Hey guys. New to the forum, new to the sport. Quick background... 40y/o hadnt ridden since highschool. Bought a cheapie last year, put 2500km on it. Want to buy another for this year. Options are limited in my price range (still off work from covid, 14months and counting) basically I need advice on the components between 2 options. Cause I don’t have a clue yet what I’m dealing with. I would say I ride 4 days a week on paved trails and 2 in the forest. There’s simply no road bikes available or id go that route instead and keep the cheapie for in the bush. I was told that if I stick with shimano components they’re at least quality... but I’ve read that microshift are likely comparable.???
im really outta my depth here


diamondback ridgeback I pay roughly $300

• FRAME
• Frame: 6061 T6 heat treated aluminum frame
• Rear Shock: N/A
• Fork: Vaxa 28 100mm travel, with adjustable preload
• Cable Routing: External with full length housing
• DRIVETRAIN
• Rear Derailleur: Shimano Tourney TY300, 7 speed
• Front Derailleur: Shimano TY500
• Shifters: Shimano Tourney ST-EF41 EZ Fire 3x7
• Cog Set: Shimano TZ500 14-28T, 7 speed freewheel
• Chain: KMC Z7 3/32"
• Crankset: ProWheel Alloy, 9/16*170MM
• Bottom Bracket: Ginyeh BB73-68, Sealed Cartridge
• COMPONENTS
• Front Brake: Jak 5 Mechanical Disc, 160mm rotor
• Rear Brake: Jak 5 Mechanical Disc, 160mm rotor
• Brake Levers: Shimano ST-EF41
• Headset: Neco H-148, semi-integrated
• Seatpost: CAVU Alloy 27.2mm * 300mm
• COCKPIT
• Handlebar: CAVU, 31.8mm*680mm
• Stem: CAVU Alloy, 31.8mm*28.6mm, 7 degree rise
• Saddle: CAVU MTB
• Pedals: 19/16" Resin Body, Flats
• Grips: CAVU Lock-on
• WHEELS/TIRES
• Rims: CAVU Aluminum Double Wall, 650B
• Front Tire: 27.5" * 2.25" for all-terrain
• Rear Tire: 27.5" * 2.25" for all-terrain
• Tubeless Ready: No
• Front Hub: Steel quick release
• Rear Hub: Steel 3/8" nutted

option 2 GT aggressor pro pay roughly 520

• FRAME
• Frame: 6061-T6 Aluminum Triple Triangle™ Frame, w/ Replaceable Derailleur Hanger, and 1 1/8" Head Tube 27.5 Design
• Rear Shock:
• Fork: SR Suntour XCE-28 DS, coil spring with preload, alloy lower legs 80mm travel
• Internal Cable Routing: No
• DRIVETRAIN
• Rear Derailleur: MicroShift RD-M26L 8spd
• Front Derailleur: MicroShift FD-M20M
• Shifters: MicroShift TS38, 8spd
• Cog Set: Sunrace, 11-34T, 8-Speed Cassette UPC
• Chain: KMC Z8, 8-speed
• Crankset: All-Terra Forged Alloy 42/34/24T
• Bottom Bracket: Cartridge Sealed
• COMPONENTS
• Front Brake: Tektro Mechanical Disc W/ 160mm Rotor
• Rear Brake: Tektro Mechanical Disc W/ 160mm Rotor
• Brake Levers: Tektro Disc Brake Lever
• Headset: 1 1/8" Ahead
• Seatpost: Alloy Micro Adjust
• COCKPIT
• Handlebar: 6061 Aluminum Riser, 640mm Width, 12mm Rise, 31.8mm Clamp
• Stem: Alloy 1 1/8" Threadless, 4-Bolt W/ CNC Face Plate, 10° Rise, 31.8mm Clamp
• Saddle: All Terra MTB
• Pedals: GT Slim Line Flat Pedal
• Grips: GT Statement logo grips
• WHEELS/TIRES
• Rims: All Terra Double Wall, 32H 27.5, disc specific
• Front Tire: Innova 27.5X2.10"
• Rear Tire: Innova 27.5X2.10"
• Tubeless Ready: No
• Front Hub: Alloy Disc QR
• Rear Hub: Alloy Cassette Disc QR

Yes, Microshift is relatively comparable to Shimano. They don't make really high-end stuff like Ultegra and Dura-Ace, but what they do make is very good, and well regarded for the money. Sort of the Hyundai of bike components.
Shimano's Tourney isn't bad-bad, but it's Shimano's bottom-end product.

Most of the components on the two bikes you're looking at are generic, so I can't really say what one is better, but one thing jumps out: The rear wheel : The DBack has a 7-speed freewheel with a nutted axle, an the GT has an 8-sp cassette with a Quick-release hub. That, right there is the quickest, most easily identifiable way to tell a 'cheap' bike from an 'inexpensive' bike.

If your budget can swing it, get the GT.

If you're riding road most of the time and would have bought a road bike if one was available, I don't get why you're looking at mountain bikes.
Both of the bikes on your list have the bells and whistles that customers want, but to hit their price points, a lot of corners have to be cut.
60-dollar coil suspension forks are heavy (5 lbs for the Vaxa, 6 lbs for the Suntour) and offer very little adjustment. Cheap mechanical disc brakes are usually more trouble and no better than a simple set of V-brakes.

If I was looking at riding 70% pavement and 30% dirt, I'd opt for a more hybrid-style bike, unless the trails you plan to ride are gnarly -- in which case, these two mountain bikes probably aren't up to the job anyway.

Maybe look at a Raleigh Detour or something similar?

You’re probably right... when I bought the bike last year it was essentially the only thing available, and since I was just starting I didn’t know how much I’d even ride it. my wife works at Sportchek and thus I get everything from there at cost. They don’t have any road bikes and my issue is that being off work for 14 months makes it hard to spend $$ on a bike at all, let alone a road bike from somewhere else.
the other aspect is that I LOVE riding the forest trails we have here (when they finally open). I ride the paved paths for exercise and mostly cause I can get away for an hour or 2 while my kid does schooling or video games. The forest requires a much longer time commitment with driving time. I’d def go forest trails everyday if it was closer... and it’s hard to justify to my wife that we need to move farther away from... well everything, just to be closer to the forest. Lol

I can also likely get the GT avalanche 29er. It would be an extra $150 ish for a total of around $680. That’s prolly above what I hoped to pay... but if it’s a better deal... or will last longer or whatever... then I can bite the bullet.

• FRAME:
• Frame: 6061-T6 Aluminum Triple Triangle™ Frame, w/ Replaceable Derailleur Hanger, and 1 1/8- 1 1/2" tapered Head Tube
• Rear Shock:
• Fork: SR Suntour XCT DS, coil spring with preload, hydraulic lock out, alloy lower legs 100mm travel for 29", disc brake specific
• Internal Cable Routing: No
• DRIVETRAIN:
• Rear Derailleur: microSHIFT, RD-M36, 9-speed
• Front Derailleur: microSHIFT FD-M43
• Shifters: microSHIFT TS-39, 9spd
• Cog Set: microSHIFT CS-H092, 11-34, 9-speed
• Chain: KMC Z9
• Crankset: All-Terra Forged Alloy 42/34/24T
• Bottom Bracket: Cartridge Sealed
• COMPONENTS:
• Front Brake: Tektro Hydraulic disc w/ 160mm rotors
• Rear Brake: Tektro Hydraulic disc w/ 160mm rotors
• Brake Levers: Tektro Hydraulic
• Headset: 1 1/8"
• Seatpost: All-Terra micro adjust alloy seat post, 30.9mm
• COCKPIT:
• Handlebar: 6061 Aluminum Riser, 720mm Width, 12mm Rise, 31.8mm Clamp
• Stem: Alloy 1 1/8" Threadless, 4-Bolt W/ CNC Face Plate, 10° Rise, 31.8mm Clamp
• Saddle: All-Terra MTB
• Pedals: Gt Platform pedal
• Grips: GT Statement logo grips
• WHEELS/TIRES:
• Rims: WTB SX19 29" double wall disc specific
• Front Tire: Transition 29" x 2.25"
• Rear Tire: Transition 29" x 2.25"
• Tubeless Ready: No
• Front Hub: Alloy Disc QR
• Rear Hub: Alloy Cassette Disc QR

These days it takes a lot of $ to get above the garbage sold by mass merchandisers. I used to look for used bikes at garage sales for kids in my Scout troop who were going to attempt cycling merit badge. I wouldn't give a second look at a bike that had a solid rear axle or limited gear range. It's the lowest of the low when the manufacturer uses that kind of component so I would cross the first bike off your list. Lighter is always better. The other thing you might do is to get the weight of the bike if the store where your wife works has that informationt. The alternative is to carry a bathroom scale into the store and weigh yourself and repeat with you holding the bike as steady as possible. All three bikes have entry level front suspensions, As has been mentioned, they add weight, likely offer little real effect on the ride, and are just one more thing to go wrong, I have an old Cannondale SM800 MTB that I bought used dirt cheap years ago. I'd put it up against any of the bikes you list when it comes to weight (26#) and durability. No front shocks, just a quality frame and good components. Make sure you get the right frame size. If the bike comes in "one size fits all" or isn't available in a frame that fits you, skip it,

Ah. Then by all means, carry on. I concur with the others that the GTs are the better bikes. I'd vastly prefer the brakes and fork on the Avalanche, and 9-speeed over 8.
The upcharge is worth it, IMO. Buy once, cry once.

The only problem I have with the bikes you mentioned is that they come with suspension forks, low costing suspension forks are more trouble then they're worth. They are heavy, non responsive, they take more energy to push the bike forward, they won't last long and when they do break it will cost you almost as much for a new bike! Really, the only thing a suspension fork is good for is down hill racing! But you can't do that with a low end fork because it will be destroyed after the first run, not to mention they won't follow the contours of the trail well at all.

I know suspension forks look macho and all, but the reality is you're wasting money, if you want a good suspension fork you have to spend at least $900 on a bike to get one with a decent entry level fork.

I personally think you should be looking gravel bikes, but that's just my opinion.

As far as 'lasts longer' once you're into the $500-$800 price bracket, it'll be pretty much a wash as far as durability is concerned. These are entry-level 'decent' bikes. They're not throwaway 'cheap' bikes and not high-performance either. Kind of the 'Toyota Camry' of bicycles, competent, dependable, affordable, but jut not super-exciting.

The Avalanche has some nice upgrades, like the hydraulic brakes, but maintenance on them takes some knowledge (and sometimes tools) that's not in the scope of your typical home bike mechanic. The 9-speed drivetrain is a good step up, too; but if you're on a tight budget, is it worth the extra? Nothing wrong with 8-sp. Heck, i've got some vintage bikes running 7- and 6-sp and I don't find them wanting for the kind of riding I use them for.

Finally, on Suspension Forks. BikeForums is very anti-suspension, and takes a dim view of MTB in general. There's just a lot of graybeards here who think that bicycle design peaked in the early 80's with the Miyata 812. Inexpensive suspension forks do add weight, it's true, but light weight air-sprung forks take a lot more regular maintenance.
A simple suspension, set up right can be just fine. A 'sport' grade fork, like the SRs on the GT's you're looking at should have a preload adjustment. Setting the preload higher will result in less of the 'bobbing' that people grouse about. You want the fork for fending off big bumps, and use those 2.1" tires for the 'road noise'

I suspect that the OP lives in Canada, so the dollars they are talking about are about 70 US cents

I agree with the advice of rekmeyata. I've been riding for awhile and go mountain biking quite a bit and I ride a completely rigid frame bike, no front or rear suspension. Granted, I'm not doing anything too technical but I'm not on the bunny hill either. Unless you are doing serious mountain biking, suspension is unnecessary and only adds cost to your bike. I used to have a full suspension 29er that was fairly expensive. The one thing that I hated about it the most was how much maintenance the suspension required and how much it cost me. Having a suspension fork is all good and well until it doesn't work and then you realize you're riding around on a boat anchor that is going to cost you more money to get serviced. So if money is tight, suspension is not your friend. For regular riding adjusting your tire pressure a little can go a long way to compensating for not having suspension.

Also, I obviously don't know the market where you live but I would think that for $680 you could get a very nice used bicycle and have it tuned and serviced at a local bike shop.

true. I do live in Canada. Based on some of the advice I got from here and another forum I went with the avalanche. I paid roughly 550 usd. I appreciate the help and advice on this topic. More so I appreciate the wealth of knowledge just from reading a few other threads. In particular I enjoyed the informative nature of the YouTube video reply... I’ll be looking up the channel when I get some time.

Thanks again all.