Ya gotta be CAREFUL, but. . .
 

Several times in the recent past, I have perused the racks of mostly junky bikes in big box retailers like Academy Sports and have ferreted out a GEM or two in the MTB section.

You have to kinow what to look for of course, but there is the odd nugget to be found in the gravel pile, I'm thinking,

For example, I found a very classy Iron Horse MTB (only one, alas) in my local big box last winter. Mostly Deore gruppo, mechanical discs, hardtail (I failed to note the fork brand & model - foolish me!) for $399 (USD, this was in Texas), "marked down" from $599.

Even for $599, it wasn't a bad buy, I was thinking. I had to RUN out of the store:lol: to keep from pursuing this further!

Now I NEED(?) a mountain bike (I'm back in single track country in SW Ontario) & I'd like to have that Iron Horse!

Today I was looking in A Canadian Tire (no exact US equivalent - but a bit like what Western Auto Stores used to be like in the USA) & amidst the real junk was a passable Schwinn MTB with a Acera 24 speed gruppo, suspension fork, a front hub that could take a disc brake for $299 Canadian :thumb:- not bad, I thought. Certainly enough MTB for an old duffer like me to play on on local dirt roads & bunny trails.

John Alldredge

One thing that rubs me the wrong way here John...it seems you are giving advice to a forum full of people that come here for good advice before they invest in a bike...yet it doesn't appear to me that you are all that qualified to give this advice.

There is no point in feeding a dead animal. This thread was pointless from the get-go. (2yrs ago) Your advice may have been somewhat pertinant back then.

Yes...kinda.
Definitely not.
I suggest a noob borrow a bike for a while to see if they're interested in riding on the trails at all. They may hate it. If they do like riding trails, I suggest a Specialized Hardrock in their pricerange to allow them to discover what kind of riding they enjoy most while saving money for a mid/high level MTB. A Hardrock will do it all in some way or another. It won't hang with Kabush on the climbs, or Petey on the descents. You wouldn't wanna try to mimick Aaron Chase's every move with it. But it will give you a taste of what's to come. "What part of that ride did I like best? The exercise, the scenery, the gnarly jumping?" After this is decided, one may graduate to a bike that caters to this particular style and will hopefully last a long time.
I would never in my days recommend Shimano Acera. Why? When it craps out and starts shifting poorly...it will come back on me b/c I recommended it. For a good affordable group by Shimano...it pains me to say Deore, but it's acceptable. On the SRAM side...X.5 is the bottom-feeder of choice. The part that leads me to question your authority on the matter is that you're using a Tourney crankset and front derailleur, yet you're recommending Acera. I question whether or not you have any direct experience with other products outside of what you have read or been told.
On the other hand...if you don't know what you're doing...often the salesperson at the LBS will sell you what they ordered "too much of" in hopes to not lose money for the year.

I don't disagree with "everything" you're saying, but are you experienced enough to give this advice?

I never knew that all bikes came from the same factory in Taiwan. I learned something new today.