For an offroad newbie I think the bike may be a bit excessive. Its a long travel "all mountain" bike weighing 32+ lbs. I would recommend looking more at a Stumpjumper FSR if full suspension is a must. The reason I say this is because the Stumpie is at home racing, riding XC or as a all-mountain machine whereas the Enduro with 5+ inches of travel, extra weight, is not an XC machine... so not knowing where the persons interests lie I would say that the Stumpjumper is more versatile and has a better chance of suiting their needs for a longer period.