Low-end opinions: GT Avalanche 3.0 vs. K2 Cheyenne

I'm a rank beginner, and am in the market for a $300ish ATB. I'm
monitoring Craigslist like a hawk, and am going to check out the LBSs.
Tonight, however, I stopped by SportMart (because they were open late
and they had a couple of attractive models. One was the GT Avalanche 3.0,
which seems to be pretty well-regarded as bottom-end bikes go. The other
was the K2 Cheyenne 2003, which seemed roughly equivalent, but slightly
better looking. The weird thing is that I couldn't find a reference to the
Cheyenne (or its cheaper brother, the El Dorado) on K2's site.

Given that they're both heavyish aluminum hardtails with
Shimano/Tektro/Suntour stuff on them, they seem pretty equivalent. Both K2
and GT are decent names. The K2's on model closeout sale, which puts it at
20% less than the GT, and it's a 24 speed (cassette?) vs. the GT's 21 speed
w/ freewheel, so I'd go for that one all other things being equal. I'm
just a little nervous that information on the K2 seems non-existent. What
are the chances that I buy this thing and it turns out to be non-
servicable/upgradable/etc?

Geo
--
George Mealer
geo*AT*snarksoft*DOT*com

"Alright, it's Saturday night...I have no date, a two-liter bottle
of Shasta, and my all-Rush mix tape. Let's rock!" -- Philip J. Fry

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