Mountain Biking - Dicision Making ...

Hey Everyone,
I'm seeking some advice here ...
I'm seeking an all purpose mountain bike ...
I'm not sure if I should buy a bicycle or put one together piece by piece ...
What should I be looking for for a bike? I'm looking for a good bang for the buck .. what's a decent derailer? Is manitou the best brand for a fork or better or equivalent without getting gouged? Is there a big difference between a shimano alivio and shimano deore?
---IYO -- best tried brands?

Opinions? Advice?

Thanks for your help ... :)

there really is no such thing as an ALL purpose bike. first how much do you weigh and what kind of riding r you going to be doing(whistler every day or just trail riding). its much cheaper to buy a whole bike. but puting one together means getting prety much anything you want. a specialized hardrock or equivalent seems to be what your looking for. there are many opinions of fork types but the "set and forget fork" is marzocchi, in my opinion the best. besides the fox forx :love: from what i understand the difference in shimano components are weight, if i were you id go sram. i love my norco aline but i dont realy like norcos lower end bikes. like i said for a low priced bike the specialized or a giant iguana

I suggest the Specialied Hardrock it is the closest thing to an "all terrain bike" you will probably ever find.

True. The $500 sticky, if you can sort through the chat, has some decent bikes listed in it. The freeride hardtails is in one place, but some of those are more 'all purpose' than others. The Kona bikes and the Giant STP series are pretty good.. the STP isn't as good for bike trails though.