[Needsdecaf]

What kind of trails do you plan on riding?

I used a Specialized Crave (Comp trim) alloy for 10 years on our local XC-style trails. Mixture of grass / dirt paths, doubletrack and singletrack, but being in Houston, quite flat. Sandy with not many large rocks. Hardtail is completely fine. I recently purchased a full squish bike not because I really needed it, but I wanted it and I really want to start taking it to Austin and doing some hills.

It is a buyer's market. The used bike market is great but if you don't know the terms or what you're getting into (and if your newest bike is 30 years old you probably don't) you may end up purchasing the wrong thing for your needs.

I personally don't think at your price point that carbon is the way to go. Alloy is getting pretty light and is a much better deal.

I'd pick up a nice used bike so you can get used to the more modern drivetrain and geometry. The geometry is going to blow your mind, the bike is going to handle very differently. Pick up something on the more basic side and if you don't like it, you should be able to move it on without losing too much money and get something better suited to you.

Good luck and let us know what you're looking at!