school me on mountain bikes

In the Midwest, lots of different kinds of riding in the Midwest. But if they are kinda flat trails near you. Definitely 29” wheels and short travel rear or a hard tail. Do not buy a bike with 26” wheels. Nobody rides those and haven’t for years. Lots of variables, let’s hear about your riding options. 

I’m no mtb expert but I really like my YT 29er core 3 Decoy. The reviews call it a “good all around” emtb. It’s not the “top of the line” but it works very well for me. The local shop here has demo rides, is there a shop near you that does those ? It’s a good way to check out different bikes before you plop down your $  I was on the border between a large and medium, I went with the medium because it felt better in the corners and more .. sporty ? I guess than the large. Demo rides are the way to go if you have that option near you. Good luck 👍

Santa Cruz tallboy, great bike  and fun to bomb the winter park bike park. 

I’m on a Mullet (27.5 Rr/29 Frt). Love it. 
It’s a good time to buy a bike when it comes to some of the new tech/Groupos avail & the improvements that are taking place. 
Buying a slightly used bike seems be a great way to save money or show your ass off and look for some stellar sales.

Good Luck! 

Now is the best time I’ve ever seen to buy a mountain bike. The market is so low on new and used. I think you’d be happy with a 27.5” or a 29”. Recommend full suspension and as a moto guy I’d recommend at least a  36 front fork with 150 or more travel. For trek, I like the remedy and slash models 

Get a bike called "trail" from any of the reputable brands and you'll be fine. That's full suspension with about 130-150mm or rear wheel travel and similar numbers on the fork. You can go with a 27.5", 29" or mixed-wheel setup, but like mentioned above, 26' is dead. 

A "trail" or "all mountain" bike will give you the most bang for the buck and you'll be able to ride it anywhere. 

This is the right answer. Some people tend to go overboard and get an Enduro when they're just riding local trails 99% of the time... A good trail/all mountain works pretty well everywhere.

If you REALLY get into it, you can start buying different bikes for different uses.

I ride my YT Jeffsy Core 4 everywhere, including lift days in Big Bear/Snow Summit.

Like MX you say?  You want to be doing Long descents. Then full power ebiking up a more tech climb. Works everything longer then. But park or shuttle laps on a DH track are the best and most similar to putting in heater laps. 

I've had a Rune for going on 8 years. I ride it for everything. It's for sure more bike than I need most of the time but it rips anything I'm willing to try and doesn't hammer my jacked up wrist. It still gets up and sprints without wasting too much effort in bobbing suspension. Mine weighs in around 34 lbs with relatively burly tires/wheels and a coil shock.

If you don't expect to ride some bike parks or visit Bentonville or the UP, the Banshee Spitfire is the "trail" little brother to the Rune and might be a better fit. 

I would not pay 2g for that bike personally. There are lots of good buys out there in the used market that are not totally outdated. Lots of good changes since 2018, that bike was probably developed in 2015.

Super quick search and I know this is not in your area but I just pulled it from Craig’s List in my area as an example, it’s been listed for 16days I bet you could buy it for $1500

https://sandiego.craigslist.org/nsd/bik/d/poway-commencal-meta-tr-29-ride/7742805046.html

29” wheels are the way to go for keeping speed and momentum on flatter trails. Mullet bikes for shredding steeper stuff, I have both. Both lots of fun

My input is get a short travel, full suspension bike. I think in the terrain you're describing a 120mm to 140mm would be pretty perfect.  I went from a bunch of mtbs to one and have an Evil Insurgent which is an awesome shred/do everything bike. That said, I wish I still had a 120mm travel bike for the trails that aren't so crazy. I have more fun on those than an enduro bike with 160mm or more travel.  

Secondly, I like to ride 27.5 wheels and do like how they are more playful and fun in the air but 29" have their advantages like better rolling along mellow trails especially if there isn't much steep stuff.

I think you could find a better bike than that one above for 2k, the setup on it alone makes me cringe.  It looks like it would ride terrible compared to what I'm used to 

That 2g Rune is more like a $800 bike just FYI

If you're in that $2000 range, you might consider spending a few dollars more for new. 

Here's a great example. I'm not even a Specialized fan, but this is a hard deal to beat: https://www.specialized.com/us/en/stumpjumper-comp-alloy/p/199785?color…

Other "bang for the buck" brands to look at include are YT, Commencal, Canyon.

If you don't want a new bike, then try better tires with a softer rubber, and upgrade your fork. If your frame has a tapered headtube, then there are lots of options, just don't change the travel of the fork too much over what you have. 27.5 is a good tire size, but like I said, a good set of tires will keep you straight on roots and rocks. Sometimes the local bike store will have really good take-off components (brakes, derailleurs, etc.) that you can swap to your new frame to save cash. 

If you want a new bike, 27.5 or 29 is good. I think 29 is too big, but they work good. Fezzari has a good purchase program if you don't have a good local bike store. You should be able to find a decent trail bike in that price range. I would avoid a used bike.

For flatter trails I think 29 wheels beat 27.5 all day, hardtail or full suspension. They roll over rocks and roots so much better. All the 27.5 bikes I've ridden felt like they were just marginally better than a 26 wheel but 29s are night and day. Try looking at some local stores, I would spend a little more to buy a new bike than spend 2k on a used bike now.

Try a BMX bike and ride jumps, pump tracks, skate parks?

More fun and a better work out (IMO) than riding ADA compliant MTB trails.

Skills carry to moto pretty good too, according to some guy named Jeremy.

If I was spending $2k on a MTB right now I'd get the Polygon Siskiu T8 (technically $2200). Widely known as one of the best bang for the buck bikes out there. Modern geometry and great components. The T9 for $2700 is amazing too!

https://www.bikesonline.com/polygon-siskiu-t8-dual-suspension-mountain-…

Agronomics

I bought a Motobecane mountain bike and could never get comfortable standing and riding and I even had it custom set up at a dealer with different seat and handlebar positions.

I Bought by wife a cruzer and she gave me her 29er and instantly I could ride it standing and whipping it around just like on a MX bike. 

My point is Make sure you thoroughly test ride it before making the purchase.

27.5 gives you more tire selection / size range

29 will roll over almost everything as it is in a 2.4-2.6

If you plan on riding in winter conditions, I'd suggest the 27.5 so you can go with a wider tire. If not, 29 would be ideal for your riding. 

Most all good modern bikes are 29”. Some more specialized bikes are mullet setups (27.5 rear 29” front) geared more gravity orientated. If you aren’t already use to the feel of one size or another you won’t know a difference. But 29” is faster and has lots more traction, maybe a little less playful feeling. I ride A LOT and have both full 29” and mullet bikes. I don’t feel a big difference except 27.5 rear tires don’t get as much breaking traction. 🤷🏻‍♂️
 

Most all bike company’s are selling current bikes at around 30% off right now. Good time to buy something new. 
 

let us know what happens

Downhill or All Mountain will feel the most MX, kinda like a YZ. The others are like a WR. Kinda fun to ride, but lacking suspension to really be fun. 

Depends on what you are gona ride and if you are trying to win XC races or you are a moto guy looking to have fun out in the sticks. I’d say a little bit of rear suspension would be best 130-150mm in the rear, 

Its hit or miss with bike shop guys, especially at a giant dealer. That’s not likely a very core store, if they sell giant.