Trail bike advice

Akerno

I am plannig on buying my first proper mountain bike, and was looking for some advice on some of what I've found.

On bikesdirect, I found this http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/gra ... er-mtb.htm for $1 200, which is the absolute max I could spend on a bike. I also found this http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/fuj ... -bikes.htm for $1 000, and I was wondering if the Gravity was worth $200 more with its specs.

Alternatively, if anyone knows of anywhere else to get a similar or better bike for the same price range, I'd be glad to look at that too.

The type of riding I did on a $200 dollar bike (which I broke, hence the need for a new one) was mainly going down rock gardens, big roots, very small jumps and drops, then pedaling back up to plan for the next run. I hope this gives some idea of what I plan to use it for.

Also, on the parts side, I saw some bikes for much cheaper with Elixir's on, are they as unreliable as I read and I should stay clear of them, or is it mainly a problem if you overuse them?

Thanks for anyone who helps with this!

thelonegroover

Hi, don't get too bogged down with detail specs and specific brakes. If you're riding down rock gardens and roots with small jumps, you may want to consider a second hand trail bike, like a Giant Trance or Trek Remedy, these have slacker head angles which will make going down much easier.