Hi Wavedancer (happy new year!) I have read your account of how you turned your mt bike into a swiss army knife of bikes! I just don't know what to look for in an entry level mt bike that would lend itself to the frankenbike transformation. So far I have figured out 1.hardtail 2. not disc brakes and that is all I have figured out! a 13 inch frame seems good, and I don't need fancy, since I am a roadie at heart. but if there is a significant weight difference between a 500 $ and a 640$ bike, I think the lighter one would be good, just because I think I would use the bike as a mt bike much of the year. Or would the transformation be too much trouble and time to switch the fork and other parts back? I am looking at the Specialized Myka HT SPort and Myka HT Comp models right now. Thanks for any input! Tokie