... I started riding regularly about 6 years ago. I asked for a TREK 4300 Hardtail ( no rear suspension ) mountain bike for my birthday figuring to use it to provide variation in my cardio...which I did. I didn't do much off-roading with it preferring to stay on flat surfaces for good continuous cardio. Nice to have the versatility though...it isn't a hybrid so it's pretty heavy, which means 45 minutes to an hour of hard riding on that thing is a great fat burner. The 4300 is still affordable - $300.00 or so dollars - but has really been a great fitness/camping/ goofing around bike for me. There are alot of great bikes out there though...check Specialized, Gary Fischer, Giant etc...but I can personally only vouch for the Trek. I did kind of get the cycling bug from the 4300 which caused me to go out and buy a pretty good Trek road bike - which is my primary ride now........but I am never getting rid of the 4300.
Go down to a local bike dealer and check them out...
