hi Farly, i was in exactly the same position a a few years ago and feel your pain. what worked for me is taking a small step before jumping in, ill list my experiences and if they were good or bad and you can take form it what you like and what works fr you, if nothing does then thats also cool as i say this was my experience.i think i should point out that all my bikes have been 26" and have no hate as such for other wheel sizes but money and preference for me has dictated that i ride smaller wheels i always wanted to buy a MTB and had seen a few videos of guys doing crazy stuff( like red bull rampage) but had no clue as to the complexity of all the tech etc. i also had no idea of the differences between full sus hardtail etc, apart from the obvious stuff like a rear shock i had no idea if the ride was better, worse or indifferent apart from being softer on my bum.-GOOD i bought a R3500 giant hardtail with ok components, purely cause i didn't know if the sport was for me or not. i loved that bike and rode the crap out of it as often as i could( by that i mean sat and Sunday at northern farms and thats it).- GOOD i realized i loved cycling and bought( what for me was the most expensive toy i had ever owned) an 8k merida still a hardtail.- GOOD didnt upgrade this at all but did realize my ass and back got very sore on long rides so bought a second hand full sus frame and built across all the kit( didnt work out well as i also rode the crap out of it and realized i should be on an AM type rig due to me jumping etc and smashed the frame to bits.- BAD then spent some decent ash and bought a new merida 120, again loved the bike and rode it very hard with a few small upgrades like new bars etc.- GOOD my next 2 bikes have been the reason i live for the last 3 years and now i realise i am a cyclist not just a guy that plays on expensive toys occasionally.- GOOD cycling is more expensive than caviar, heroin or anything else you can imagine being really expensive or addictive.- EISH BAD i now have 7 bike and live by the formula that the perfect number of bikes to own is n+1. i think GOOD my wife however tends to disagree at times. i have kit that has cost a small fortune and battle scars that chicks "dig" from buying pieces of property all over our beautiful land( that means crashing in case you didn't realise.) that has been my experience and i know i could have done things differently and cheaper but hey hindsight is an exact science. would i change anything- no not likely. my advice is buy a cheap second hand bike that has disc brakes and see how you feel after a few weaks or months and then decide what direction you want to go in terms of cycling. ignore the wheel hype as far as possible and get a bike thats all. be it 26", 29" or even a 650b if you can find on in your budget. i was very lucky i sold my first bike for what i paid so for me i only gained from the experience. i am not saying all cheap bikes are good, not by a long shot, but if you stick to the bigger brands you should be ok. i do not profess to be wise or have all he answers but this worked for me and looking back i think i tackled the task in the most logical way with small steps building up to spending stupid money on my love of cycling.