You'll probably get a ton of differing opinions about wheel size (27.5 v. 29) and hardtail v. full suspension, but the short answer is buy a bike with disc brakes in your budget and go hit the trails and have fun. I'm in a similar boat as you age-wise and I live about an hour from the nearest trails so I don't get out as much as I'd like. I bought a used 29er hardtail about 2 years ago from Craigslist for $500 to see if I'd get back into mountain biking and rode enough to know I wanted to upgrade my ride. Last month, a bought a used rental bike from my local shop, a 2016 Giant Trance 3, for $1100 (+$40 to change it to a 1x system). It's a full suspension 27.5 bike and I added a dropper seatpost for another $300. I live in Florida and just got back from a trip riding in Brevard, NC. The bike is certainly not the limiting factor as it handled everything very well. My advice would be to buy something used from Craigslist or a local shop, or maybe something cheap from BikesDirect and see how often you use it. Once you get back into it, then you can demo different bikes and see if you want to spend some serious $$$ on a new bike. I know in a couple of years, I'm going to buy a really nice full suspension, carbon dream bike, but I simply didn't want to invest that kind of money until I knew how much use I would get out of my bike.

If you are looking to buy a brand new MTB, a hard tail will always be the easiest to get the most for your dollar plus they are lighter. I have a Trek Fuel full suspension and love it since most of my trails are a bit rooty and can give you a good thrashing at higher speeds but I could easily ride a hard tail in that trail as well (just happened to get a good deal on the FS). I wouldn't worry too much about wheel size, but 29" wheels will give you the easiest route to buy a used upgrade set and are the "norm" currently for most trails. I have 27.5" wheels and don't notice too much difference between them and 29" and going up to them from 26" will make them feel faster to you as well. The good news is that a new hard tail MTB will be a huge update from your current ride and the weight reduction plus disc brakes should make it easy for you to enjoy hitting the trails hard. Winter is the season to be in the woods.

I would suggest going to a few shops in your area just to get an idea of prices etc.. now is a good time to buy as usually shops are blowing out their left over 2016's so if you can find one in your size you can get a good deal.
I would also suggest getting a Hard Tail, a cheap Full Suspension will just be junk, get a decent HT, ride it for a year and if you find that you are really digging MTB again, then you can have a better idea if you want a FS.
All things being equal I'd suggest a 29er but don't stress it to much, if you find a bike that you like and it's a 27.5 then go for it.

---

----------------------------
http://www.instagram.com/cyclewise

How tall are you? If you're on the shorter side a 29er will feel huge and you might have trouble getting the cockpit right. I have a couple friends that can't get low enough in the front.
I have a Scalpel and a Habit SE. The Scalpel is a 29er 4'' travel race bike and the Habit is a 27.5 5'' travel play bike. The Scalpel is fast as hell and light, but I find myself spending my time on the Habit.

I have a £500 (~$700 at the time) MTB bought a few years ago, hard-tail with disc brakes and SRAM components. It's an in-house brand from a national chain that sells bikes as well as car tools, accessories, etc. I assume the frame is a generic Chinese one, but actually it's got quite a nice finish to it with smoothed welds, nice paint job, etc. I've found it great. Not ridiculously heavy for the price, components are good enough to be pretty reliable, it stops a hell of a lot better than my old Kona Kula with Deore XT rim brakes, and it's enough bike to have handled a 100 mile off-road day with 12,000 feet of feet of elevation and some pretty broken up surfaces with no problems. I wouldn't use it for doing big jumps, drop offs, etc, but then I'm not into that kind of riding anyway.

So yes, from what you've said about your riding I'd have thought you could get something decent for not a lot of money. Might be worth paying a little more for a 29er if you're tall enough to handle it. Full suspension in my view adds a lot of money to get decent quality, and if you don't get decent quality then it adds a lot of weight. Great if you're going off-road a lot and/or doing some more extreme riding, but if you just want to go out and hit some trails occasionally it's a nice to have, not a necessity.

You are big enough to be on a 29er or a 27.5

I would be looking at a Hard Tail in 10 or 11 speed. Don't you live near Tri-Tech? What brands does he offer?

jaretj

Make no choices until you demo a bike on trails that you intended to ride.
Most shops will deduct Demo / Rental prices.

Some shops and manufactures have free demo days. Look for some in your area.
For example:
http://www.yeticycles.com/demo

---

I talk a lot - Give it a listen: http://www.fasttalklabs.com/category/fast-talk
I also give Training Advice via http://www.ForeverEndurance.com

The above poster has eschewed traditional employment and is currently undertaking the ill-conceived task of launching his own hardgoods company. Statements are not made on behalf of nor reflective of anything in any manner... unless they're good, then they count.
http://www.AGNCYINNOVATION.com

they are up to 12 speeds...

Lots of good advice in here, if you can find a used giant anthem you can get a good deal and I have a couple friends that really like theirs. I ride a hardtail, chinese frame and built it up to 21lbs (including pedals and cages and alu wheels) for $1,500.

---

Pactimo brand ambassador, ask me about promo codes

My thoughts here:
1. Modern budget mountain bikes are significantly better than older bikes. This isn't necessarily true in road bikes but the technology in mountain bikes has advanced rapidly over the past 20 years, particularly in tires and suspension.
2. BikesDirect is a bit hit and miss. I own several of their bikes and I will say that their frame quality is generally surprisingly high. However you have to know exactly what you're looking at when you're looking at BD. In general, BD works great if you know exactly what size you want and you study the spec sheet thoroughly. If you're really careful, they offer some models that are genuine steals. If not, a bike from a shop is a better idea even if it's significantly more expensive.
3. In my opinion, 29ers are too much unless you're over 6'. I think 27.5" wheels are the best current option. This is just my preference though, hardly "fact". Good luck finding a 26er these days.
4. Plus bikes (basically 3" + tires) can be an interesting option. I'm a believer in the additional grip and float they provide.
5. I agree an aluminum hardtail is the best option if you're staying budget.
6. Learn about tubeless tires. Tubeless is great for mountain bikes.
7. Modern pinned flat pedals are great. I would try them before trying a clipless option. The VP Vice pedal is great and inexpensive.
8. I much prefer hydraulic disc brakes to mechanical disc brakes. They're worth the slight extra expense. Hydros offer much better modulation and they self center.
9. Thru axles are a basic requirement for me. They make it easier to remount wheels with disc brakes, are much stronger and stiffen up the frame and fork.
10. Avoid press fit bottom brackets. They are of the devil.

Something cheap: yes, for sure.

Budget: Personally, I wouldn't ride anything under maybe $2K SLX level components are where I'd be shopping.

Wheels: Depends on personal preference, height to some degree, and the type of riding you do. Generally 29 is more stable, faster and smoother, but doesn't handle as quick. 27.5 is quicker turning, and some say more 'playful' feeling. You really need to try them both and see which you prefer. I am nearly all in on 29 myself. In the Pacific NW for example, the prevalence of steep 'all mountain' riding has 27.5 FS bikes as more of the norm than 29" XC bikes. In Bend OR on the other hand, 29" XC is all you need.

FS: Nobody *needs* it. It is nice to have if your trails are rough. It adds weight, complexity, and cost. A rough guess is that you could spend $1K less on a hardtail over a comparable FS. I would not buy a generic FS bike, only a known, quality suspension design (which for me would be VPP, DW link, or Horst link).

Mountain bike geometry and tech have changed rapidly the past few years with long top tubes and short stems, tubeless, wide rims, 1 x drivetrains, new wheel sizes, and efficient suspension. Hit some demo days and try as many as you can before buying.

This is really the best advice. It's very difficult to offer good advice over the internet because MTB trails very greatly depending on where you're at. For example, where I live currently, a hard tail will not be fun at all. Most people ride trail bikes with 140-160mm of suspension here. I've definitely ridden places where a hard tail would be ideal as well.

Ask locals what kinds of bikes they ride.