Mountain Biking - trek bikes

alright... my sister is set on getting a bike, and set on getting a trek. She is not going to change her mind, so this isn't an issue of getting another kind of bike. I don't think she is going to be super serious about it, so I told her to get like an 820 or something, but the guys at the bike store say that if she is going to take it offroad at all she shouldn't get that one because it only has single wall wheels... they say to go with the 4300 or higher because of the double wall wheels... so I told her i would ask and see if that is totally true. She says she is going to do trails and stuff, so if that is the case, should she get a 4300 or higher???

4300-up

4300 or maybe 4900- Still very affordable. You can't go wrong on either one for first bike.

i gotta 4300 i thinks its really gd for the money.

4300 and up would be best, but the 820 is a solid bike. the advantage of the 820 is also the disadvantage, it has a steel frame. It can take a LOT more of a hit, but it's also very heavy. It isnt really worth it, because the components are worse than the 4300. However, here is something to keep in mind. I have a Trek 6000, and I bent the aluminum frame last year. Also, just yesterday I was riding with 2 guys, my friend mike, who has an 820, and a guy we met there named dustin who had a 4100. what a coincidence. anyway, dustin is a former bmx rider, and he spilled only once yesterday after attempting a 180 on his 4100. he left the mountain after that one fall because he bent the frame bad enough to hinder his riding. my friend mike has an 820 though, and it sustained 7 falls without even a scratch.

My son-13 and daughter-16 both have 4900's which were their first bikes and we're very happy with them...a great level of components, light frames and we ride 2-3 times a week and in the last year and a half haven't done any frame damage, and because it's a trek there is great dealer support.