man bought it for himself in 2012, and I was perfectly happy with just making sure the fork held air and trying to keep up with my friends on their much more capable bikes throughout my time riding it through 2019.
If you grew up riding BMX you will probably have an absolute blast riding a modern hardtail with a 130-150mm travel fork, you will definitely get more bang for your buck, could probably justify something brand new (maybe budget $2000), and the "disadvantage" of having a rigid rear end will force you to ride more actively and thoughtfully, many will even claim it makes you a better rider. A huge benefit is that you remove so much complexity and your seasonal service budget will definitely be less than a FS bike. On the downhills a modern, aggressive, 29er hardtail with a good suspension fork can absolutely rip, even in chunky stuff. Hell, for 3 years I rode a 100mm XC bike and put the biggest Maxxis Minion DHF tires I could fit on it and rode everything from xc trails to black diamond downhill trails chasing my friends on much more capable bikes, and smoking them as they are huffing and puffing up the climbs. If you are trying to ride a lot of bike park that is when even the most capable enduro hardtail will start to show it's weakness (or rather your ability to endure physical punishment). I also fully believe that if you put the same rim on the rear of a full suspension bike and a hardtail with similar fork travel, you are just as likely to kill your rear wheel on each bike riding with similar intention, and with the advent of good tire inserts and wider, more durable modern rims you can really get away with some serious abuse.
Here is some additonal hardtail propaganda.
https://nsmb.com/articles/bikes-mechanically-dis-inclined/
https://nsmb.com/articles/dual-squish-vs-hardtail-service-spending/
