About bicycles

[n00bl3t]

I pretty much agree with everything Dragon Rider said. Shimano Deore is near impossible to beat for price:performance ratio for a good quality component.

There was a guy a few years back in Australia or NZ that ended up becoming paralyzed because his SR Suntour failed at the wrong moment. Like, if you want to cheap out somewhere, do not cheap out on the fork.

Also, I disagree about hydraulic disc brakes slightly. Avid BB7 mechanical disk brakes will stop you with very similar performance to Shimano Deore Hydraulics. No bleeding (and other messy hydraulic nonsense) required and slightly cheaper. Personally I'd go the hydraulic for better modulation and ongoing performance.

The only problem with RockShox is weight. It's not as buttery smooth as something like Fox or the higher-end Marzocchis, but it will do an excellent job. Just be sure not to screw up your frame geometry by buying something ridiculously large.

I can't recommend used bikes enough. There are some absolute bargains to be had there. If I had to do it again I'd buy a used solid frame with crap components and upgrade the components from CRC.

I completely forgot about Avid. But I haven't had the chance to test them out so I can't say anything.

I only mentioned SR Suntour and RockShock because better forks like Fox are expensive, as far as I know. And our friend is on a budget here.

Avid hydraulics (Juicy, Elixir, etc) are cheap and are squeal kings but they do work - with a few reported leaks. Avid mechanicals like the BB5 and BB7 do a great job for their price. I've used both. Also, stay away from Hayes Hydraulics if you can - every single one I've interacted with over years of cycling has leaked and had vacuum issues.

Fox is way too expensive but I thought I'd explain more about how RockShox is the Deore of the suspension world.