Originally Posted by
justtheone23
I'm kind of leaning more towards a mountain bike because I want to be able to use it on trails too. I would rather buy one in person so I can test ride. Do you think used bikes are okay to get?
The Muirwoods IS a mountain bike for all intents and purposes! As already stated, it's part mtb and part commuter, as well...
The main difference between a mtb and a road bike, is tire width. The Muirwoods has a 40mm tire width.
40mm = 1.5in
There once was a time when we had no suspension forks and we called our steel bikes with wide tire clearance, "mountain bikes".
...Before that, we called them, "Cruisers"!
PS.
Unless you find a great deal on CL or used, a $500 mtb won't have a decent mtb fork. Many mtb forks cost well over $500...
* Try to avoid suspended forks!