I wanted an upgraded bike to replace my $100 full suspension MB walmart special that had lasted 20 years. This bike looks solid, feels solid, has full suspension and has the mechanical disk brakes which give the power of the disk brake without the hassle of dealing with fluid. The frame is 19″ better for normal size males, and the 27.5″ tires are the perfect balance between the 26″ and 29″. The shifters are difficult to calibrate as are the brakes if you haven’t done it before but there are some great videos on Youtube, such as Park Tool (although had to browse some other videos as well because apparently even the experts are not so expert; but then again most rocket scientist’s don’t repair bikes for a living). If you like learning about how your bike works and have a spare day or 2 to get going, definitely do it yourself. Great bike overall, love it so far, rides like a dream. Front shift is the trickiest to get right, but the Shimano is apparently one of the trickiest ones to calibrate. Brakes calibrated without instruction. BTW, no instructions on how to assemble are included, which was disappointing, so you will have to dig for them. Also, it looks like this same bike is available on BikesDirect at a cheaper price but they didn’t have the color I wanted and also didn’t have the faster prime delivery.