I'm looking to buy a mountain bike to buy for this summer, I've been looking at Kona and Cannondale but I'm not sure what would be good for me to get. Looking in the $500-$1000 range. Also a frame size recommendation as well, I'm 6'1". Any help?
I can't help you directly, as I don't bike personally. However, my best friend and his girlfriend are huge bike enthusiasts and I happen to be seeing them tomorrow. I'll update this post or the thread to let you know what they say.
Frame size : when you stand over your bike, you should be able to fit one hand between the frame and your... erm... nasty area.
price : If you realy want to do mountain biking ( compared to just driving around in the town a little bit ) then only the frame will cost you 500 $. Cannondale make great frames. Dont buy the cheap stuff, for a serious sports bike you should at least think in the 1500-2000$ range. The cheaper stuff will just cost you more in repairs, and can eventualy be harmful if it breaks down in the middle of a downhill race.
If you have any bike shops in town they can size and you can get general estimates from them. If your just starting out i would go with a cheaper bike or used one so that your not dropping a significant amount of money on something you end up not liking. My starter bike was a cannondale jekyll that i got for 450 bucks. Spent another 300 on new components and it was almost a new bike again. It was a hell of a find which you probally wont be able to get but do some searching and you might get lucky.