Guess it depend on when and what you call low end, when I started MTBing in the early-mid 90's this was at the top of Treks bottom end range, so would still call it low end, US and UK prices were about the same at 460 £ or $, it's not low end as a supermarket bike, but in MTB terms, when bikes then and now were upto 4-5k or more, and mid range is from around 700-2000, it fits in the lower end of the good MTB market