Mountain Biking - Budget Hardtails - What's the best with hydraulic disc brakes

I'm currently looking to buy my first 'real' hardtail but it's got to have a Hydraulic disc brake setup. I'm on a tight budget though so wanted to know what's the best budget hardtail with this brake setup?? I'll graduate to something better/more expensive once i've got the hang of things. Does anyone know where there are any good deals at the moment on these kind of bikes??, they can be '03 or even '02 models, i'm not proud. Cheers.

Need more specifics in order to help.

What type of riding? XC, FR, DJ, DH, Urban...etc.?

What is your budget? You said tight. How Tight?

What are you like? Are you a big guy? (I'm about 250lbs) So, my needs are different than my 165lb buddy's needs. Are you a smooth rider or are you hard on equipment? IOW, are you a newbie, or an experienced rider?

What type of terrain do you ride? Kinda same question as above, "What type of riding?"

L8R

What type of riding? - I don't know yet, i'm new to it all but i supppose trails and downhill would be my bag.

What is your budget? You said tight. How Tight? - about £500 max ($750 US??)

What are you like? - about 14 stone (190 lbs)

Are you a smooth rider or are you hard on equipment? - don't know yet, probably not that hard though.

IOW, are you a newbie, or an experienced rider? - Newbie.

What type of terrain do you ride? - will be trails, downhills (not too fast though), some urban.

Hope this help, thanks.

You should probably be looking at a XC hartail. For $750 you can get a very decent bike. One that is an "Entry level RACE bike". IOW, it will have a more "race oriented" geometry and will have a decent suspension fork. It may or may not have disc brakes, but discs are NOT necessary. I'd stick with linear pull (Vee) brakes. All the major brands will have a good bike in your price range. I personally like the Specialized brand, but TREK, Gary Fisher, GIANT, K2, Iron Horse, Haro, Rocky Moutain, Kona...etc. are all good.

Visit as many bike shops as possible and test ride as many different bikes as you can. The more you test ride, the more you'll know what you like and don't like. Narrow it down to 2 or 3 and buy the one that is the most comfortable.

Good Luck & L8R

Cheers for that, much appreciated.

Go check out the IronHorse bikes at www.supergo.com. I cant remember the exact bike, but I remember they had a great lookin hardtail w/ hydros for a very nice price.

The GT Avalanche 0.5 is $749, with deore all around, Shimano Hydrualic disks, blah blah blah. That seems to be what you are looking for

what is the big advantage with discs anyway?

discs- get mroe stopping power than v's and they work better in mud and water. plus they look cool.

http://www.supergo.com/profile.cfm?LPROD_ID=24431&lsubcat_id=7&lcat_id=7604

I would definetly buy the IronHorse Rouge from supergo If I were buying an entry-level machine. Its the best lookin thing Ive seen under $700.