I read the old reviews and looks like a great bike. Obviously I'm looking to keep my cost down here. So far just looking at pics on CL, bike looks to be in good condition.

I'm new into MTB and am just riding a wal-mart schwinn sidewinder that I picked up at a consignment sale for $30. i started out just riding small hills new my house (so. california) but have graduated into the mountain single tracks. I'm not much into the downhill, but maybe that is because this bike won't hold up to it but I really enjoy climbing. I could see doing some downhilling the future.

Now, is a 14 year old bike in excellent condition a better value than buying something new say off bikesdirect.com for 300 to 400?
One thing the GT lacks is disc brakes. That seems like a certain for downhills no?
Are HT more for climbing and FS more for downhill?
Is there a great weight diff between HT and FS?

thanks