I am looking for a mountain bike. I haven‘t ridden a bike in years. My fiance and I will be riding occasionally on trails in parks, etc at a great distance. My fiance is 6‘ 1‘ and has a Trek 3 which is 5 years old. He bought it used for $300.00 and it has full suspension which he says is great for cushion when you hit a bump. I am 5‘ 1 and need a small framed bike. I went to a local family owned bike shop and they recommended the 2009 Giant Boulder SE in a XS/S frame with front suspension. The salesman said that mountain bikers prefer the front suspension and have more control when they hit a bump as opposed to a full suspension. The 2009 went for $380.00 What is your opinion on front and full suspension. Would the Giant be a good deal or should I go with a Trek? Should I look and try and buy a used Trek with full suspension?
The irony here is the Trek bikes you would be looking at are made by Giant, Trek only makes their hi-end carbon fiber bikes. Now not knowing what great distance means, i believe what the salesman was trying to say in a kind way is most people do not need a full suspension bike. For most casual riders a hard tail is more in their price range and will get better spec'd components for the same amount of money. Unless you plan on riding very rough way off the beaten path trials a hard tail will be the better choice. One small note unless you buy a full suspension bike in the $1500+ price range you will find you will be using more energy as these bikes will not have any suspension lock-out systems. EDIT: If the trails are the wide jeep type trails then the bike will do fine, I am assuming you are doing a scenic ride and taking pictures along the way. While 108 miles is a long ride it's not that bad at a casual pace.
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