You'll want to go used, checking FB Marketplace often. You should be able to get a solid full suspension for $500-800. Brands like Giant will be more affordable but offer great value and reliable quality.

What is cheap to you? Are you someone drawn to going downhill fast or not?

For $480 there is the new Ozark Trail FS.2

Buy used , be careful not to buy stolen bikes.

Check out budget bike builds on Facebook. Mongoose Jake on YouTube. I’ve been upgrading a hyper 29er and loving it, so far I’ve spent more on parts than the. Ike itself but i got it for the sweet blue hydroform frame. Rolling upgrader.

Here's my mansplain and a bike recommendation.. You can ignore the optional upgrades I stated.

https://www.reddit.com/r/MTB/comments/1lsryy8/comment/n1kzcro/

For full suspension, I would recommend the ozark trail fs.3 that's coming out. It has everything you'll ever need for trail riding.

For a hardtail, I would recommend the trek roscoe 7 which is another very solid option and also comes with all the bells and whistles.

Both are available for ~1-1.4k so very budget friendly! Also, both will last quite long as they are very upgradable 

Honestly an Ozark trail or Schwinn Axum can get you out there for a low price. The Axum Comp X even has a dropper. Just upgrade the saddle and get on the trails

A budget would be helpful, “affordable” and not “too cheap” or “crazy expensive” isn’t exactly a linear scale for every single person.

Have you ridden before or just curious? I’d suggest trying things out by renting a bike first. You may find that it’s a blast and then you may feel comfortable increasing your budget. Or find that you don’t care for it and can move on. My worry with buying a budget bike or a used model that is poorly maintained or has worn parts is the you may have a bad experience that will turn you off in the whole sport. I guess what I’m saying is that I recommend making sure your first rides are on a solid bike so you have a great first ride.

Look at Polygon,they have some decent beginner hardtails around that price.

Study up what to look for online and then buy used

Welcome!!

Ozark Trail Ridge for $398 is probably your best bet. Yes, it's a Walmart bike but the bike is proven for beginners and XC trails. While you're there pick up Schwinn Axum helmet for $30 and some basic skater shoes and order some Fooker pedals off Amazon. I would suggest that you take the bike local bike shop for a tune up before you ride.

I'll probably get down votes but the budget is so tight it doesn't leave many options...

Are you closer to Core Creek Park or Nockamixon?

The majority of the trails in this area do not require a full suspension bicycle, everyone just thinks they look cooler and faster on one. It's also an added maintenance expense.

$300 is a tight budget You should be able to find a Trek Marlin or Specialized Rockhopper for that price on Marketplace. They will get you rolling nicely. Once you start to progress though, you'll probably want a little more bike. If you can spring for something like a Trek Roscoe, Marin Bobcat, Specialized Fuse, now. It may prevent you from needing to upgrade in the near future. 2.5x29/27.5 tires, 140mm of front travel, and a dropper post are probably the most important options.

As for buying a used hardtail, try to find a reputable brand (Specialized, Trek, Giant, etc.) and research the common inspection points. Here’s a few things I’d be looking for:

• The bike FITS YOUR HEIGHT AND INSEAM
• 1x11 or 1x12 drive chain (1 gear up front)
• 2017 or newer
• the chain is in good condition (no rust)
• derailleur and derailleur hanger are not bent
• Fork (front suspension) is not leaking fluid
• Gear teeth are not broken (chips are ok)

You totally don’t need gloves and shoes, btw.

Look for a used bike on FBM. Full suspension that is 2019 or younger. If ur trails are mostly dirt flow trails look for front suspension in 120mm range. If ur trails are rocky with drops, look for more in the 150 mm range.

What's your budget? You need to include helmet and/or shoes or gloves too.

Marin is a pretty good brand.

Go to Sportchek when there's 40% off. Or online. Grab a diamondback highline 1 for $693 shipped. Or crimson/highline 2 etc. In terms of cost x capability I dont think there's anything better new until $1500. Spend the rest on parts and accessories. They sold me a highline 1 for $565. It's 950 retail. Take it to a local shop to be put together. Lube chain once a month. 

Wear out OEM tires and upgrade. It could use a dropper and a better fork too but after that it's a nice hardtail. 

For used:

4 piston brakes 

Dropper post

10-11-12 speed

Regular maintenance

Air fork

Pedal pins

2.25 to 2.8" tires

Tapered head tube

Shimano/sram parts

2018+

I can live with that. Not like you'll be changing wheels out on a beginner hardtail. The tapered head tube is more important, in my opinion.

The 2025 Giant Talon 1 is a pretty good deal for a brand new MTB. I think retail is around $1200 Canadian so might be able to find a sale.

That gets thru axles, air shock, and a dropper post, cues drivetrain, hydraulic brakes, and tubeless ready at that price point

Try looking for some Orbea Laufey, it's an excellent bike, you're a bit limited with your budget, but maybe you can find some that are still there and the shopkeeper can give you a good price

You can still get non boost gravel wheels with decent ID, but it is harder to get non boost MTB wheels that aren't Chinese brands. You could also build your own wheel if you were up to the challenge. But there are options.

I love my Rocky Mountain Growler as it will allow you to ride easy stuff, but also to progress to very challenging trails.

Suspension is always the first thing to look at to improve a bike and is the most expensive part to replace, so best to start with a good fork. I like RockShox Pike Select+ or better, but as long as it doesn't have steel stanchions (the smaller diameter tubes on a fork), it will generally be OK.

Next is tires. Get good tires and play with your pressures.

I prefer Shimano components for brakes and shifting, but especially for shifting. This is personal preference.

Rocky Mountain Growler 40 or 50, or a Rocky Mountain Fusion, maybe a Trek Roscoe are all good bikes.

I think it is actually easier to learn on a full suspension bike for not much more money.

My mentality is as a beginner, you just don't know enough about bikes and you don't know where your future riding is going to go well enough, which means you'll probably make the wrong bike choice. It just is what it is, so my thoughts to deal with that are to just start cheap so you invest less into a first bike that you eventually decide you want to move on from.

And heck, lots of people aspire to get into it, buy a bike, and then...don't really ride like they expect, so yeah, two paths, either you get really into it and decide you want something better once you know more, or you don't get into it like you thought, so either way, keeping the first bike on the relatively inexpensive side helps down the road. Personally I'd go with an entry level hardtail as a first bike, just look for a good sale on new or try to buy used (though if you go used spend time on youtube learning what to look for with a used bike, you can easily get ripped off not knowing much about bikes, and maybe ask people around here what they think if you find something you might want to buy).

Like Whacked2023 said $1k is a good target for an entry level new hardtail if you find a good sale - if it's not on sale $1k will leave you disappointed with parts that really aren't up to the task of real MTB.

If you have the money and are pretty committed to the hoby, just get something good now. Get a "trail bike" with 150mm in the fork and make sure its in the low-30lb range. Like 32 lbs max.

That will be an do it all bike to get you started. It will climb great and keep you planted on descents.

Pink Bike Value Field Test on YouTube has tons of great info.

XC or Hardtail. Look at direct to consumer sites like Canyon, BikesOnline, Ari

Good hardtail around $1k usd Good XC full suspension start at $1.5k usd

Example: Polygon Xtrada 7 and Polygon Siskiu D7. The T series Polygons are trail bikes and a bit overkill for your use.

Buy the bike to fit where you will do the most of your riding. Don't buy a bike on the 0.01% chance you might do something gnarly. Don't buy a Enduro 170mm travel bike when 98% of the time you are riding paved paths.

hey man, I’m in the same boat as you.

I rented two bikes with my kid and hit some downhills at the local ski resort and I’M HOOKED.

that said, I found this article for entry level dudes like us. I found it pretty informative.

https://www.bicycling.com/bikes-gear/mountain-bike/g46552114/best-beginner-mountain-bikes/

I’m gonna stop off my local shop this week and test ride the Kona Mahuna. It seems to have most of the features I was looking for and the price isn’t disgusting.

hope this helps, good luck.

Go find yourself a hardtail with a 1x transmission (1 chainring in front, 11 or 12 gear cassette), that also has a dropper. 29” wheels are preferred. MIPs helmet. You’ll be stoked

I agree with the other comments here, but I want to add that getting a bike that fits properly is huge.

Mountain bikes are moving towards reach being the most critical measurement, and for good reason... And reach can vary quite a bit between the same size of different brands. Get on some bikes and figure out what feels best and go from there. Trying to manhandle a bike that's too long or short on technical terrain can really suck.

Men. Go with whatever used bike looks decent and you can afford. Once you start riding you're going to realize that you want something else and you'll have a better idea of what works for you. A lot of bikes these days are pretty damn good in general

If your budget is under $1k, get this one

https://www.jensonusa.com/rocky-mountain-growler-20-bike-2023-1

If it’s $1500, get this one

https://planetcyclery.com/products/norco-torrent-ht-a2-29-green-copper-2024?_pos=1&_sid=f5d3c110b&_ss=r

People will tell you to get a trek marlin or specialized rockhopper. Dont

Those have old standard measurement for the rear hub at 135mm.

Other old sizes are 142mm or 141mm

The current size is 148mm. So whatever bike you look at, make sure you see 12x148mm or boost. If not, don’t buy it. Severe upgrade issues in the long run. The 2 are the best values I can find that are 148mm.

The 2 bikes above are made to go downhill with more confidence.

Get a dirtbike! There are plenty of tame trail bikes

The Trek Marlin 5. It’s a great bike, comes with decent parts, and is pretty easy to upgrade if wanted.

What's your budget?

Saw the Diamondback Syncr was 50% off recently for $750, seems like a killer deal to me.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1olAtWepEy-d_wxaTeaU1Nvsc5muSG7Cb0aCWBPptUPY/edit#gid=0

From u/GundoSkimmer

Tldr polygon d6 or Better for north America. UK I'd go with vitus

Specialized rockhopper is a classic beginner bike with a lot of upgradability, $650 on specialized website

Check out trek roscoes or marlin maybe , great beginning bikes ��

At $500 it’s a used hardtail with disc brakes. Air fork and dropper post are bonuses if you can find/afford to add one.

Can you stretch just a little? The Vitus Nucleus constantly wins the best 500 pounds bike in UK. It's sold online at Chain Reaction Cycles for $599 to US. No additional sales taxes, but it does have a $50ish shipping fee.

It has a 2x9 drivetrain which you could later on easily convert to a 1x, comes with an air fork, hydraulic disk brakes, tubeless ready tires, and a very nice geometry with a slack head tube angle. Plus it comes with internal routing for a dropper post in case you buy one in the future.

People aren't completely wrong suggesting that you'll have more fun saving up for a better bike in the $1k category, but I had a hell of a lot of fun on my 2015 Specialized Hardrock. That thing was a tank and took all the abuse I gave it. I eventually realized that I wanted a better hardtail and got an Instigator 2.0 but that bike was great to learn on and considering I was in school at the time, I probably would have missed a whole season of riding had I chosen to continue saving for something better. Also, in my experience the entry level hardtails retain their value pretty well. My Hardrock was $530 and I recall easily getting $350 for it one season later. I think that $180 hit was easily worth getting into riding much sooner.

I'd look into buying used, but if you want new you can't go wrong with many of the entry level bikes in the $500 category. Definitely try to find bikes with hydraulic brakes if you can. That is the biggest differentiator in this price range.

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