Originally Posted by
bradtx
Garilla, I've a hardtail mountain bike with 26" wheels and tires similar to those pictured in post #8. 60 PSI and its fine for the road, 40 PSI and it's fine for any singletrack except muddy. If I were allowed only one bike, that would be it.
Any of the bikes you mentioned will be fine. As it appears that you're really trying hard to get this purchase just right, I do encourage you to buy from a LBS to get a proper fit and any issues can be taken care of 'right around the corner'.
Brad
Unless it's sold out, I will be buying a Motobecane Fantom 29 from BikesDirect. I've been underwhelmed by many of the shops in the area, and them trying to sell me what's on the floor, and all the bikes I liked were going to run me over $900. I have test rode enough bikes to be confident of my frame size. I have a good friend who is a firefighter, whose Dad used to own a bike shop, and was one of the first Trek dealers in Florida. Larry used to help his dad run the shop on days off from the fire department. Larry has an almost professional quality home bike workshop. He built his own MTB from (as he puts it) a cheap Trek aluminum frame and high end components. He has offered to mentor me on my new bike and its assembly, repair and maintenance.