Mountain Biking - IS This a good bike?? Im new

well, this is my first thread but it looks like a great site were people know what their talking about. I am 16 and dont have a ton of money to spend on a bike. I had a $100 mongoose from walmart in may. Well i broke it in a month, the rims bent and the derailer broke. I now ride my dad's Raleigh mountain sport m20. It is a nice bike and works well for what i use it for. I do alot of road riding with my freind. Not 5 mile trips but i go up to my freinds house and we do wheelie contests for hours and hours. I also ride the trails sometimes. They are very hilly and take alot of work. Well my freind just got a specialized hardrock. It is a really nice bike. I am now looking to buy a bike of my own so my dad wont get upset for me taking his. I was looking at the Jeep Cherokee Classic Full suspension Mountain bike. The one for $450. I was also looking at the Jeep Cherokee sahara but it may be a bit to much money and i dont like the rear shock set up. The classic has the same set up as there $1000 bikes. Does anyone have any experence with the cherokee classic?? Is it worth $450?? I also go off some slight jumps so i need a bike that the rims wont bend on. Even my dads bike has the rims a little out of wack... any help would be great

i have a few other questions also, would disc brakes benifit me were i ride or v brakes and why? Also are parts for jeep bikes easy to get??? thanks

If you are giong to spend around $500 you better stick with a hardtail. The next line is from the FAQ at the top of the message list "Car Branded bikes Anytime you see Jeep, Honda (except the new DH bike which the average Joe can't buy yet), or Hummer RUN AWAY." So definately don't but the jeep, but do check out the specialized line if you like your buddies bike. The best advice anyone on here is going to give you is to ride several bikes within your price range and pick the one that feels the best. Also as a rule of thumb for buying a quality full suspension bike you should spend around or over $1100. Again here is another exerpt from the FAQ

"Chapter2: Buying a Bike Around The $500 Pricepoint

Overview:

The bikes in this pricepoint) are solid entry level bikes that are intended to get people interested in the sport so that they can decide to
Continue in the sport upgrading to a more expensive bike later
or
Decide that they don't like the sport but find that they still aren't out that much money
Go to your LBS (Local Bike Shop) see what they have and test ride. Find two or three that you really like and feel good then come back for our opinions. (If you bombard us with 8 bazillion Bike A vs Bike B questions the quality of response WILL go down.)

The #1 thing is "Does the bike FEEL right?" components are a secondary concern (You really don't want ***** components but it's still not as important as feel.) It's my opinion that buying a bike is 80% FEEL and 20% everything else.

Go To A Real LBS

My suggestion is to go to a REAL bike shop were bikes are the MAIN business (not Sports Authority and the like) and see what they have to offer. Even a used bike would be a better choice than those boat anchors sold at Sports Authority X-mart and the like."



Edit: Most of the time Disc brake are better than v-brakes but make sure they are quality disc brakes such as avid.

do you have any specific reason why the jeep is bad??

They are usually low quality bikes with the Jeep name brand on it...so with the name on it, you pay more for the bike than you would if you bought the same bike without "JEEP" on it.

If you're willing to spend $450 on a bike, take a trip to your LBS and try a few hardtails (not full suspension) in that price range.

If you like your buddy's Hardrock, and you're looking to spend around $450, you could have a Hardrock of your own. If you want to be different, there are plenty of other options from reputable companies, bikes that will give you years of enjoyment. Definitely read through the "around $500" thread, there is a ton of info.

As far as the Jeep-branded bikes...I haven't seen one in person, much less ridden one. My gut instinct tells me I wouldn't like having one. And if you like jumping, as you say, I don't think you'd like having one, either.

undefinedI would spend a little more and get the Specialized Rockhoper. $520
It looks like a nice bike

visit a bike shop and buy from there... why? they are pros... allegedly...