Hey Jarret -

I'm new to DFW as of this year, same age, clyde (shorter), and have mostly ridden road bikes around here until this past month (didn't expect that there would be MTB trails and by the time i figured it out everything was flooded). I'm also partial to the shop you mentioned (the one on granbury anyways). Their service dept has been awesome in my experience. Id say from them, maybe look at a trek superfly? Good value. A hardtail will be fine for around here, and tubeless would be optimal.

So, a question: when you say you've been chasing MTB'ers on the local dirt path, are you talking about the crushed gravel on the trinity trail, or have you actually gone to one of the DORBA or FWMBA trails like River Legacy or Gateway?