Originally Posted by
Mr. Smashy
The big hit is a god awful dh bike. Geometry is way off for dh racing.
I'd look into a used demo8 that is in decent shape.
Hate to have to disagree with you, Smashy; but the BigHit was a decent DH bike. It pedalled decently, had pretty fair geometry and there were a bazillion sold, so pickings in the used market should be good. The big drawback of the BigHit was the 24" rear wheel - - which ended up NOT accelerating like people hoped and did not do well on square-edged hits and other momentum-sucking features.
For getting into DH on a budget, the OP might do well to look to high-single-pivot bikes like the Santa Cruz Bullit or the Yeti ASX. Both a plenty DH capable with the right fork and can take a lot of abuse.