specailized makes the best bikes for cheap, i just realized.

sure do! specialized will be my next bike. possibly a hardrock disc. but that will be in a while!

How do you guys feel about Mongoose mountain bikes, or just Mongoose in general.

What about Diamondback(s)? How good are they?

Thanks a lot, and sorry if this has been asked.

No Sir, I don't like them. I don't like them at all.

Ehh I'm not too hyped about them either...they wouldn't be something I personally would look into buying

Yes ive heard some bad news about Mongoose and Diamondback, things like forks breaking, and discs not working properly. If your wanting to buy a bike, i suggest you to buy something else.

Yeah, thanks for the input guys.

I'll probably buy a rockhopper...
Once I find one :-(

Again, thanks for the help.

no probs.

lol, yes i think it did. i saw it before.

I wanted to buy a backup bike just to keep in case of an occasional friend stopping by and wanting to go for a ride, (None of my old friends ride but if they happen to stop by as I'm heading out they always like to come along.) I managed to pick up a 2004 K-2 Zed 1.0 still sealed in the factory box for $242.00 shipped to my door! After assembly the first test ride showed the rear derailer skipping second gear completely and landing squarely on third, then the shifting was pretty mundane on up through the gears however downshifting was extremly slow and hesitant from gears 8 through 5, also noticed brakes touching rim ocasionally. It was obvious a tune up was needed. A couple clicks of the mouse and I was downloading Parktool.coms instuctions for rear derailer adjustments. after following the procedure to the letter, I found that the downshifting was spot on now and there really was a second gear on the bike, however there was a hesitation on upshifting now, between 4th and 5th. A quick turn of the barrel adjuster and it's one of the smoothest eight speeds I have ridden. After trueing the rims I remembered a pair of avid single digit brakes I had taken off another bike, so I replaced the tektro brakes with them, and stopping is great. Next I replaced the multi purpose tires ( great for XC but my non riding friends aren't long distance riders so I felt a more aggressive tread would be in order ) One set of Kenda Krushers off E-bay $22.00 to my door! Now this bike wasn't intended as a primary ride or a top notch build, It's just a spare, But I'm only in it for $264.00 so even a fork upgrade would be possible and still be under $500.00, frame and fork are disc ready but wheels aren't. I wouldn't recommend this approach to newbies as the last thing you want to do with a new bike is to take a screwdriver to the derailer, and a spoke wrench to the wheels, if you aren't sure you can do the job. Also there are a lot of bikes under $500.00 in my city right now, So while my results worked great for what I needed, Your mileage may vary! I just wanted to share this story!

My 2005 Novara Bonanza was stolen from me two weeks ago. This was my first real Moutain Bike, and having been bitten hard by the MTB virus I see no other way out than to buy a new one... Currently the choise lies between two bikes.
2005 Diamondback Topanga Comp and the 2004 Giant iguana. Both costs $500. I have tried both, and so far the Diamonback is the one that feels the best. I felt a little streched on the Giant, but the guy in the store said he coud get a shorter stem installed.

Any suggestions/oppinions anyone??

The Iguana is a fine bike. Since the guy at the shop offered try it with the shorter stem.

The specialized rockhopper has the same frame as the rockhopper comp, and you can easily find them for ~$350 bucks. This leaves you $150 in your budget to buy some splined cranks/bb and to replace the square tapered that come stock. After you sell the stock cranks on Ebay, you'll have just enough left over to buy SPD pedals and shoes on closeout.

I recently picked up an 04 Iguana, unfortunatly they are now around $600, I got a discount $539 , but it is an excellent bike. It comes pretty well equiped Front Alivio, Rear Deore, Hayes MX-2 brakes (I would recomend upgrading them, I plan to do it in the future, I hear that Avid BB7 are great.) And it has a pilot C fork that soaks up bumps very well.

How heavy is the 04 Iguana? And does anyone know how the Pilot C and Manitou Axel comp compare? I had the axel comp on my bike that was stolen and I liked it. It was a little soft, but still ok. Bottomed it out once in a while. I weigh 185punds and ride pretty hard.

The Iguana is farily light, its not heavy, but its lighter than previous bikes I have owned. As for the pilot C and Manitou Axle, I'm not quite sure, All I know is that I haven't bottomed out yet, I weigh about 165, but I haven't done that agressive of riding yet, I've had it for less than two weeks!!!

or for $440 plus shipping

https://www.fujibikes.com/2005/bikes.asp?id=44

Please take note: The topic of the thread is $500 MTB's meaning $500 or LESS

Respective MSRPS of $1050 and $740 USD?

MSRP = Manufactured SUGGESTED retail price. Bikes usually are sold well below that. I have seen the prices I mentioned, and thought they were great deals so I figured I would say something.

And yes I know it says $500 mtb, but one of those is only $440 and the other ones is a great deal.

Then tell us WHERE you've seen those prices, because those are far below what I've seen the NEW Tahoe go for around here. Also it doesn't matter how good a deal it is if it's OFF TOPIC

You seem kinda uptight. I edited the post for you. Just to let you know I paid $5 hundred something for mine.

Greetings! I'm a n00b and have a few questions about bikes.

I picked up a couple recommendations from this thread last week and wanted to get some input on the bikes I actually rode when I went to LBS. First off, I'll be riding this bike to work and back a couple days a week in the summer(4 miles each way) and throwing it in the back of my Jeep for camping and 4 wheeling trips. I live in CO so there are plenty of places to ride from mild to wild within 15 minutes(by car) of my driveway. I haven't done any kid of XC or trail riding since about '98 and that was on a POS depot store bike. I'd like to take advantage of what my locale offers while I'm still here so I'm looking for a new bike to help me along the way. </rambling>

So at the LBS last week, I rode a Specialized Hardrock Comp Disc($499). It felt pretty good and fit me well. I liked the fact that it had discs and the Specialized warranty is pretty *****in'. It was kinda tough to tell if the sales guy was blowing smoke up my arse because he kept directing my attention to a Raleigh M something but said good things about the Specialized bike.

Down the road at the other LBS, my buddy wanted to look at some Gary Fishers. He picked up the Marlin and my eye was caught by the Jamis Durango. I noticed the Durango felt a bit lighter than the Hardrock and immediately noticed Deore front and rear derailleurs and some other Deore componentry. I was able to ride the Jamis a bit longer than the Hardrock and got off into some ditches behind the LBS. I then hopped on the Marlin and was ruined because it was so light. The Marlin didn't have discs and I'm not even sure it's disc ready off the shelf. My friend had mentioned that he read up on the V-brakes on the GF Marlin and said they don't work too well if they get at all wet.

Basically, I'm looking for something that I can ride without having to dump money into the day after I buy it. I can understand things like a seat or pedals, but I don't want to be replacing drivetrain components after a couple of trail runs.

Right now, I'm leaning to the Jamis. It's got better components up front and is actually available a bit cheaper (~$470) than the Hardrock. However, the Specialised dealer offers lifetime tuneups each year where as the Jamis LBS only offers "checkups". Another issue is warranty. Is anyone familiar with the Jamis warranty? I know they have been around for a bit, but they don't have any of that information on their website.

If anybody has any input on my situation, I'd appreciate it. Thanks.

Well, I live here in Fort Collins, and I own a an 04 Giant Iguana. It's great for road and trail riding. It's a pretty light bike and it even has disc brakes. The thing that I really like about it is that it has XTC geomety. It gives you a slightly hunched over position but it really doesn't feel that way. It comes with F. Alivio, and R. Deore. It has deore shifters/brake leveres, hayes MX2 brakes, Rockshox pilot C fork, and the pedals even havve toe clips. Its a really nice overall bike, but its a bit more expensive ($600) but I got a discount so I got it for bout $530. YOu should give one a try.

I own a Giant Iguana, it is a very nice bike. I think your supposed to feel a little streched, because it has what is called XTC geometry, I think it was desined for racing, it performs very well on or offroad.