Best brand Mountain Bike

Question
Hello, I am from Colombia. I want to buy a bicycle for Mountain. Here in Bogot?we can get these brands: Treck, Cannondale, GW and Speciallized. Which one is the best? why? I want to spend a big budget in this and I want to do a good choice.
Thank you.

Answer
Julio,

Sorry about the slow response.  It's holidays here and I just didn't get to my email very quickly.  I hope you are enjoying the holidays where you are.

To answer your question, I don't know what GW is, but I do know Trek, Cannondale, and Specialized.  Those three are all excellent manufacturers with high quality control standards.  I am partial to Cannondale, because I have owned one and because I think they are good about combining technical advances with durability.  Trek has been getting better in the last few years, but continues to be overbuilt and perhaps a bit heavy if you plan to do any racing.  Specialized is also a top contender with their offerings.

Most importantly for you in Colombia, choose one that has excellent customer support in your area.  Things break on mountain bikes and you should not have to wait very long to get parts repaired/replaced.  Also important is how much you are going to spend.  Be prepared to spend at least $1200 US for a very good bike.  Go no lower than $800, because at that price point, you are into a bike that will have less durable parts and you will spend money and time getting it repaired.  Also, it is valuable to get a somewhat light bike, because any time you mountain bike with a 15 kilo bike, it can feel like too much to ride up and down hills.  If I was shopping for a high-end bike ($2000+), I would look at the Cannondale Jekyll 4 or Trigger 29. In the Trek, I would look at the Fuel ES.  From Specialized, the Enduro Evo.

If you give me some more parameters, such as budget, intended riding style and preference for full-suspension or hard tail, I can get more specific.  I mostly ride lesser-known, more custom bikes such as Intense, Titus, Litespeed and am looking at Santa Cruz, Niner, Moots, Yeti.  If those are available in your area, let me know.

I hope this helps,

Graeme