What's the bests mountain bike out there for $250-ish?

Yep...15" should do for most frames. Try out a couple of larger ones just to see how they feel, though. A 15" will also be sold as a "small" by most companies.

i dont know, but the last time i rode a bike my whole body ached .

Iron Horse's complete line has some low grade bikes and some very good top end rides. Just be careful what you end up with, check the component level and be wary if getting it from a box store...

Velocipede is a name that refers to any wheeled foot powered machine. The modern mountain bike could also be described as a type of velocipede. ...

I bought a really nice K2 for $300 that was the previous years model and had a price of $1100 originally. Only thing was I had to get it put together but that only cost me 50 bucks. They used to ha...

All the info above about kickstands is correct. They can get in the way and the bike is more at a risk of falling and being damaged. Instead, lean your bike against something or lay it on the gr...

A great site is Pinkbike.com :)

If only riding 2 miles (or 4 round trip) on paved mountsinous road - Then either bike will work. It will take slightly more effort to ride the mountain bike that distance - mainly because of w...