Mountain bikers, I need some advice!

I know a lot of people think 29ers are the only way to go, but so was beta max (I'm showing my age!).

The biggest benefit of a 29er is if you are in an area with a lot of babyheads (rocks the size fo a baby's head), then the 29er makes it easier to ride over them.

Your LBS should be a good resource to determine if you need a full suspension bike for your area or if a hardtail will work.  From how you like to ride, you'll want a cross country bike.

$1,500 should get you a fairly decent bike.

I just got a new mtn bike and I really suggest demoing!  My LBS set me up with a lot of demos to find the bike I ended up getting. 

I'm 5'6" and demoed both 26 and 29ers.  I ended up getting a Santa Cruz Superlight 29.  That said where I live the trails are full of rocks and it really rolls over them well.  If you're thinking of doing Xterras the 29ers can really get moving.  There are a bunch of bikes now with the 650 sized tires too - I didn't try any of them though.  This is my first full suspension bike with disc brakes and it is so nice! 

I am having so much fun riding out on the trails- but I just started tris with a new year's resolution to do an Xterra- so I was already leaning that way.

29'ers do get you better movement over baby heads, roots, etc, but at the slight cost of responsiveness.

As a converted mountain biker, I would say that the biggest difference between MTBing and road riding is the interval-ness; many more spikes in effort compared to road biking.

But this depends on your terrain; I've mostly ridden the woods of eastern PA, so a lot of hills, roots, trees, etc to cover.  A lot of small hills to climb/dive down.  Desert riding could be a lot different.

There is a lot more going on skill-wise; learning how to get over obstacles, hopping over logs, "bouldering" are all skills to learn.

For choice of bike, it seems like there are a lot more different options than for roadies; 29er, full suspension, hard tail (which normally means front fork suspension, conventional rear triangle/no suspension)

Then they have downhill, cross country, race, etc style bikes.  I would try to find an LBS that has a lot of mountain bikes.

And get ready to show off your wounds!  Falling is much more common when mountain biking.  Fortunately it's almost always at a really low speed, so it's just bumps and scrapes.

If you're going to go full suspension, I would go used. (quite literally-I'm getting ready to buy a 2007 stumpjumper FSR that's been ridden 5 times for a fraction of the price new!)

I also have a 29er Specialized carve Hardtail that I really like! before that bike I was riding a 26 inch wheel bike and the 29er is a lot faster and gets through obstacle much easier. I feel much more comfortable having more bike under me, which gives me a lot more confidence on the trails which in turns makes me ride even faster.

At that price point, you can find a decent bike-used or new. I would recommend checking out a LBS and seeing what they recommend and test ride some bikes. Fit doesn't seem to be quite as critical on a MTB as a road or tri bike, but you definately want to be in the right ballpark.

XC bikes are easier as sizes are usually S, M, L, XL and then you change seat height and stem to fit you.

I would recommend a ahrdtail for best bang for buck, however as someone mentioned if you get into the $2k range you can get a nice bike like this new

http://www.coloradocyclist.com/product/item/SNAAKNLY

I would not get caught up in the 29'er rage either. It works for some and not for others and it has pro's and con's like anything. If you have lots of wide open fire roads then yes. Tight twisty singletrack you lose some agility due to bigger wheel but roll bumps better.

Just so you understand a fast mountain biker is cruising around 15mph for most techincal trails. You will fall but it is mostly bumps and scrapes and rarrely anything bad for anyone although it happens. Just remember if you dont fall you arent trying hard enough!

lastly, its a blast!

In addition to my re-copied post (below)..

You'll need to define what you want to do with your MTB riding. Such as do you plan on racing XTERRA, or are you just out for something new and fun ? What type of riding is close to you ? Most likely you will choose a trail bike or cross country.

The components are important to mull over so that you get a good quality shock, brakes, and drivetrain. Frame quality is important due to the abuse it takes. I've beaten the crap out of my Specialized Epic and it still is fine. Also important to get the proper frame fit. Too small, it will feel pitchy and cramped, too large it will feel like you are driving a truck.

I also enjoy wrenching my own bikes. Don't worry, most MTB stuff is fairly straight forward to work on. You will have to educate yourself on the unfamiliar componentry, such as hydraulic brakes, and shocks. But some of the maintenance is best done by the LBS (such as rebuilding a shock).

pasting in my reply for a similar post :

mountain bikes that are good for what you are looking for are either "x-country" or "trail".

then there is "all mountain".  

for Xterra races you would be better suited for the first 2 catagories.

there is also Full Suspension or Hard Tail (no rear suspension) to consider. Some people love Hard Tails for racing because it is a faster climb and less weight.

Lots of people are riding the 29ers now in races, but if you like the 26 (typical) size wheel go for it. 29ers are good for rolling over stuff better than 26ers..but they tend to have a larger wheelbase and tight cornering is more difficult. Also the 29er will feel more difficult to accelerate fast on hills, because the wheel is quite a bit bigger to get going.

Typical travel on the 29ers tends to be less than the 26ers...around 100mm to 120mm.   Travel is nice when you have to negotiate rough terrain and steeper downhill descents..however the shock can put a lot of weight on the bike, so you have to think about the race weight too.

make sure you get the right frame size, as this makes a big difference how the bike will handle in certain situations. a frame too small will feel nimble but may feel uncomfortable for longer rides. a frame too big will lay you out too much and make handling difficult.

Spend some decent money on the bike, you don't have to go nuts, but if you get junk it will not last. Specialized makes a solid MTB. I'm really happy with mine.

Trek, Niner, Ibis, Scott, Ellsworth, Kona, Jamis, Specialized are examples of quality manufacturers to check out.

Given your budget: 29er hardtail single speed. 

I'd look at Felt, but I'm not sure on their cost.  I've owned a specialized Epic every year they've come out.  I put the Epic through 10-15 mountain biker races a year and pound the crap out of it.  Other than the 2007-2009 S-Works (junk), the current bike (2012) has taken it like a charm.

It's difficult to find 26ers now and even harder to find 9-speed.  People will make claims at how a 29er or 10-speed is so much faster, yada yada yada.  I've been people with my 26er 9-speed and now that i"m on a 29er, I've had 26er 9-speed beat me. 

There are some trails where I miss my 26er.  The acceleration and climbing squash a 29er. But most of my trails feed the momentum a 29er provides and a 29er does handle sand better.  In Michigan, it's all sand. 

The 9speed vs. 10speed. is just ridiculous.  One can get the same gear combo with either set-up.  I have 10-speed because that was the only option when I bought my bike.  It's not a game changer.  Now SRAM is releasing prototype photos of 11-speed.  Ugh.

I did a lot of MTBing about 16 years ago.

I rode a hardtail with a suspension fork and hydraulic rim brakes. My passion was top-speed downhill through the woods and down ski-tracks in the summer.

It was brutal and probably extremely dangerous.

But my point beeing:

A hardtail will totally sufficient for your intent.

Good brakes are the most important thing IMO so I would look for HYDRAULIC disc brakes.

You may want to get  a suspension fork with a lock out function, but not necessary

Clipless pedals are the only way to go for two reasons (they give you more room in cornering as they are narrower than normal pedals; slipping of a wet muddy pedal is very dangerous)

26" is easier to handle in terms of on the truck/ off the truck

Oh and Brand-wise: I love Specialized and Cannondale, the later with the lefty fork just looks awesome

Wow. That's hardcore MTB'ing right there

You want 26" wheels... for the same reason you have 650s... you are small. 29er are just the latest fad... they been around for about 10 years, but only recently took off.... that is because bikes have become more down hill orientated and everyone thinks they need 6" of travel to get down a hard packed smooth trail. 29er adds a lot of weight where you do not want it. 26" is not out dated.

Since you do not want to bomb down hill at 40 mph, you don't need full suspension. All it does is add weight and cost more money. Your legs are great shock absorbers. A hard tail will take you very far. If you are going to be racing any x-terra they use a lot of fire roads. Full suspension will cost you in weight if you are not going to be getting the advantage of fast decents.

For $1500 you will get a very nice hard tail 26" that will be nice and light for you and very manouverable. Get hydro disc brakes. V-brakes have around the same power, but fade, wear, don't work in wet, and are very annoying if your rim is not true. Splerge on a good set if it is a choice. Pretty much all bikes in the same price range will have the same group of components, same forks, and same build quality. It really just comes down to fit and if one has one thing you want over the other. They are all going to be close.

Don't get me wrong, you will most definitely go down hill faster on a full suspension bike, and 29ers have advantages some want... it just sounds like for what you want a nice light hard tail cross country bike will take you every where you want to go.... plus, if you are new to MTBing... a hard tail will teach you much more about bike handling than riding sloppy like full suspension allows you to do. I have two full suspension bikes, it's not a knock, just saying.