Mountain Biking - Trek 4900 or 6500?

I have been looking at the Treks, and the 6500 with disc brakes is at the tip top of my price range. The 6500 is about $900 and the 4900 is about $600.
Would you pay for the better componets on the more expensive bike now, or buy the less expensive bike and upgrade as needed later?
Any other things that I should consider?

They are hardly identical. The 6500 has great Deore hydro brakes and a Manitou Axel lockout/motion control fork. XT rear deraillure and finsishing kit from Bontrager. It is the higher end bike compared to the 4900 since its not classified as a recreational bike.

Spend the extra and get the 6500 and dont worry about upgrading.

they have slightly different frames. ive ridden them both, id say the 6500 is worth the extra cash

Curse that same picture they use for both of them on the Aust website aswell
:rolleyes:

You get the "better" frame with the 6500. The 6500 has the SLR frame as opposed to the SL frame on the 4900. I am very familiar with the Trek lines and here is the deal. The conventional wisdom would say that the 6500 will be the better deal because of the better frame and components.

The X factor is accessories. If you are going to be completely broke after buying the 6500 and not have money for all the necessary accessories than my advice is to go for the 4900 and spend the xtra on accessories. It sucks to have a nice bike and nothing else. You can easily drop $300 on accessories, by the time you buy clothing, frame pump, mulit-tool, tubes, racks etc.

I planned on going to the LBS today to learn more about the differences, but worked instead and they are now closed for the night.
I thought the bikes had the same frames, I am curious, what's "better" about the 6500 frame?
The good news is that by working today I have more $$ to spend on a bike or accessories.
The X factor, yep, I do need to get some new clipless shoes, bike shorts, multi-tool, maybe a pump, and camelbak bladder. Also want a cycle computer!

Today I ordered the Trek 6500 w/ disks! Next week I'll have the bike and some pictures!

You made the right choice, congradulation.