Hey everyone this will be my first post here and I'm looking forward to getting into cycling. Right now I'm having a hard time choosing a bike. I am looking into getting a mountain bike that is also effective in road races. I plan on doing most of my riding on the road but would like to be able to hit the singletracks on the weekends. I am leaning into the direction of the Hardrock 29er because I like the lock out fork for switching between road and trail. But the price is a little steep for me (700). I'm a college student, with grad school coming up so I think it goes without saying that money is tight.
Can you guys lean me into a direction of other bike options that you think I would be interested in.
You may want to check out cyclocross bikes, they will be much faster in a road race than a mountain bike but they still can handle some offroad riding.
