Mountain Biking - 08 Jamis komodo

Well heres the deal, I have been looking over these forums for a while now and have finally narrowed down my bike search ( well I think i have). What I am looking for is a freeride hardtail of sorts that I can basically use for everything. I will be riding some small - medium sized northshore/freeride stuff (probably bigger as I get better), some dirt jumps, regular old trails, and a bit of urban stuff with stairs, drops, etc. Ideally the bike would also be able to ride on the road for shortish distances ( less than 30 miles ). Heres the hardest part, it needs to be at the 600 buck mark. My current ride is an 05 Hardrock sport and It has been a good bike but the frame is a bit large for the more aggresive riding I want to get into.

Here are the bikes I am currently looking at
Kona shred
08 Jamis Komodo 1
GF opie
GF mullet

Im leaning towards the Jamis komodo becuase it seems to get good reviews and seems to fit what I want and it is the most within my price range. Plus I would have enough left over to buy a full face helmet or shinguards. My only concern with it is whether it is going to hold up to bigger drops and jumps.It is closely followed by the Kona shred, the thing I dont like about the kona is the shorter travel ( I will be using it for freeride and trails too) and I have heard stories about the frames cracking ( is this true??)
I would appreciate any opinions or thoughts to help me decide
thanks and sorry for the long post

the komodo is an awesome frame man.
I was looking at the 04 frames, but i wasnt allowed to get it.

It was beast.

I just looked at all of the bikes you posted and im actually looking for a bike as well and i am with you on the Komodo man, im actually looking into buying that one as of now haha

I still want a komodo, probably not the best race bike, but heh, its awesome lol

Check out this 2006 Komodo 3.0 on JensonUSA.com for $779.00. (They only have sizes 14 and 16.5 left)

http://jensonusa.com/store/product/BI300T10-Jamis+Komodo+30+Bike+06.aspx

Edit: oh wait 600s the limit not 800...sorry

Definitely try to get the 06' komodo 3.0 from jenson. Best komodo year ever. I know it is more than you wanted to spend. But you will get a lot.

Thanks for the replies, but the 06 komodo is definitely out of the question, Its too far out of the budget. But what makes it the best year ever, is there something I need to know about the 08 model?. i do agree the 06 looks pretty sweet though. Thanks again.

It was beast.

How come I snapped mine at the rear stay then?

WHat where you doing?

Oh wait..
because... your beast-lier.
lol


but... we all know that I'm beast-est.

I would also like to know what you had to do to break it, becuase I plan on keeping the bike for multiple years And i cant be having a weak frame, thanks to all the other opinions as well.

Cracked the driveside chainstay at the bottom bracket coming down a chute after a mild DH trail. It was just a hairline crack, but it was enough to keep me off of the bike.

This was the bike, I know I have a photo of the crack kicking around somewhere. I'll look for it later:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v419/wethepeople101/103_1819.jpg

At bicyclebananas.com there's also an 05 Komodo fx 1.0 for 499.99 (msrp 730).

What about Norco? New, they're a little out of your price range. But you might be able to find one on Craigs (I'd discourage eBay since these bikes are meant to be beat to hell, and with Craigs you can check it out before you buy). The Bigfoot and Sasquatch look like they might fit what you want. And if you're looking for something a little more DJ oriented, there's the 125, Havoc, and Ryde.

I had looked at the norco's because theres a couple of LBS's around that deal them (including the one that sells the jamis) but they are out of my price range and if I can get new bike that will do what I want, for the price of a used bike i would rather get the new one just so i know it hasn't been too abused. As long as the komodo is going to hold up to what I listed in my original post I doubt I will spend the extra dough on the norco. But you never know I might find a good deal on a last years model or something. thanks for the help guys and Im still open to other suggestions or opinions.

Cracked the driveside chainstay at the bottom bracket coming down a chute after a mild DH trail.

'08 Komodo is beefier.