Hi All I am new to this forum. Earlier today, I got myself talked into buying a MTB for recreational and occasional racing (bearing in mind I am a beginner), the guy doing the selling is a "serious mountain biker" My profile: Male - 189cm - 118 kg (hope to loose weight with the cycling). Now my question - my initial advice is to go with a soft tail, 29 inch rims and spend in the region of R12 000 on a decent soft tail - Merida. I would like your recommendations on Merida or Scott or Giant falling in my budget/weight class.