In my limited experience I've found a bike is the sum (and combination) of its components. The better components on a bike makes a difference, often a helluva difference.
But just my opinion.....before any MAMILs start growling and bearing their teeth.
Absolutely, used is a valid choice however it's usually the second bike you get, especially wanting to step up to a dual-suspension bike to buy that secondhand. There's lots of deals about on various facebook trading pages and the like.
The other thing to consider is the unknown life of the bike. Just because it has been serviced doesn't mean it has not had a hard life. Bikes can be abused and have a replacement component added - like a fork - and there's plenty of damage that goes unnoticed around the head tube or chain stay/seat tube.. The reason that a $450-$600 hardtail is the most recommended 'first' bike is that you get something of a known quantity with some better components which will take more of a beating.
Wandered down to the local (Mitchell) bike store and looked at:
Avanti Black Thunder @ $485 (my son's preference)
Avanti Montari @ $599
Avanti's are decent bikes, don't get me wrong. The frames are excellent. There's two issues with these ones - 24 speed, and only a 75mm travel fork on the Thunder.
You are missing an extra cog on the rear cassette, which will be a larger size thus a lower (easier) gear. This will make hills much more pleasant. If he does decide to go off-road then you will wish you had the extra low gear. As such, 27 speed is better and some bikes are now going 30 speed, or with an extra 'wide' range of cogs, dropping down to 2x10 of even 1x10. These components cost significantly more, so I suggest a standard 27-speed.
The Montari has got the Hydraulic discs and a 100mm travel fork. It's a reasonable step up but the components on the bike are generally inferior to the Polygon Xtrada 5.0 at the same price, and I would want 27 speeds at that price.
then to Onyabike at Belco and checked out:
Giant ATX @ $549
Roam 3 @ $599
The ATX is fighting a similar battle to the Montari but you only get Mechanical (cable pull) disc brakes. Again, you have bottom level components across the board yet it's $100 more than the Cell (assuming $30 is delivery) and that has M355 Hydraulic brakes and every component on it is higher than the Giant. The crankset gearing (IE pedals, cranks & chainrings) is quite high.
While the Cell is also only a 24 speed - which is the one downside against the rest of the stellar list of components at the money - their crankset is geared lower so you won't struggle as hard up the hills. The Avanti is geared like the Cell, but the Giant is too highly geared.
The Roam 3 is a more "bike path with the odd dirt track, but not MTB trail" level bike. Will ride really nicely on the paths & roads, and if you need to take a dirt track you will be okay. The lack of disc brakes at all is a deal breaker for me, and I don't understand the pricing though as it seems high to me for what you get.
Bikes are SOOOOO different from when last I rode one. So easy to change gears, easy to ride, comfortable, just so different. Hard to compare as I think any would be fine really. I do get the difference in the number of gears, but wonder if 24 is that different to 24, and the lockout on the suspension, but again wonder about the importance, but the only clear difference that I can tell is the brakes, although again in the dry they all pulled up pretty quickly!
It's amazing how far bikes have come in the last few years alone. The major difference will be the larger 27.5" wheels which roll better, the 29'er bikes are even better in that regard as they roll over bumps easier but you lose some 'handling' ability off-road. Most bikes are now Alloy framed or Carbon fibre, unlike the old Steel frames which were heavy and not as rigid.
Gearing needs to be considered as a whole. 24 speed is ok, if the gearing is correct. Unfortunately the Giant ATX crankset is too high at 28-38-48T, but the others are 22-32-42T. The Roam 3 (roads/ paths) is fine at that level, but you have lesser inclines mostly. The extra gear in a 27-speed starts to combat this.
As for the brakes, the discs are far superior to anything else. If they get wet, they heat up and dry quickly upon application and start stopping you. The 'rim' brakes simply do not, and they are more likely to get wet in any case. The only difference between the Mechanical (cable pull) Discs and the Hydraulic Discs is the smooth 'feel' of them and the ability to modulate the lever. When I took Ms Monsta to the bike shop, she instantly went to the Hydraulic discs based on the feel of them alone. Her comment was that it felt similar to car brakes and that gave her some confidence and security. And to be honest, they are the exact same principles as car brakes.
I might wander along to Pushy's but am not convinced I will know or tell the difference between RockShox and Suntour, or Deore and Acera!
Thanks all for your help so far. I'm tempted to go with the Cell personally, just based on the recommendation here, although you watch me stuff up the assembly somehow, but it might be hard to shake my son from the Black Thunder. Specs mean little to him, he just liked it better for some reason than the others we tried!
You don't need to know the difference, that is what we are here for. I think the Cell will do you just fine, although I can understand the Black Thunder having a hold over your son. The downtube is way cool, and the graphics are actually really nice. But explain to him the fork is the cheapest that Suntour make and is much less capable, plus he could have proper disc brakes on the Cell. But he is 14 so he wants the coolest looking one, I get that. Once he rides yours instead he will understand how much nicer it is to ride, which is a good life lesson.
Once you get them and have a bit of experience under your belt, I will have to schedule a Canberra trip and show you some of the more beginner-level trails. Most of them are just tracks in the bush, good fun to ride. Plenty on Youtube, just search 'Stromlo MTB' or 'Majura Trails'. Some are a bit more gnarly but there's some nice gentle circuits.