I have had to hang up my running shoes due to my knees giving me issues and I am going to give mountain biking a go. I have no idea on how to select my first bike. I don't want to take the cheapest bike around, but also don't want to break the bank. What retailers are good to deal with? Any advice will be appreciated.

What part of the country are you in rural?

We stay in Pokeno, but still work in Auckland at this stage.

rural rider wrote:I I have no idea on how to select my first bike.

It depends a lot on your background as to what you buy.... as in what sort of MTB'ing you want to do?
Some people would say $2k is expensive where as others would say $4k is cheap

You really need to give us more clues.....

But at a guess "starting out" maybe a Hard Tail 27.5 or 29'r with hydraulic disc brakes and maybe an air fork,
I wouldn't get to hung up on brand or componentry,
but for starters just walk into few local shops have a yak and buy something off the friendly guys, the shop that give you the best vibe

but be careful if you already have bad knees a badly set up bike wont help them

Hopefully someone on here can recommend a good shop. My advice would be to find a good shop, and go talk to the people there. They should be able to ask you the right questions, and get you on the bike that would be best for you. Good luck!

This was me a couple of years ago, so i'll throw in my 2c worth.. Start out on Hardtail,maybe a 29er around the $1000-1200 mark. It'll have decent enough components on it. You'll learn more technique as a opposed to a Full Suspension. Ride the crap out of it for a year,don't do too many upgrades. By then you'll know if you're hooked enough and then it's time to start looking for a better bike. You have to figure in the cost of gear also.
Clothing,shoes,pack etc add up real quick !

not recommending kona spacificly (just the easiest example to find) if you look at these two bikes they are simular spec but for different style of riding both in 29er.
[url]
http://www.konaworld.com/kahuna_dl.cfm[/url]

or
[url]
http://www.konaworld.com/honzo.cfm[/url]

or similar to the 2nd in 27.5http://www.konaworld.com/explosif.cfm

of these for a first bike I would recommend something like the explosif as it would be more fun, but if you want pure cross country and riding rail trails then go for the kahuna

Funny enough a Kahuna was my first bike. I'd well recommend one. Never gave me any issues.

I had a Kahuna for a while too. Nice bike, but certainly not the only thing out there.

Hit up a local bike shop and ask to spend about $1000 for something decent.

Thanks for the advice. I will probably go visit a few bike shops tomorrow.

Agree with above, budget for between $1000-$1500 and really look at getting a hardtail (it's the best pick for a lot of Auckland trails anyway - especially what you'll ride as a beginner-intermediate rider), I've been on quite a few rides with less experienced riders recently (on full suspension bikes) and they were riding well outside their skill level due to the bike (and getting themselves into some really hairy spots). You want solid handling skills before picking up a FS imo.

Visit Planet Cycles in Mt Eden everybody in there is passionate about bikes and will give sound advice. Giants are pretty good bang for buck like the Kona's

beater32 wrote:This was me a couple of years ago, so i'll throw in my 2c worth.. Start out on Hardtail,maybe a 29er around the $1000-1200 mark. It'll have decent enough components on it. You'll learn more technique as a opposed to a Full Suspension. Ride the crap out of it for a year,don't do too many upgrades. By then you'll know if you're hooked enough and then it's time to start looking for a better bike. You have to figure in the cost of gear also.
Clothing,shoes,pack etc add up real quick !

after 30 years i reckon the above is EXCELLENT ADVICE