steve-in-kville 

Need to add to my aresenal. I've looked at the LBS's as well as bikesdirect.com. I am almost partial to the Jamis Trail XC series but I am open to Trek and Specialized. I need something for light trail riding, possible winter commuting. I want to be able to upgrade components down the road. Prefer disc brakes, but not a deal breaker.

Sorry if this topic has come up recently.... I tried searching to no avail. Thanks in advance!!

danec99

Jamis X3. But I am not sure commuting with a suspension fork would be fun. Old rigid fork MTBs work great for that. All of the $500 bikes have the same basic stuff. I like the Jamis frame, looks good, down the road a lighter fork would be nice. Then a new wheelset...

If you can turn a wrench, this is not a bad place.

meatpants

For $500, you can get an incredible deal on C/L- buying a used bike is definitely worth it if you have the ability to work on it, if it needs it. In almost all of my C/L bike experiences, I'm really just picking up someone's bike that sat in their garage for too long, and I've never had a major issue with one. If you stick to your $500 budget, you can get a 4-5 year old top of the line hardtail- way better than anything new for $500 (so long as it isn't beat the he*l)

steve-in-kville 

To reply to the above posts...

I actually have two older MTB bikes available to me. One is a late 80's Mongoose and the other is a Schwinn (early 90's). One is gonna be a commuter/touring build, the other may get made into a SS, sorta like an adult BMX bike.

What I am looking for is a MTB for light trail use, first and foremost. And then as a winter commuter if needed. I am hoping that my current commuter will suffice for this, or maybe the above commuter/touring bike build will fill this need. But just in case I need a third option for winter...