Getting started and frustrated....

At 5' 4" you may be a the short side for a 29er. There are plenty of bikes available in your price range so take a few out for a ride and settle for the bike that fits the best.

Are you planning on riding on or off road?

We are going to do trail riding primarily....but I wanted the locking fork for street riding.

I did think the 29 seemed a bit big...but I can see it's advantages too...

Any recommendations in my price point...honestly, the skye seemed very similiar to the wahoo. The main difference I felt was the saddle.

The myka experience is hard to judge because he guy at the LBS we went to totally misfit me. He put me on a 13"....the other guy there told me I was a 15"/17" and they definitely felt better.

Get a 26. We have both in my family, one of each, and the 29r's were just hyped up. They might be useful for recreational riding but the 26 will be much more fun and easier to ride.

There is no advantage to a 29; as I mentioned, my family (wife, daughter, self) all bought them, good ones, and are still trying to figure out what all the fuss was about. Don't listen to the LBS, most will try to sell you anything to make a buck and then when it does not work, it was your fault because you didn't get the setup right. Get a 26; we rode those for years and they were a blast and still are the best all around size for MTB.

My wife is 5'4", daughter 5'3' and they are riding 15-17 sizes but get the 26.

BTW the tech at one LBS I occasionally get ripped off at (applies to basically all of them) built himself a 29r; I told him about the issues I was having but he didn't believe me. After he built the bike and rode it, he sold it and admitted to me he hated it. He is 6'2" and about 300 lbs so the 29r has no advantage for a big rider either. Now this guy is a good rider so don't bother slinging arrows and saying we don't know what we're talking about...[IMG]/img/vbsmilies/smilies/duck.gif[/IMG]

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by Hev1128 [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

We are going to do trail riding primarily....but I wanted the locking fork for street riding.

I did think the 29 seemed a bit big...but I can see it's advantages too...

Any recommendations in my price point...honestly, the skye seemed very similiar to the wahoo. The main difference I felt was the saddle.

The myka experience is hard to judge because he guy at the LBS we went to totally misfit me. He put me on a 13"....the other guy there told me I was a 15"/17" and they definitely felt better.

Thanks alot. My bf is shopping too and I think he is leaning toward a 29er.

Any insights on reasonably priced 26s with lockout.
I'm still having trouble swallowing more than $500....or am I being unreasonable??

Buying a MTB is like buying any other piece of sport equipment, many things you have to look at , how serious are YOU going to be about riding, how much of a technical rider will you become. Sure you can opt for the cheap version and you may end up hurting yourself if the bike brakes and then you will have to fix the bike (if it's fixable)or you may have to buy yourself another bike if the damage is baaaaaaad. Pay now or pay later... See, I did that same mistake on my second bike, the first one was just to find out if I liked it. I opted for $700.00 bike, it was a Kona hardtail with v brakes Shimano middle range drivetrain... I crashed, ended splting the frame, the bike was a year old and the it was not fixable, Kona had a look at it and the bike did what it was meant to do. There I was w/o a bike... I loved the Kona geometry so I opted for a full susp. disk brake (I knew I loved riding) I got a Dawg DeeLux a really great ride. it cost me $3000.00 but I know that when I ride I can depend on the bike to bring me back home... That is a 2003 bike and I still have the same bike, I love that puppy. So what I'm saying is sure it'S expensive but if you take good care of it, it will last for a long time... Enjoy... And keep the rubber down. 😎

I have been riding for many years and like yourself, had trouble spending so much money. Years later I still have trouble spending the money, but I know that the ride is all in the quality of components and I will never ride anything near the $500 price range. As someone just getting into it, they are good starting points. Just remember, you can always upgrade anything on the bike. If you get to the point where you stay with it and get better skills, start by upgrading your suspension fork to air with dampening control, hydraulic disc brakes, and your drivetrain. You end up spending a lot, but it winds up being a little at a time.