I would like to hear more about the DB OD. Performance has the base model OD at 375 bucks.

I asked a friend about them. He answered "meh....department store bike".

Is this really the case? Looking at the specs, I would say it was either high end department store or entry level bike shop.

How does it compare to entry level bikes from "real bike shop companies" such as The trek wahoo?

I am a mtb noob. I don't plan on racing anytime soon. Extra weight, as far as I'm concerned is just a training aid. Being 6 ft, about 230 lbs, I have plenty of other places to loose weight. My primary desire is a reasonably bomb proof bike that I can wrench on myself.