I know I said that bike selection would be for another thread, but I just had to briefly give my thoughts. At the moment, shelling out any amount of money for a competent bike is out of the question, seeing as I'm currently between jobs, so this mountain bike experiment will likely have to wait at least until next spring. The Huffy is definitely not suitable. The Hyper FS I rescued from the garbage probably isn't either. I will most likely either search Craigslist for a used hardtail--I'm seeing lots of used Specialized's and Treks in the $150-350 range-- or go with an entry level BikesDirect offering. I might check out the LBS's in my neighborhood but I expect even the entry level bikes there to be beyond my expected budget assuming I actually find work by next spring. (For one thing, part of that newfound income will need to go towards an operational automobile to get me to the trail...yes, I'm that bad off.) Since I'm not planning to go the heavy duty 10 foot drops and 20 foot somersaults route, I'm hoping my choice of bike won't have to be quite so demanding or expensive. We shall see.