Newbie Help!

Hey Martini, welcome! The easiest answer for you given your budget is to buy used. local craigslist ads may be your best bet. we have a buy and sell forum as do other sites, but you'll have to deal w/ shipping/receiving the bike.

i'm not sure what the terrain is like there, but if you're not looking at a dirt-jump-specific hardtail, what's categorized as a "trail" bike will probably let you have the most fun. this kind of bike will have basically 4.5-5.5 inches of suspension travel front and rear and will have a geometry that let's you climb and descend well. at your budget, i would try to find something that has 27.5-inch wheels or 29-inch wheels, especially given your height. a 1x drivetrain (that means no front derailleur/gears...only gears out back) would be best, too, but you may not find it in your budget. you can probably find some fun 26-inch-wheeled bargains, but they'll be harder to find replacement parts for.

at your price range and size (you'll need an XL-sized bike it seems) and if you're buying used, you probably won't be able to be too picky about build and parts. if you see a bike that catches your eye, go check it out and trust your instinct. you can even send a link here for vital users to check out.

if you can save up to hit the $2000-2500 range, you'll be able to find a lot of nice used bikes or even get into some new bikes that should end up lasting longer than something older and cheaper.

hope that helps

if that's your goal, a hardtail would suffice. there are big differences between dirt jump hardtails and trail hardtails though. mostly with geometry but also gearing and set-up. for $900, you should be able to find something to get your feet wet. again, at that price though, the difference you'll find between brands and parts is pretty negligible and used is still your best bet for overall value.

the norco fluid or kona shred sled at the link below both look pretty fun for the price. they have pretty modern, fun trail bike geometry (slacker headtube and longer top tube) that would jump better than a "cross country" hardtail which has a steeper head angle.

not sure what dealers you have in your area, but search around
http://www.vitalmtb.com/product/category/Bikes,3/riding_type/all_mounta…