Common 'newbie' queries on buying or upgrading a bike. How do a few local shops fair?

A lot of questions are asked in the forum here relate to buying a new bike for the first time, or (more often I think) upgrading from that first ride.

We'd like to think of the average user here as pretty knowledgeable, and that you'll find plenty of good advice in places like our MTB Gear Forum. That said, we were interested to find out how the pros in some local bike shope would respond to some common queries:

1. I'd like to take up MTB riding and have a limited budget, what's the best 'cheap' bike for me to buy to start?

2. I've been riding some local firetrails on my Huffy hardtail and feel ready to take my riding to the next level, take on some rougher terrain & maybe small drops. Say I have $2,500 to spend, what should I be looking at? Talk me into spending more if you can!

3. My 'significant other' has recently taken up MTB riding. They don't have much gear. In fact they ride in old tees, board shorts and trainers. What's the best gift under $100 you can recommend giving to a relatively new rider?

4. Store's choice (optional): aside from the above, what's the most common type of query you get and what does the customer usually end up buying?

Head on over to Local Bike Shops: Responses to common newbie queries to find out how they went.