nathank

maximaboy1,

well, as some people have already asked, you should say more about what kind of riding you do --- lots of climbing and fast riding, extreme downhills, or more "freeriding" just looking for the coolest jumps and drops...

i personally am an XC rider/racer who also likes downhill. for me weight was #1, as well as quality and the chose was between XC FS (like the Trek Fuel) or a hardtail. The more "Enduro" or "freeride" style bike will be heavier with more suspension travel, heavier components (brakes, frame, shocks, etc).

i personally decided to buy my first FS after considering them for about 3 years and always deciding they were too heavy and i stuck with hardtail. this time my final decision was between the Trek Fuel 98 (i don't have the money for the 100), the Specialized FSR XC and the Giant NRS. i think all three are great bikes for XC and i've been really happy with my Specialized. all three use a 4-bar suspension which minimizes "bob" and in most cases actually IMPROVES climbing ability. if you do lots of climbing or distance, i would really recommend a 4-bar and NOT a single-bar suspenion (more downhill style)

as for hardtails, anything in the this price class (> $1500) is probably decent... the Specialized in particular are nice ( i like Specialized if you can't tell)

if you're going into the heavier "freeride" zone, i don't have as much advice.

but in the XC FS realm: between the Trek, Specialized and Giant (all 3 off different levels of components for range of $1500-$3500), in MY opinion the Giant is a little less good (but cheaper) and the Specialized and Trek are great with the Specialized being more bike for the $$$. i have the '02 FSR XC with the Fox Float RL front fork and it is aewsome!