Cycling is my weakness. My coach suggested I get on a mountain bike this winter to have some fun while building fitness and improving my bike handling. I'm a road bike nerd, but am completely perplexed by the variety of MTB offerings... XC, all trail, freestyle, fat tire, etc. The internet is awash in debates about geometry, let alone tire size, tire thickness, ideal amount of suspension travel, trigger vs grip shifter, etc. It's really not clear to me what the heck I need. I was looking at Canyon Lux (XC) and Canyon Spectral (All Trail) and was thinking of spending in the $2-3K range for something decent.
In terms of what I'd likely do on the MTB -- I live in San Francisco. I don't intend to take bike up chairlifts in Tahoe anytime soon -- more just bombing up/down fireroads, having fun in the woods, etc. Nothing too technical. I'm leaning toward full suspension, simply because it would seem to open more options. I don't expect to MTB race, but you never know.... perhaps I'll enjoy and do Leadville 100 in a few years time...
In terms of what I'd likely do on the MTB -- I live in San Francisco. I don't intend to take bike up chairlifts in Tahoe anytime soon -- more just bombing up/down fireroads, having fun in the woods, etc. Nothing too technical. I'm leaning toward full suspension, simply because it would seem to open more options. I don't expect to MTB race, but you never know.... perhaps I'll enjoy and do Leadville 100 in a few years time...