Originally Posted by MichaelW
Nothing wrong with the brand, but does the frame have threaded fittings for rack and fender? Even if you dont use them now, you may want to ride in the wet, or carry luggage at some point. Without them, you are stuck.
Not really stuck, you can equip bikes without lower or upper eyelets with racks. You can also get a front fender on a MTB without fender eyelets too. Of course, this is not the most ideal method though but as you are looking at a new bike, look for them. At $280, not likely, but check especially the front fork to see if it allows for standard linear pull or even cantilever brakes. Some of the more high-zoot front forks out there are "disc brake only" which means they don't have the brake bosses on the upper part of the fork. Racks that are suspension fork mountable, typically would use the brake bosses as the upper connection point.
Jay