First off I am new here. I am looking at getting a new mountain bike, my last one was a huffy superia bought in 1996. Currently I am debating between a mongoose ledge 2.1 for 129.99 at wal-mart, the cheap option, a specialized rockhopper 669.99 at the local bike shop, or a trek marlin 7 also 669.99 at the local bike shop. I am a bigger guy about 6'1" and 325 lbs, 42/44 waist and 32" inseam, I plan on riding mostly back roads and a few area bike trails, maybe occasionally a harder trail if I go on vacation. I also looked at diamondback, genesis, and nishiki. The genesis is a 29 and cheap but the the others are more then the trek. I also looked at a trek marlin 6 for 579.99. I am leaning towards the trek primarily because it has hyd disc brakes, 29" tires, lifetime warranty, and I have heard trek is the only ones without a weight limit on their bikes, a plus for me. Any help would be appreciated, thank you.

Stay away from the cheap walmart bikes.

I doubt that the stock forks on the Trek/Specialized bikes that you're looking at will be setup for your weight and I don't think that they can be upgraded with heavier duty springs to a suit your weight.

Trek actually does have a 300lb weight limit on their mountain bikes.
https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/suppo...or_your_bikes/
Pages 15-16: https://cms.trekbikes.com/pdf/owners_...M%20102214.pdf

You need to be looking at the following forums.
https://www.bikeforums.net/clydesdale...-200-lb-91-kg/
https://forums.mtbr.com/clydesdales-tall-riders/

Actually looking at treks site they do allow upto 350 on mountain bikes in certain circumstances. They do list 300 as a general rule but further research shows upto 350 if not hardcore and reading forums some Clydesdales have used trek without issue.

I missed that bit about "350 lb for some mountain bikes" on "smooth gravel roads and groomed trails with low-angle grades" & "Drop-offs of less than 6” (15 cm)"

I wonder what their definition of "Some mountain bikes" is?


Clydesdale's seem use plenty of different brands without problems but a stock bike might need a modification or two for a heavy rider.

OP, stay away from cheap department store bikes. If you're buying the Diamondback from a big box store, be sure their mechanics know what they're doing. Some are very good, some, not so much. IMHO, I'd go with the Trek(s) or the Rockhopper purchased from an LBS.