cyclezen

Pretty nice looking bike for under $500 !
Hard to say of there's a weak point... modern specs should make it a pretty nice allrounder for beginner or easier terrain/rider.
gearing looks fine for anything less than very steep... again fine for who its aimed at.
Not clear how much the fork offers, but prolly as good as many others for more money...
Even has a short writeup in singletracks and a nice video review on Youtube:
Only caveat is only 19" size available - so fairly large/tall guy...
but a good call, if the size works... (no deal is a good deal, if it doesn't fit...)
Ride On
Yuri

Russ Roth

What parts are decent? Certainly not that 7sp freewheel or the hub its attached to which is the weak spot in most lower end bikes and this is a lot of money for a very low end part that shouldn't have been made in the last 20 years.

OP, you're going to be in a tough spot since the cost of bikes has spiked due to a pandemic related increase in demand with plunging availability. Bikesdirect can offer some options but you will still be out of your range if you want trail worthy. For riding around to at 370 they offer a 1x8 mtb looking bike that will be fine. But, like the giant suggested above it uses a freewheel, a very outdated technology that doesn't hold up well under anyone when it comes to actual MTBing.
https://www.bikesonline.com/2021-pol...h-mountain-bik
and
https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...tain-bikes.htm
are probably going to be your most affordable, somewhat decent, trail usable MTBs. Sadly, the rest aren't joking when they say you have to go higher to get really trail worthy. Better could be made at this price point but these companies recognize that to the average consumer, more is better. So instead of a double or really much cheaper to make, a single, they're still doing triples to have high gear numbers and lousier rear wheels.

Darth Lefty 

17yo is half the problem here. $1500 is a good price for a good durable hard tail bike right now, and that's the other half of the problem. If he's done growing upward, size is sorted, but you really have no idea if this is something that is going to stick or if he is going to leave it in your garage the next five years while he's off at college. He is probably beyond your reach with getting him to start hobbies to do with you. He probably already has hobbies (or girlfriends) this expensive that he wants to pursue. I wouldn't spend that on a kid about to fledge unless I knew he wanted to do it and he was going to stick with it.

Herzlos

Decent is relative, and that's the cheapest* MTB from Giant, it uses named parts that may not be up to the standards of bikes much more expensive, but it should be better put together and supported than BD or Walmart.

This is all about picking the best of a bad bunch.

*There's actually a cheaper one, with rim brakes but it's only like $30 less.

Darth Lefty 

Just for reference, a 1968 Schwinn Stingray would be like $700 in today-money. 5 speed and forty pounds

Clyde1820

Uncertain his size and what size of bike might work.

North of Longview (TX), somewhat near you, there's a 21-inch lugged chromoly steel Trek 850 MTB -- https://easttexas.craigslist.org/bik...410529414.html

In Dallas (TX), here's an 18.5-inch 1987 Peugeot Canyon Express -- https://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/bi...388158261.html

Bikes of this type and vintage (roughly mid-1980s through early 1990s) tended to be made rather well. Trek. Gary Fisher. Bianchi. Univega. Miyata. A couple of the Peugeot models (mid-1980s). Some others. If well-maintained, occasionally you can find one for "a song" on CraigsList or the Facebook classifieds. If patient and you keep an eye out, likely within a couple of months you could find a screaming deal within a couple hours' drive from you. So long as not bent or dented, it might well only need a few hours' of maintenance (ie, repack of the bearings, possibly new cabling, possibly new tires). Might be worth it, if facing long wait times at bike shops, lack of inventory, high prices, and "big box quality" if seeking lower-priced examples.

In the Dallas+100mi range, CraigsList has a few promising examples: https://dallas.craigslist.org/search...e_wheel_size=9

4evrplan

Almost my size exactly (but a lot thinner XD), 5'7", inseam ~30".

jahaul25

Dusting off this thread.

Hoping you already found something, but I have a 2009 x7 that's still in great shape and regularly maintained that got me started. There are also a ton of MTB groups in Dallas/Fort Worth posting decent bikes for $3-400 on a regular basis.