Mountain Biking - opinions on this used bike

found this on CL and my brother is looking for a mountain bike so he can get into it. I dont know much about full suspension bikes so thought i would ask here.

http://austin.craigslist.org/bik/1229532391.html

Thanks

that's a fine bike to start off on.

know that those suspension components are not toys tho. they need to be serviced every so often and it aint cheap unless you do it yourself. for example a shop will charge around 100 bucks to overhaul the fork. that's a significant portion of that bikes asking price. and it wont be the last time it needs to be done.

if he wants to start off on a very low maintenance bike, i'd keep looking. that yakuza will need brakes bled, and shocks dissasembled once inawhile or it will ride like crap.

it's still not a ton of maintenance, but sometimes it's better so start out on a simpler bike becasue there is alot to learn about taking care of them.

also....

that bike is made for smashing picknick tables in half and general hooligan business. that's good if you plan to ride it really rough. but depending on what kind of riding you are doing it could be a little overkill. i wouldn't worry about that aspect of bike selection for a beginner tho. as long as the thing doesn't hurt you back or your ass then it's pretty much as good as any other.

im not sure if 400 is a great deal or not. sounds like it is...

thanks for the comments, my brother is the hey check this out type so he probably will smash picnik tables and stuff haha. He has been riding a friends FS gary fisher the few times he has been out and does quite well.

having to service shocks and stuff comes from usage of the bike or if the bike sat for a while would it need to be serviced then as well?

having to service shocks and stuff comes from usage of the bike or if the bike sat for a while would it need to be serviced then as well?

sitting around can be a little tough on things but it's really the usage that takes it's toll. the legs of the fork slide on replaceable bushings inside and they wear a bit every time you push the fork down. but when you do something like say land off a jump the fork bends a bit and the bushings get presure from the side when they are sliding so they wear more. the harder you ride and the more you ride the more they wear.

a big fork like the one on that yakuza is meant to take abuse so even tho you may accelerate wear by riding rough it's not really hurting the fork. he may need to service as much as once a year or it could operate smoothly for 3 years with just oil changes.

but if you neglect to service the fork and shock and suspension pivots that nice bike will eventually go to crap!

cool, thanks for the responses ill be sure to pass the news on to him and maybe he will pick it up.