Originally Posted by kwmcd

Long story short:
used to live in great mtn bike territory and rode lots...
moved to big city, nowhere to mountain bike, got big into road biking...
moved back to mtn bike territory and need a new bike.

Here are 2 that my local bike shop recommended for my budget ($1000 MAX)

http://www.trekbikes.com/ca/en/bikes..._sport/mamba/#
http://www.norco.com/bikes/mountain/...-9/charger-91/

I am looking for something
-Reliable
-Good build quality
-Well designed

I am not concerned with having the most bells and whistles or the highest end components. I would rather have a reliable low end component than a finicky fragile high end component (of course reliable and high end trumps all lol)

What would you pick and why?