good all-around mountain bike?

im looking for a good mountain bike that is great for trails and can handle pavement preferably in a full suspension. is there an advantage to disc brakes? and doesn't matter if its a guys bike either
 
any real mtn bike that has full suspension is NOT made to make your ride more comfortable. These are made to keep constant contact of the tires with the surface of the trail and therefore any NEW full suspension bike priced below $1000 is essentially junk and will not preform furthermore any such bike priced below $200 is Horrible junk that isnt fit to recycle for metal content. You very likely do not need a full suspension bike but rather a hybrid with a suspension seatpost! Any hybrid can take trails just fine but if you are going to be doing serious trails then you may need a full susp. bike. most real f/s bikes will pedal efficiently on pavement if they have adjustable front and rear shocks/forks that are air adjustable with lockouts on them, otherwise they will be heavy and your pedal stroke will sap your energy. If your trails are paved you do NOT need a f/s bike! Disc brakes are the ONLY brake to even consider on a higher end f/s bike as nearly NONE will be equipped any other way. Make sure this is what you need before you buy. See here for an example: http://www.performancebike.com/bikes/Product_10052_10551_1027074_-1_38000_20000_38002 this one is adequate and equipped fairly well. It is also below $1000 but for the ameture rider is enough to start. This one is for the pro level rider and is of MUCH higher quality : http://www.performancebike.com/bikes/Product_10052_10551_1061919_-1_36007_20000_36502 and there is alot more inbetween in any brand of bike, not to mention a few that will cost 3x this one too.
 
If you are going to get a decent full suspension bike, you are doomed to pass the $1000 mark. If you want decent disk brakes, you will have to spend over $500. Disk brakes differ from rim brakes in stopping power and durability. one Major advantage with disk brakes is that once they wear down, you don't have to replace the whole wheel. You don't need disk brakes if you aren't going to be doing real racing. If you are just going to stick to gravel trails and double track, just stick to something under $400, and get your bike from a real bike shop, not walmart or target.
 
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