Buying a new mountain bike

You did not really say what kind of biking you do.....are a more of a crosscountry kind of guy or a DH kind of guy? I am strictly a DH rider (God invented pickups and chairlifts so we don't have to ride uphill) so I really only know DH bikes but I ride a Specialized Demo 8 and absolutely love it; it's fast, bombproof, smooth and make me look like a hero. I have tried Santcruz, Brodie, Kona, Norco but find that Specialized fits me and my riding style like brown shoes on the Sperminator. A bike that like is going to set you back about $5000-$65000 though so you gotta be sure. Your best bet would be to head to Whistler for a w/end and test ride a few different ones, just like you would with a pair of skies before you dropped big coin. The top end bikes are kind of like choosing between a lexus, infinity or acura in that it's all personal preference as they are all pretty damn comparable.

Whatever you choose, welcome to the club.......it's one of the best sports in the world.

Now if I could only find a true DH riding SP for my trips to Whistler, the world would be perfect.

Ride on.

they most likely work on commission im told its slow out there

you could try some pawn shops.
i picked up a sweet davinci dam near never been rode,
for a steal.

but im a roadi to be honest, only take the mountain bike out when im at the cabin and running through the trees.
i road to banff from calgary just for the hell of it last week, not that difficult of a ride to be honest with you.
a buddy is riding across canada giving himself six weeks,
something i would like to do one day.

CL has lots of good quality bikes for up to half the price of stores!Most people by them on a whim,ride a few times and all she wrote! Just know your frame size for your height & hit CL!

Don't think that DH is the only mountain biking out there...yes its fun and yes shuttling/lifts take the pain out of the up...but you know what..a large percentage of hoe dads can rent a bike at Whistler..pay for a lift...flog their way down A-line...and guess what end up in emergency with a ruptured spleen or worse...to be honest true free-ride skills takes years to develop and dudes are fooling themselves if they think a lift takes all the hard out of it. think about it..if you were a mediocre skier would you drop into the back bowl of whistler on bulletproof ice down some 45 degree double black coulior? I don't think so. so for all the hype DH should be reserved for these who actually have some bike skills or who wish to support the burgeoning bike repair industry. For the rest of us mortals there is no shame in cross country biking and you in fact earn your turns as as it were with respect to getting to the top of a trail and whipping back down. i would be surprised if you can find a quality bike for under $1000 and expect to pay a lot more for a bike that will actually make it fun and serve you over the years. spending a bit more up front will actually save you more in the long run as that $500 dollar Canadian Tire piece of crap will fall apart shortly after it leaves the parking lot and will be a bitch to pedal up hill. Go to www.pinkbike.ca if you want quality used real mountain bikes. If you want new, companies like Giant, Specialized and Trek make so much swag they keep the prices down. spend some time at your local bike shop and I am sure you wont be disappointed. Who rides Rocky anymore?