Jmoscoe

I'm sure this is the 100th one of these you've seen but, hopefully you can take the time to look at one more =P.
I'm a 5'7 boy wieghing about 60kg looking for a bike that I can use on road (without having a heart attack from wheels that don't roll on pavement) and offroad (Eg trails/rock and gravel slopes).
I'm hoping to really get into the sport of Mountain Biking but as I can't afford two bikes road capability is a plus. I've been reading up on bikes in my price range (600-850 AU) and have come a cross a couple of bikes that appeal to me: Giant Yukon Fx Dual Suspension bike, and the Giant strata Hardtail.
Now I know that lower end Dual suspension bikes are pretty crummy but I've read mixed reviews over it, is it really all that horrible? I've had a look at it and it all seems pretty sturdy (I know jack about bikes ><)Or should I go with a hardtail that will possibly last longer with better components?

Yukon Fx ($695): https://www.ivanhoecycles.com.au/bike.../prod_182.html
Strata ($739): https://www.ivanhoecycles.com.au/bike.../prod_468.html

Thanks for your time.

~James R.

frankenmike 

While the Yukon may be quite sturdy, it is likely to be heavy(very heavy). Also, given that you want to use it on the road as well as trail, the dual suspension will be less efficient. Hardtail FTW!

T3hk1w1

If you wanna use one bike for both, I would go with a good hardtail in the same price range, and a cheap set set of road wheels/tires to complement the factory off-road rubber. Just my humble opinion.

DogBonz

While I don’t have a specific suggestion at this time, I think that you are smart to be thinking of a Hard Tail. Your money will go much further buying a hard tail than a full suspension bike. You could get an extra set of wheels and mount some road-like tires and then just swap them before a ride. Also, don’t be afraid to look for a used bike. I got a great deal on my road bike. Someone I work with bought an really nice bike, road it for a month, lost interest and it sat in his garage. I got it for a great price. Also, remember, with hard tails (as with most bikes) buy a good frame and then upgrade as stuff wears out/ breaks/ you get more cash.

DogBonz

Check out the Specialized Rock Hopper Disc. The components are not great, but the frame is very good and worthy of upgrading. At 27lbs it is not, how you say, light, for a hard tail, but with a few key upgrades you could probably cut that weight down significantly. It has a MSRP of $700 U.S. I don’t know what that is in AU, but I don’t think that it would be too far off. It was just reviewed in the November issue of Mountain Bike Action if you are interested.

Jmroscoe

Hey everyone, thanks so much for the input.
Update: I've changed my idea on how I'd like to ride as I remembered I'm moving to a mountain area (Mt Buller for you Australians) and I got an extra $100 off the Yukon Fx.
As I still have a while on road I had the back air shock filled more so it wouldn't Bob horribly.

For anyone looking into this bike I'm liking it so far (4 hours worth of riding in 2 days), the weight isn't extremely noticable and the shifting works great as well as the shocks.

~James